When deciding the keywords on which to focus our SEO, we must look for the most suitable types of keywords for our content marketing objectives.
Knowing how to search for your keywords is just the beginning. To have a successful SEO campaign, you must know what types of keywords you are dealing with.
Keywords are the foundation of any SEO effort . They are what allows you to find valuable users.
There is no single way to choose keywords. In fact, there are many different types of keywords, and you should have at least several of them in mind if you are to create a good arsenal of keywords.
In this article we explain which are the most important types of keywords so that you can decide which ones to use in your SEO campaigns.
What are keywords or keywords?
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Keywords – or keywords in English – are one of the main elements of SEO and are part of the content of a web page. Keywords are what allow users to find your products on search engine results pages like Google.
If you want your website to be seen by users, you must choose your keywords well. Keywords are words or phrases that your potential customers use to search for products. Therefore, choosing them well will help to position your page above those of your competitors.
Keywords are part of web content, which your potential audience uses to search the Internet, and which allows them to find your page.
You can think of keywords as bridges between your website and users interested in your products. They should not only be optimized for the language of the search engine, but also for the language that your potential customers use.
By choosing keywords, you are making an informed bet on the behavior of your potential customers. For that reason, getting the keywords right requires research and a lot of trial and error.
Why are keywords important?
Keywords are at the center of any SEO effort. In fact, choosing keyword types is one of the first steps in creating a digital marketing campaign.
All the other SEO elements will be built on the keywords you choose. The architecture of your website, the product pages, the type of content you will create… Keywords give direction and drive to your internet marketing efforts.
Keywords can help you define your target audience more precisely. They force you to ask yourself questions about your customers:
- What do they seek?
- How do they write?
- What are your wishes?
- What are your other interests?
Researching keywords also gives you the benefit of helping you understand how your competition’s marketing works: what customers are looking for, how much they resemble yours, and how well their strategy has worked.
In addition, choosing good keywords is what allows your website to appear in the first pages of Google results (Search Engine Result Pages or SERP in English). This is one of the most effective ways to generate more traffic on your website.
Best of all, there are a wide variety of tools on the internet to research different types of keywords. Doing searches on Google is one of the most effective and simple things that you have at your disposal.
If you do not spend time and effort to choose the correct keywords, it will be difficult for your website to highlight its competition.
Types of keywords or keywords
Short-tail keyword
The short-tail keywords are essentially short keywords . They contain only one or two words.
These types of keywords are so generic that the users who do these searches can have a wide variety of reasons. A user who simply searches for “coffee” on Google might want to buy coffee, search for coffee shops, decide what kind of coffee to buy, read about the history of coffee, and so on.
Due to its ambiguity and its large volume of users, appearing on the first page of results for short-tail keywords is very difficult.
Also, the vast majority of those users are not your target audience . Although they drive a lot of traffic to your website, you have no guarantee that traffic will drive conversions. It is better that you put your effort in other types of keywords.
Long-tail keyword
Long-tail keywords contain 3 or more words and are more specific than short-tail keywords . It is now possible to distinguish between users and what they are looking for.
A keyword like “best coffee in Barcelona” gives you a lot of information about what the user wants. In this way, you can optimize your content for a specific audience .
The long-tail keywords generate less traffic but you get much better chance of conversion . For the same reason, it is easier to appear on the first page of results and you will have less competition .
Informational
Keywords without much interest. Despite the fact that informational keywords drive a lot of traffic, most of these users are looking for information, not buying a product .
While they may attract new users, they most likely won’t convert.
Short-term fresh keyword
Short-term keywords are tied to some very popular event . For example, think of a blockbuster movie.
Around its premiere, the name of the film is going to be a tremendously popular and highly searched keyword on the Internet. However, after a few days or weeks, the interest will drop drastically and it will no longer be a relevant keyword .
The short-term keywords are short – lived, but they generate a lot of traffic . Aiming to be in the SERP of a short-term keyword is a good way to attract a new audience to your website and take advantage of the popularity of some news or event. Just keep in mind that they won’t be of much use to you after they go out of style.
Long-term evergreen keyword
Long-term evergreen keywords are the ones that never stop being relevant . Your traffic level may fluctuate over time, but there will be no drastic changes. They will remain at a moderate but consistent level . They will pay you more in the long run than other types of keywords.
If you create content around long-term evergreen keywords , you can appear in user search results for years. For that reason, make sure your content ages well or update it from time to time.
Evergreen content is usually informational or educational . This adds the benefit of increasing your website’s authority, increasing your exposure in search algorithms and gaining loyal readers.
Branded keywords
The keywords branded contain the name of your brand or any of its variations.
This type of keyword is in searches of users who already know about your business, but want to know it better or make a purchase. Consider this when designing the content that will be on these pages.
Don’t think that just because they’re looking for your name you don’t have to worry about showing up on the first page of results. It is important that your business is in the first result, especially if there are other brands with the same name.
These keywords are similar to branded keywords . The navigational keywords are used by users who are already familiar with your product or brand and want to find the website. Its objective is strictly navigational.
Appearing in a good position in the SERP of this type of keyword allows your customers to find your website with ease.
Product defining keyword
The product defining keywords are used by users who are looking for a product that sells your online business. They are detailed keywords that describe the product in question.
Users looking for product defining keywords are already at an early stage in the purchase process . Your goal should be to give them the last push they need to make the purchase and to make the process as easy as possible.
To define this type of keyword, make a detailed description of your products and choose a couple of words relevant to the users of that description to add to the keyword .
Market-defining keywords
These are the keywords that your audience uses to talk about your industry or business area . Although they are very generic, they are still important for your SEO.
The best way to implement these keywords is to distribute them throughout your web pages. They can be a very useful tool when it comes to giving exposure to your new content creation strategy.
Customer defining keyword
The customer defining keywords are used by your potential customers to define themselves . They also include the words they use to name themselves and other members of the same group.
The power of these keywords is that they can help you better understand your audience and other similar audiences, whether they are part of the same niche or a nearby new niche that you have not considered before.
Discovering this type of keyword will allow you to understand how to communicate in an attractive way for your audience.
Geotargeted keywords
These keywords are located in areas of interest to your business. Many users who search for products in your area make close purchases of that product.
If your business has a physical location , local SEO and geotargeted keywords are key to getting customers in your area and finding events and groups with which you could make alliances.
Don’t just look for keywords in your city. Include nearby areas and, if your business is in a large city, divide it into zones for more specific keywords.
Industry thought leaders
These keywords contain names of important people in your industry or market . They are usually well known and respected people in your area.
Although you don’t need to use them in your titles, including industry thought leaders in your content can help you expand the reach of your content and discover new marketing opportunities.
The LSI keywords (acronym for Latent Semantic Indexing in English) include keywords that are closely related to your main keyword . That is why they are also called related keywords .
These keywords are especially good for blog posts and other types of content. If the topic of a content covers a broad topic , you can use related keywords to appear on the results page of users who search the branches and subtopics of the main topic.
Commercial
The keywords commercial are not implemented on your SEO in the same way as other types of keywords. Instead, they are used in paid advertising strategies.
That is, commercial keywords are the keywords that users use to get to a web page where you would like to advertise your products . If you want to know if a keyword is commercial, check the results that appear if you search for it on Google. Would you like to advertise your business on the pages you see?
Transactional
The transactional keywords are aimed at users who are about to buy a product or intend to buy it soon. These are interested users who have already searched for information about your product.
You can distinguish these keywords according to the question words . This SEO element refers to words used by users who have already decided to make a purchase, such as “where”, “how”, “how much”, etc.
Competing company names
These types of keywords are not one that you will necessarily use in your content. Its usefulness is that it allows you to better understand your competition’s digital marketing and learn from it.
Researching competing company names will give you an idea of which web pages are talking about your industry and how to appear on them.
These keywords are part of the ecosystem of your target audience. They can include industries neighboring yours, businesses elsewhere in the production chain, adjacent niches, etc.
The important thing is that they have some connection to your main audience . This can help you build communities and expand your audience reach to places you may not have considered.
Misspelled Keywords
In the past, optimizing your SEO for misspelled keywords was a good opportunity. Users often make spelling mistakes or use different variations of the same word.
However, these types of keywords have not been useful for a long time . Google’s current algorithms are sophisticated enough to compensate for these human errors. For that reason, there is no reason to search for a good ranking on mispelled keywords .
Ready to start creating your PWA?
You should already know that without a good selection of keywords, there is no effective SEO. Select different types of keywords to have an accurate campaign and find valuable niches, just as you must work with the appropriate keyword density .
Remember that each type of keyword has a different function . The content of the web pages that include them should be appropriate to the motives and characteristics of their users.
Knowing all this, I also recommend you to learn about the cannibalization of keywords that I explain in another article.
The internet is a vast place and finding the right keywords can be difficult, especially when there are so many types to consider! If you want to have an SEO campaign that leaves nothing out , the best thing you can do is talk to experts. At digitalmarketingclass we are passionate about SEO and we have a variety of experienced professionals integrating it into web designs. Contact us!
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