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What is Keyword?
A keyword, in the context of search engine optimization (SEO), is a particular word or phrase that someone might use to query a search engine for information.
Key Takeaways
- In general, a keyword is any word that has great significance.
- In SEO, a keyword is a word or phrase that someone might use in a search engine query.
- To be effective, keywords should align with the content’s topic and match the search intent of the audience.
- Long-tail keywords have become more important because search queries have become more conversational.
- When relevant keywords are used strategically, it helps search engine bots understand a webpage’s topic quickly.
Keyword Uses
Keywords are often compared to bridges that connect content with what users are searching for.
In search engine optimization, keywords help search engines understand the relevance of a web page to a user’s query, and their strategic use can help content rank higher in organic search results.
SEO keywords can also be used to guide the development of website copy and marketing deliverables to ensure the content aligns with audience interests and search intent.
Benefits of Keywords
When a search engine bot crawls a webpage, it analyzes both the source code and the rendered content (what users see) to determine which words on the page are the most important and are most likely to be used in search queries.
The strategic use of keywords can improve a website’s visibility in search engine results and attract more organic search traffic. The right keywords can also help advertisers and content creators reach the audience they want to attract.
Keyword Importance in SEO
In the early days of the Internet, search engines relied heavily on basic keyword matching. Because search engine results were based on how often a keyword appeared in the text or meta tags, content creators would include as many relevant keywords as possible and repeat them as often as possible, a practice that became known as keyword stuffing.
After Google launched in 1998, however, the role of keywords began to change. Google’s search algorithms considered the quality and number of links pointing to a page as well as keywords. This approach encouraged website owners to create high-quality content that would naturally attract links rather than just focusing on keyword manipulation.
By the end of the 2010s, most search engines were using natural language processing (NLP) and developing new search algorithms that could understand synonyms, context, and keyword variations. This meant that if a user searched for “best pizza in New York,” they would see results for “top-rated pizza restaurants in NYC,” even if those exact keywords weren’t on the page.
Types of Keyword Queries
As search engines became better at understanding natural language, queries became more conversational and the importance of long-tail keywords increased. A long-tail keyword is a phrase that contains a core keyword (short-tail keyword) as well as additional words that help clarify the user’s search intent.
Long-tail keywords tend to be very specific, so e-commerce website publishers often group them into categories. This helps marketers, SEO professionals, and content creators understand what keyphrases and keyword variations their audience members might use to find certain types of information. Some AI copywriting tools they use can even analyze content and suggest ways it can be optimized for specific keywords.
Popular types of keyword queries include:
Keyword Examples
Here are some examples for each type of keyword:
| Keyword category | Example |
|---|---|
| Branded keywords | Nike sneakers |
| Non-branded keywords | Best running shoe for a marathon |
| Transactional keywords | Coupon code for stamps |
| Informational keywords | Time to cook hard-boiled eggs |
| Navigational keywords | YouTube login page |
| Geo-targeted keywords | Best coffee shops in New York City near Central Park |
| Seasonal keywords | Black Friday deals on smart TVs |
| Time-sensitive keywords | Black Friday deals 2024 |
Elements of Keyword Research
If you want to know how to do keyword research for a website, there are some key elements you’ll need to make decisions about.
You will need to:
- Identify your target audience
- Create a list of topics you or your company will be publishing content about in order to reach that audience
- Brainstorm words and phrases people might use when searching for information about each topic
- Analyze the search volume for each core keyword and keyword phrase to gauge interest
- Evaluate the keyword competition for each search term
It’s important to remember that keyword research is not a one-time task. As search trends evolve, some keywords become less relevant, keyword density metrics can change, new keyword variations may emerge, or it could become more difficult to rank highly in SERPs for certain short-tail and long-tail keywords.
Keyword Research Tools
The right keyword research tools can help make the research process faster and provide data-driven insights that can be used to guide an SEO strategy.
The Bottom Line
Every SEO strategy should begin with a solid understanding of the definition of a keyword and its implications. Search engines are continually getting better at understanding natural language and user intent, so it’s becoming increasingly important for every SEO strategy to prioritize long-tail keywords and use short-tail keywords judiciously. This approach allows you to target specific audiences, provide relevant content, and improve your website’s visibility in search results.
