Semalt: From Keywords To Content
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What are Keywords?
- Why are Keywords Important?
- Where to use Keywords in your Content
- How many Keywords per Content?
- Conclusion
Introduction
Constructing a piece of article isn't as plain as it used to be. Where content writers would simply pick a popular topic and write a long block of texts with catchphrases in between, things can't happen that way anymore. This is because Google (and other search engines) have moved past ordinary content. The focus has upgraded to links, meta descriptions, headers, and so on. But what seems to be the most important target is keywords.
Keywords ordinary cannot make up an article, it can't even make up sentences. To use keywords, you have to use them while constructing your sentences. But that does not mean you can simply look for a long list of keywords and add them to your text anyhow. There are strategic ways to go about it - and that is what this guide will focus on - the process involved in turning keywords into the content.
What are Keywords?
According to Moz, keywords are topics that encompass the idea behind your content (rephrased). In other words, if you derive a long list of keywords for a blog article without seeing the article in real time, you would still be able to tell what the article is about. Additionally, keywords are the ways a search engine knows what your content is talking about.
They are also the words that are used in a search engine when searching. Take this illustration for example:
Assume you are writing a blog piece titled 'How Fishes Breathe Underwater,' and your main keywords are: fish, breath, underwater, fishes, breathing fish, underwater, fish breathes, fins, gills, different fishes, and underwater breathing fishes. If you include all of these keywords, then anytime a user searches for the listed keywords, (all other things being equal), your blog post will pop up amidst the rest of the other related articles.
There are different types of keywords (about 19 of them), but there are 3 main ones. They are:
- Primary Keywords: These are the main keywords that are to be used in your post. Skip these keywords and you will likely write about a different topic. Using the instance above, the primary keywords are 'fish', 'breath', and 'underwater.'
- Secondary Keywords: These are also important, but they are usually variations of the primary keywords. They are also usually more than primary keywords, so to prevent stuffing primary keywords in, you can switch to secondary ones instead.
- Additional Keywords: These are the ones that can either be a complete word that is a related or different spelling or joined with other words to make phrases. Some of the examples of additional keywords from the illustration above are fins, gills, underwater breathing fishes, and so on.
Why are Keywords Important?
The first reason keywords are important is because they help users find your article faster on search engines. But here are 5 other reasons keywords are beneficial:
- Content Direction: Finding a topic is one thing, and finding sud headers is another thing. But with keywords, you can figure them all out easily. For instance (refer again to the illustration above), if some of the additional keywords you found were 'fish anatomy' and 'fish nose' - then you will know to add sub-headers that explain the anatomy of the fish and a section that explains where the fish nose is located and its correct terminology.
- Competitive Edge: By incorporating keywords into your content, you would be ranked higher than those that didn't. Your article will be easier to crawl by search engines, and it would also be more visible - hence giving you a competitive edge.
- Right Audience Targeting: The best way to explain this point is to use an illustration. Assume you are writing an article about how fishes breathe underwater, and the most-interested target audience for this information is Ichthyologists (scientists that study fishes). Without keywords, you might end up writing your article for fishermen, divers, or fish restaurants by how you put your words together. But as stated above, keywords guide you, thereby leading you towards the right audience as well.
- Visibility and CTR Boost: Additionally, when you add keywords to your content, they are more meaningful, informative, and best of all, they include what users search for. Hence, your visibility will increase (assuming you have other parts of SEO covered as well). You would also be able to boost your click-through rate (CTR) by adding primary, secondary, and additional keywords in the right places.
- Ranking and Positioning: Finally, as it has been brushed over earlier, google and other search engines would be able to crawl your pages easier with keywords (again, provided other areas have been attended to like page structure and the likes). When search engines find it easy to crawl a page and find value in it, the position of the site will increase compared to other related sites. In simpler terms, keywords can get your article to move from where it is to better positions on search engine result pages (SERPs).
Where to use Keywords in your Content
Now that the definition and importance of keywords have been established, where can you place your keywords and how can you put them together strategically to get better views and clicks.
- Meta Descriptions: Since the meta description acts as a summary of your content, it makes perfect sense why you can include keywords here. Think of keywords as a highlighter - it highlights your article for viewers to find you easily. So if your keywords are in the meta description, the summary of your article will be in the spotlight. Here, you should add 1-2 primary keywords, and 2-3 secondary keywords (one of each is also just fine).
- SEO Title Tag: This is also called the meta title page (and this is different from your ordinary title. You can get help on how to optimize your meta title tag for better SEO results. Sometimes, your meta title can be the same as your main title, and sometimes, it can be different. Nonetheless, adding primary keywords to the title that stays visible to users on search engines is not only obvious but also very profitable for your content. To add keywords to your meta title, incorporate 1 to 2 primary keywords and you should be fine.
- Article Title: Adding keywords into your title is also another place you can incorporate keywords naturally. You might not need to look for primary keywords. Variations, if possible, are good alternatives.
- Within the first and last 200 words: Not only does Google believe this, but the first 100 to 200 words contain the introduction of an article and the last 200 words contain the conclusion. That means that this area gives an insight into what would be mentioned throughout the article or summarizes the content. In that case, adding keywords (remember that they are like highlighters), will help your introduction and conclusion to stand out in SERPs. Within the first and last paragraph, add primary keywords, and then scatter secondary keywords throughout the rest of the text.
- Throughout the article: The body of the text also deserves a spot in the middle ring. But there is one rule to this; It has to appear natural. You must not compromise the originality and engagement of an article because of keywords. That will compromise your results. If you have a secondary keyword that appears grammatically incorrect like fishes breathing ocean. You can add 'stop words' that will help the phrase have meaning such as 'fishes breathing in the ocean' and so on.
- Headings: Just like the title, headings also need a chance at visuality. This is especially because long blocks of text are hard to read, comprehend, and most times, readers would just skip over them. Most times readers go through a post, they simply scan through the introduction, the headers and that's all. Therefore adding primary keywords in your HIs, H2s and H3s will bring you those benefits mentioned earlier. Note that only H1s and H2s can contain primary keywords. Additional and secondary keywords can work for H2s and H3s.
The other areas you should add keywords for optimum visibility are the alt tags for images, anchor texts for links, URLs, and so on.
How many Keywords per Content?
So how much keyword is too much for content? If you want a straight answer, then one keyword per paragraph will do. Throughout the article, 7 to 10 primary keywords should do just fine. Your whole article should generally contain more primary keywords than secondary and additional keywords put together.
Conclusion
The process from keywords to content is not a simple one. It involves an understanding of the different types of keywords, when to use them, where, and how many times you should use each of them. Remember not to stuff them in and it MUST appear naturally to the reader such that the reader does not notice that they are there. To get your keyword strategy right, see an expert SEO provider for the best guidance through to your best content.