Role of Keyword in SEO

Are keywords important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

The answer is: Absolutely.

To know more: Keep reading.

What actually are SEO keywords?

SEO keywords extend from singular words to complex phrases and are dedicatedly used in websites to attract relevant organic search traffic. This procedure of keyword integration is just the start. When properly leveraged, targeted SEO keywords are mainly used to inspire the entire page content in order to satisfy searcher intent.

From a searchers point of view, keywords are the general terms that are typed or spoken into a search engine. When efficiently researched and optimized, keywords act as a conduit for your target audience to find the most appropriate content on the website.

1. "(not required anymore)"

Earlier, organic keywords were easily accessible in Adobe Omniture, Google Analytics and other analytics platforms. Things started changing in 2010 when Google began taking steps to remove keyword data from our web analytics. The following year, in 2011 keyword data was being removed in a big way. Since then it didn’t take long for the top keyword driver for every site to be ‘(not provided)’.

But, what really was different? People were still searching the same and Google hadn’t yet changed its procedure of how it was interpreting our content. What changed is, now we just had less visibility.

1. Grouped Keyword Volumes by Google planner:

Starting in 2014 Google’s keyword planner tool started grouping volumes for similar terms. Instead of showing say keyword A gets searched 100 times per month and keyword B gets searched 50 times per month, Google planner would show 150. When questioned, Google said the reason for this was to make sure "you don’t miss out on potential customers" and also to "maximize the potential for your advertisements to show on relevant searches."

1. Voice Search:

From Google’s heightened interpretation skills to our communication tendencies: when talking versus typing, we became very conversational and detailed searchers. Did you know with voice search alone, you can search for anything and everything? Google not only understands context matters within a search but also in between strings of them as well.

1. Keywords are suggestions:

Even if you forget about keywords, rankings, traffic, or even your website for a minute. How would you operate your business differently? The answer is "You can’t". Keyword research is a powerful marketing research tool that can be leveraged in multiple ways and it is not just about informing website content. To get the most out of keywords, the main thing you need to do is, look beyond the explicit, literal translation and pick up on the implicit clues to gain the true intent of each and every keyword.

Now that we have discussed how important Keywords are for SEO, the next question that arises is: How to choose the correct keywords?

Before you put on your SEO hat I would suggest, don’t start with keywords alone, first, choose your targeted audience and then dive into efficient keyword research. Next, if you already have an existing website of your own, gather your existing keyword data, then generate a list of what is currently driving traffic to your site with the usage of any of the technologies you have. The next step is to expand your keyword data list, using various keyword ranking tools. After that, you need to group the terms by search intent. The last step demands you to choose a minimum of 1-4 primary keywords to target on every page based on a careful balance between keyword difficulty, search volume, and relevance (taking organic SERP visibility into account). To drive maximum traffic to your website repeat this process every three months for optimum and maximized outcomes.

Eddie Smith He has been a passionate writer for a long time and presently working as Operation Manager at CyberToss Pvt. Ltd. He has a huge interest in reading classics and share his awesome experiences of life.