How to Improve Your Keyword Search Skills for SEO

Targeting strategic key phrases will help your web pages rank higher consistently. Search engines only select relevant pages and place them at the top of the search via website crawling. This only happens if you have indexable content. 

But finding the right keywords requires outstanding keyword research skills. The correct phrases will help you quickly understand your buyers. Besides, you get insights into how the audience is searching for your services, content, and products. 

Read on to learn more. 

Why Start With an SEO Website Audit?

Website SEO audit is an assessment of a website to find out how it is performing on search engines. An outcome of the audit will guide you to make the right plans for your websites. When you audit your website, you will figure out why your traffic and sales are below par. 

SEO audit

Here is what an SEO audit does:

  • Examine your web page performance closely to spot opportunities, competitors and find exit points.
  • Develops goals based on the gathered information 
  • Implementation of tactics to achieve the stated goals include fixing exit points, creating a better user experience, and outcompeting the competition.

Ideally, auditing is a systematic examination of all aspects to determine where you stand. An SEO website audit checks the status of the following: 

  1. Page optimization for SEO keywords
  2. The optimized URL structure 
  3. Page and blog formatting 
  4. Meta titles and SEO descriptions
  5. Keywords on image ALT tags 
  6. Presence/absence of links 

The outcome is important in aiding you build on SEO positioning by fixing existing SEO issues and utilizing the content correctly.If you are not good at SEO auditing, find the best SEO monthly plan at the best SEO service providers. 

Why Are Keywords Important? Reasons to Use Them

Keywords, also referred to askey phrases, refer to words (sometimes phrases) people key into the search engine to get distinct information. Keywords,typically, are what people probe in a search engine. Therefore, including relevant keywords will push your web pages to rank topmost.

So, why are keywords important? They Inform search engines regarding the content on the web pages. They encompass words, phrases, topics, and ideas defining what your web pages hold.SEOcalls them search queries/words that website users input in a search engine. Everything on a web page (copy, images, video, etc.)adds up to primary key phrases. 

Therefore, these key phrases connect users with what they are searching for on the internet. For businesses, key phrases offer details about businesses’ services and/or products. So, you need to place keywords in strategic positions such as title carefully. Tools like service for title can help you curate powerful titles. 

Keyword Research: Getting The Correct Keywords

For every business, acquiring higher traffic is admirable. But a necessity is getting traffic from the right audience, i.e., the one that brings conversions. Obvious key phrases will not earn you the top spot on search engines. Therefore, you have only one option: sourcing the correct keywords. Here are some tips: 

Long-tail keywords. These phrases have more than three words, and they attract to the point traffic. It’s true; their search volume is pretty lower, they are easier to rank well on. Nevertheless, you must select those that specify what you offer precisely. 

Be your customer. After creating a list of keywords, begin thinking like a customer. This move helps you identify the correct keywords. What phrases would you key in to google locate your product/service? 

Utilize keyword search tools. There are multiple keyword search tools you can employ to help you settle on the correct key phrases. For instance, if you are using Google Ads, it has a tool to aid you in finding the right key phrases for your business.

Know Your Main Competitors: See and Track Competitors

Know Your Main Competitors

Who are your main competitors? Know your competitors and why they offer; this will help you improve your marketing efforts as well as the services/products that you offer. Competition is real, and your competition could be businesses offering similar or substitute products or services that make yours redundant. 

The best way to track competitors is by listing the main businesses offering similar or substitute products to yours.Check the keywords they are using. You can read through the content to view metatag or use tools such asSpyFu to know what keywords your competitors are using. For instance, in manufacturing business, internet marketing is the best way to reach a massive audience. 

After identifying the keywords, track your progress against them using SEO ranking tools. The tools can give insights on how your competitor is performing against the keywords you are using. If they outrank you, check for supporting content on their website. 

Tracking the keywords your competition is using helps pinpoint important phrases/words you are not using. Undoubtedly, this information gives you a broader base of ideas. 

Find PerfectSynonyms for Your Main Keyword

Keyword search can be tough – if you reach a dead-end, try out synonyms or phrases that have a pretty identical meaning to your primary keyword. When you use synonyms in your content, the content will be richer and more natural. Remember, keyword synonyms account for most unexpected/natural long-tail search referrals. 

The easiest way to find synonyms is using search engines like Google. The search operator instructs Google to search for words alongside its synonyms. Google presents both the seed term and its synonym in bold within Google SERPs. Alternatively, you can use the Google Synonyms-based tool as it returns clustered results after analysis. Lastly, dictionaries are an excellent option too. 

Keywords for SEO: Correct Application

Proper keywords use will save your business because many people look at the first page of SERPs and only three results receive almost have the clicks. Therefore learning how to use keywords is fundamental. Know how many keywords per page are needed and where to place them.

 The number of keywords per page depends on the number of keywords to use, how they relate to each other, and their effect on the content.There are three categories- primary, Secondary and Additional keywords. 

A primary keyword makes the focal point of your article; thus, one is enough to drive the message. You need 1 – 3 secondary keywords and 1-4 additional keywords. In total, 3-8 keywords are enough. Of course, that depends on the article length. 

Conclusion

Your keyword strategy determines whether or not you rank high on SERPs. Earning the top three spots on search engines is a big deal for businesses. No business can achieve these positions if they choose the wrong keywords. Typically, if you want to rank well on SERPs, use the right keyword strategy, which means understanding the working of the keyword search algorithm. Further, optimize each web page and content for well-researched keywords.

John Peter

John is a professional technology blogger who has been doing blogging for the last 5 years. He loves to write & share content about web development, software programming, digital marketing, SEO, social media, tech gadgets, etc.

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