Keywords in SEO are words or phrases used to optimize a page so that it appears in search engine results for relevant searches. Using keywords is the foundation of search engine optimization, helping Google or Bing find your page and show it to users.
A search query, which users type into a search bar, is not always the same as keywords but always contains them. For example, suppose the keyword is “Italian pizza Long Island” and the page is well-optimized. In that case, the search terms can be “Authentic Italian pizza Long Island,” “Italian pizza places in Long Island,” “Long Island Italian pizza restaurants,” etc. Although the website may not be precisely optimized for all these search queries, it will still appear at the top of the results.
Why are keywords important?
Search engines’ main task is to find and show the user relevant content for their query. Articles and common words are ignored. Therefore, relevant content primarily means that search results should at least contain the keywords or their synonyms.
Simplifying it a lot, a search engine, after the user has entered a query, needs to find all the pages that are relevant to the query and rank them from most relevant to least relevant. The algorithms use several parameters for this:
- The existence of keywords on the page
- The density of keyword usage
- Their presence in the page title and headings
A page with the keyword in its title, headings, and text would be considered more relevant and, therefore, ranked higher than one where the keyword appears less frequently.
For example, look at these two short texts:
La Prima
In our cozy place with wonderful cuisine, you can always enjoy a lovely atmosphere and an excellent view of the city. Visit us for an unforgettable dining experience.
La Prima – Italian Restaurant
In our Italian restaurant, which serves authentic cuisine, you can always enjoy the best Italian pizza while enjoying a great view of the city.
Which of these texts do you think a typical search engine would rank higher for the search term “Italian restaurant”? All else being equal, the second text will definitely rank higher.
When I write “All else being equal,” I mean that over the 25 years of Google’s existence, the algorithms have become much more complex, and several other critical ranking factors need to be considered, primarily backlinks. Keyword density is no longer as important as it used to be, and engaging in so-called “keyword stuffing” (putting a lot of keywords inside content) is a terrible practice; texts should be readable and natural. Moreover, Google analyzes not only websites’ texts but also many other factors, such as the anchors of the links pointing to the sites. Therefore, in some rare cases, the first text may rank higher than the second (for example, if the first text is published on a restaurant’s website and the second one is on some kind of low-quality directory). This point, however, does not negate the fact that optimizing content with keywords is still necessary.
Types of Keywords
Obviously, it’s impossible to optimize a website for all possible search queries, which is why you need to decide which keywords to create and optimize content for, and which ones can be skipped. This process is called keyword research.
In general, keywords can be divided into several groups:
- Branded Keywords: This is straightforward – you want people to be able to find you or your business by name, so this will be one of your main keywords. It’s not a problem if you have a unique name, but it can be a challenge if you don’t.
- Fat Head Keywords are short, general keywords like “restaurant” or “pizza.” They generate a massive volume of traffic, but ranking for them takes a lot of work and time (or is just impossible 🙂 ).
- The Chunky Middle: These are more specific keywords that users regularly use, such as “Italian pizza” or “Italian restaurant with nice view.” These keywords are typically the main focus of search optimization.
- Long-Tail Keywords: These are even more specific keywords that are not used as often, such as “Italian pepperoni pizza Long Island” or “small cozy Italian restaurant“. Users less frequently use these keywords, but the competition for them is often much lower, and the conversion rate is higher.
In summary, you need to select the right keywords and optimize your content to achieve a high ranking in search engines.