Haven’t started using “proper keyword phrases”—or even general or single keywords? What have you been waiting for? If you’d like to stand a great chance of getting your site included on search engine results, you have to start conducting internet searches, selecting the best or most proper keywords, and implementing them directly in your posts.
Doing this continuously would tremendously help your site compete with and perform better in search queries than many other sites. Search queries are the words that search engine users type and search for on the search boxes of search engines.
Search engine boxes usually receive a ton of queries on a daily basis from users. Not all site owners are aware of this or the fact that search engines exist and can be used to drive traffic to their sites, thereby tremendously boosting sign-ups, business, and sales.
It’s one thing for search engines to provide search results for what everyone might regard as “keywords”; it’s quite or completely a different thing for search engine engines to provide search results for what everyone might regard as “proper keyword phrases”. There is a significant difference; it’s important to state this to drive home a relevant point.
Definition & benefit(s) of proper keyword phrases
The use of a keyword is a definite must if one wants to conduct a search query on search engines.
The search results for general or single keywords usually link to information that may be too broad or a bit or completely off point.
Therefore, using a proper keyword phrase is a definite must if one wants to get search results that link to information that is spot-on or specific.
In some cases, a single keyword is used in a search query; however, the majority of search queries have three or more words.
Each query that has two or more words is a “proper keyword phrase”. This implies that a proper keyword or keyword phrase consists of two or more words that are typed during a search query.
“Best cryptocurrencies to invest in 2021” is a good example of a proper keyword or keyword phrase. Now, can you spot the difference between “Best cryptocurrencies to invest in March 2021” and “Best cryptocurrencies to invest in 2021”?
The search results for “Best cryptocurrencies to invest in 2021” would certainly reveal more information (which would span over many months) than the search results for “Best cryptocurrencies to invest in March 2021”.
The difference between the two proper keywords provides some understanding of the extent to which proper keyword phrases can go in order to get the best search results which are usually spot-on, detailed, or specific.
Using more proper keywords increases your site’s chances of matching and being included in search query results: implementing an increasing number of proper keywords on your site can raise its chances of ranking higher on search engine page results.
Thus, proper keywords are the best types of keywords to use in your posts during keyword implementation or SEO.
It’s important to ensure that the proper keywords you’re implementing during keyword implementation—during writing or prior to publishing—are the same or align with the most popularly searched keywords that users are typing on search engines to get the most relevant search results, and eventually find what they’re looking for.
In this modern internet age, site owners would be doing themselves a great disservice if they fail to utilize the great opportunities that proper keyword phrase implementation can bring right to their site—directly from the search results of the greatest search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.).
Deep down, many people desire to implement keywords, and more importantly, proper keyword phrases; however, they never create time to do their homework: they fail to conduct necessary research to find and implement the proper keyword phrases that search engine users may search for in order to find specific information.
Another important point to note is that the “click‐through rate” (which indicates the number of users who click a search result and actually end up going to your site) also increases when more proper keyword phrases (implemented by a writer or publisher) match the search query.
Furthermore, it may be even more important to point out that when proper keyword phrases are properly implemented by a writer or publisher, the “conversion rate” (which is the number of users or visitors who actually purchase something, sign up, or take appropriate on your site) also increases because you have what most users are looking for.
Search engine users are becoming wiser, even the new ones: they know that a single keyword is likely going to attract search results that are linked to information that is too broad, less specific, or doesn’t have what they’re specifically looking for.
For example, let’s consider what the search results for a keyword like “security” would yield. The search engine user who types “security” might not be interested in knowing what the definition of the word (security) is; he or she might just be searching for a security guard, or even a security guard service!
If you do a quick single keyword search (for example, “security”) instead of a proper keyword phrase search (for example, “security guard” or “security guard service”) on search engines, your search results would be less-specific and widely varied, instead of specific or spot-on.
This is the main reason why you have to implement proper keyword phrases—not just single keywords—if you’d like your site to stand a chance of being well-positioned on search engines.
Insights on implementing proper keyword phrases in your posts
You can even use proper keyword phrases in your sub-headings or the headings for your paragraphs; include them in your Heading tags (HTML tags for paragraph headings), or use them as the individual titles of your web pages (titles tag in respective HTML codes).
It is generally recommended that authors use proper keyword phrases and, maybe, some related variations (of proper keyword phrases) multiple times, but not too much. It should be just enough to leave an impression on the web page without unnecessarily forcing the proper keyword phrases into your content.
Mention each proper keyword phrase a couple of times in your posts during implementation, and ensure that they sound natural—not unnatural, odd, or forced. Furthermore, include detailed descriptive words, and avoid using only general or single keywords.
The disadvantage of using only general or single keywords is that they can increase the competition between your site and too many other sites that target the same keywords.
However, if you use proper keyword phrases—which, naturally are very specific—you stand higher chances of targeting the best traffic because few or fewer search engine users search for proper keyword phrases.
Finding and using proper keyword phrases would ensure that your site attracts mainly or only traffic that has the potential to be converted into sign-ups, customers, and cash, and even reap more benefits.
Note that search engines also look for keywords and proper keyword phrases in the hypertext links (which take users to other web pages when they are clicked) that are used on web pages; therefore, using a proper keyword phrase within a hyperlink can help to rank your site higher for the proper keyword phrase.
We would conclude this post by advising that you shouldn’t stuff your posts with keywords and proper keyword phrases because doing so could hurt your site’s brand, especially when search engines would get the impression that you’re stuffing or over‐using proper keyword phrases—all in the name of “ranking high” on search engines.
Some keywords always remain relevant and popular all year long and will benefit you immensely, year after year, especially if your goal is to create evergreen content; other keywords undergo spikes and rises in popularity during different parts of the year—i.e., they trend seasonally and are thus referred to as “seasonal keywords” because people search for them mostly during certain times of the year.
Holidays are good examples: more people purchase Christmas trees or ornaments in December than any other part of the year; more people look for bathing garments during the months that precede summer, and they look for snowboards during winter; the majority of costume sales occur before Halloween.
Other good examples are the seasons for different sports: many people search for information about the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl early in the year; many people search for information about the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals in April and May of each year.
Generally, many people search for some keywords and phrases at certain times of the year than they do at other times of the year. So, when looking for keywords for your internet business, always remember that certain keywords are more capable of supporting a brand or niche and result in more sales than other keywords. It’s crucial to consider seasonal traffic when building your website.
Importance of using seasonal keywords
Although seasonal keywords and seasonal keyword trends are highly relevant and popular for short time periods, they can help your business strategy to reach new audiences, boost or attract high seasonal traffic, and receive a lot of revenue from seasonal purchases.
In addition, since it’s not every business that uses seasonal keywords, there tends to be less competition among businesses that use them. Using seasonal keywords can really be worth it, but this depends on both your long-term and short-term goals. Ensure that when using seasonal keywords in the short term, it won’t distract you from achieving your long-term SEO goals.
Important advice to consider before using seasonal keywords
use Google Insights or other tools to discover the seasonal keyword terms that are highly relevant.
shortly before the season you are targeting, create and publish original content that shall consist of seasonal keywords: certain keywords and keyword phrases (Christmas tree, jewelry, honeymoon, etc.) should be considered before or during a given holiday (Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day). Take note that they will likely spike or rise in popularity around or during holiday periods.
look for many keywords that can give conversions: if possible, look for hundreds of good seasonal keywords, instead of a few—but this depends on your goals and the size of your site.
be wary of selecting and using a bunch of irrelevant or low-traffic keywords: get rid of them and focus on the relevant medium- and high-traffic keywords that are capable of converting visitors to customers or making visitors open their wallets.
don’t discard or neglect your long-term SEO goals when producing seasonal content.
Tools for conducting research on seasonal keywords
When figuring out how often seasonal keywords are being searched for, you can use various tools to monitor them and make your evaluation. Some tools have to be paid for, while others are free. Two examples of free tools include:
You need a Google AdWords account to gain access to the Keyword Planner keyword research tool which is located at https://adwords.google.com/keywordplanner. You can make use of the end‐of‐the‐year reports of Google Trends www.google.com/trends which provides information on how often a seasonal keyword is used during a given day and when spikes occur.
Bing’s tool page can be accessed at www.bing.com/toolbox/keywords. Even Microsoft has a keyword tool that can be accessed if a user should have an account.
Each individual keyword planner provides additional suggestions based on seed keywords, the level of competitiveness of keywords, and the average number of searches for keywords. Keyword planners go a long way in revealing keyword popularity by mobile devices and the location of search engine visitors or users.
2. Free KSP tool for search engine optimization
Bruce Clay Inc. provides a free keyword tool that can be accessed at https://www.bruceclay.com/blog/free-keyword-research-tool/. You need to simply enter or type seasonal keywords into the “Please Enter Keywords” box and click the “Run KSP” button to get results about keyword counts and demographic information.
When the results appear, you can place your mouse over each seasonal keyword or keyword phrase to view demographic information concerning the type of individuals that are searching for seasonal keywords or keyword phrases.
You can run the free KSP tool as many times and with as many keywords as you wish. There is actually no limit, and you can enter 12 seasonal keywords at the same time.
On the other hand, if you wish, you can go for the following paid tools or services—but you would have to pay at least a bit of cash to use them:
3. SEOToolSet
In addition to the free tools offered by Bruce Clay Inc., you can subscribe for paid fully-integrated SEO tools which are far more equipped than the free version or tool. The paid pro version of SEOToolSet is available at a certain price per month and for up to two domains: www.bruceclay.com/seo/tools.htm.
Wordtracker is a keyword tracking service that people usually pay for when selecting either the monthly or annual pricing plans. But before paying to use it, you can test the free trial that is on offer.
Keyword Discovery is a paid keyword tracking tool or service that was created by Trellian and can be subscribed for at a price that is quite higher price than the price for subscribing on Wordtracker.
Many folks, especially owners of blogs/sites on wordpress.com, either underestimate the importance of keywords and applying them, or they don’t just know how to use keywords.
In many instances, this is quite unfortunate because the simple act of not using keywords can cut you off from a world of unlimited potential and valuable organic search engine traffic from Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.
As the spiders of search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) crawl the content of web pages, they look for keywords that closely relate to or match with visitors’ search queries.
Why it’s important to research, choose, and use keywords for SEO or your website
If you have a website that specializes in a niche(s) or subject(s), if you don’t use some particular keywords/related keywords or “pointers” to your content, it would be difficult if not almost impossible to receive traffic or visitors from search engines which are usually drawn to keywords that are typed and searched by visitors!
It’s important to use keywords for your SEO or website because they can actually make a big difference in terms of increasing the potential or chances of attracting higher traffic from search engines, even long after publication.
Using keywords is crucial for a site’s success: people use keywords a lot to make search queries on search engines. Nine out of ten times, people are looking for information on/about their typed keywords.
First, figure out your website’s theme before choosing keywords
The first thing to do before choosing keywords is figure out your website’s theme. Your theme is the main idea, thing, niche, or vision your site would represent.
Your website’s theme is the central concept of your web content and activities on the Internet. Figuring out a theme may sound simple, but it’s very important to think things through and discover or understand exactly what your site is about.
Assuming you have a site that specializes in the “best cryptocurrencies”, you need to figure out exactly what the “best cryptocurrencies” means or entails.
In addition to the site theme, also evaluate the direction you’d possibly be going with this site in the future. Would you like to continue focussing only on the best oldest cryptocurrencies, or would you like to broaden your scope and include the best new cryptocurrencies too?
It isn’t a bad idea to broaden your scope because doing it could broaden your market or reach and place you on a more profitable and popular level—money and even internet fame!
Decide whether you’ll concentrate on only the best new cryptocurrencies, or both the best new and old cryptocurrencies, or even add the unborn cryptocurrencies that are presently undergoing development.
Write down every imaginable thing you believe your site should represent or be about—and maybe also add what it should NOT represent or be about. So, for instance, if you’re creating a site about the “best cryptocurrencies”, you may like to write down things like:
We focus on only cryptocurrencies that were created between 2008 and 2016.
We don’t deal with cryptocurrencies that are pegged to traditional currencies.
“Focus on” or “deal with” means we sell, buy, or allow trading.
We allow people to swap cryptocurrencies whenever they deem it necessary.
Etc.
Second, brainstorm for keywords
After figuring out your theme and clearly understanding what your business is precisely about, you’d be in the best position to set up a strong foundation for brainstorming relevant keywords.
In the absence of the theme, brainstorming keywords is the first and most important action required for choosing productive keywords. While brainstorming keywords, compile a list of all possibilities. Write down every potential and major keyword you think visitors will likely be using on search engines.
Here are some questions you may need to ask yourself:
If I am a visitor, what word(s) would I type and search for to get information concerning the best cryptocurrencies?
What do search engine keyword search results say about visitors’ search terms? Which words do regular people use when discussing or referring to the best cryptocurrencies?
What terms do professionals or experts use when talking about the best old or new cryptocurrencies?
Third, create an outline for your keywords
After brainstorming and creating a large list of keywords that you’d potentially use, your next step would be to draft an outline using those keywords. You can start with the most general or broadest keywords at the top and break down, categorize, or subcategorize more specific subjects or areas as you go deeper.
A keyword outline for the best cryptocurrencies could look like the following list (Notice how the main keywords break down as the niche is delved into much deeper.):
Best cryptocurrencies
Best cryptocurrencies to mine
Best cryptocurrencies to buy
Best cryptocurrencies to invest
Best cryptocurrencies to invest in 2021
Best cryptocurrencies to invest in March 2021
Best cryptocurrencies to invest in July 2021
Best cryptocurrencies to invest in February 2022
Best cryptocurrencies for day trading
Best cryptocurrencies for day trading in 2021
Best cryptocurrencies for day trading today
Best cryptocurrencies 2017
Best cryptocurrencies 2018
Best cryptocurrencies 2019
Best cryptocurrencies 2020
Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $1
Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $50
Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $200
Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $500
Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $1,000
The keyword in the figures below represent the above outline—a breakdown from very broad keywords/terms to more specific keywords/terms:
Figure 1: Breakdown of the keyword (best cryptocurrencies) from a broad term into more specific terms (Source: Ahrefs keyword generator)
Figure 2: Breakdown of the keyword (best cryptocurrencies) into more specific terms (Source: Google search engine)
In regard to the main keyword “best cryptocurrencies”, the keyword in the figures above represents a lot of possibilities: they represent a variety of things that people may be searching for when they’re looking for the best cryptocurrencies.
As much as you can, list as many keywords that relate to your theme and write posts or content with the keywords used appropriately and adequately within them.
The broader the keywords you choose and work with, the better your web pages would stand a chance of getting on and on top of the search results pages of search engines.
Advice: Assess your competition by conducting keyword search on search engines
After creating an outline for your keywords, it’s time to check and evaluate your competition in order to get a feel for your market(s) or niche(s) and know what you’re up against.
One of the easiest ways to know your competition is by visiting search engines, typing your brainstormed keywords, and looking up their individual search results from the first position (on top) downwards towards lesser positions. The top ten results on search engines results pages are worth evaluating for keyword ideas and content quality.
The competition for your brainstormed keywords are those websites that are occupying the top positions on search engines’ results pages. The fact that they’re topping search engines implies that they’re doing something right—creating good content and using keywords appropriately.
After identifying your competition and reading their content which is related to your brainstormed keywords, conduct thorough internet search and create quality content that is at least as good as—if not better than—that of your competition.
When looking for information to create content, don’t search only blogs; extend your research to Google Scholar and many other publications until you find ideas to create original content that can fulfill the desires of all search queries.
There is hardly any site owner who wouldn’t like to attract traffic to their site and improve their search engine ranking. Apart from creating useful content for readers, one other significantly important thing that can improve your search engine ranking and attract traffic to your site is SEO-friendly URLs which you can create for your posts or pages.
Under the following topics, this article discusses what URLs are and how to make SEO-friendly URLs that can improve your search engine ranking and attract traffic to your site:
But first, what is a URL?
Why are URLs important in SEO?
What is an SEO-friendly URL?
SEO-friendly URLs are one of the basic pillars of SEO
How to make an SEO-friendly URL—10 things to do
Conclusion
But first, what is a URL?
Some people use the terms “URL” and “domain name” interchangeably. A URL doesn’t mean the same thing as a domain name; there is actually a difference between the two.
URL is an acronym that means “Uniform Resource Locator”. A URL is an address to a location or resource on the Internet. For example, in the URL https://schmitt-trading.com/7-reasons-why-an-own-domain-is-so-important/, “schmitt-trading.com” is the domain name which consists of a top-level domain (TDL) popularly known as “.com”.
Generally, a URL consists of:
a protocol (example: “https” or “http”).
a domain name (which includes a top-level domain—TLD) like “.com”, “.org”, “.net”, etc.
a path that leads to a specific page, post, file, or resource on a site. A path is usually located after a hostname, and is separated by a forward slash: “/”.
Why are URLs important in SEO?
In addition to your tags, links to anchor texts, and the quality of your content, search engines use the URLs of your site or web pages to understand the details of your content and what they are all about.
What is an SEO-friendly URL?
An SEO-friendly URL is a URL that is optimized to help internet users and searchers find the type of content they want. URLs that are optimized for SEO tend to be concise, short, contain keywords, and provide a better user experience.
Although it is not a major ranking factor, the structure of a URL structure can help your post or page move to a higher position on search engine results pages (SERPs), improve your search engine ranking, and attract traffic to your site.
SEO-friendly URLs are one of the basic pillars of SEO
In fact, Backlinko had once stated that URLs are a significant ranking factor: In Google’s top 200 ranking factors, URL length was listed as number 46, while URL path was listed as number 47, and keyword usage in URL was listed as number 51. When you knit this information, you will conclude that URL optimization (creating SEO-friendly URLs) is quite a big deal.
How to make an SEO-friendly URL—10 things to do
1. If you can, select a top-level domain (TDL) that is the most popular, or highly popular
Search Engine Land’s infographic clearly shows the qualities of an SEO-friendly URL, and one important point highlighted is that it’s more ideal to select “.com” as a top-level domain (TDL). In essence, this means that it is more ideal to select a “.com” domain instead of a “.net”, “.biz,”, “.tel”, “.pro”, or other types of TDL.
If you already have a domain that isn’t “.com”, don’t waste your time placing too much emphasis on this point—the type of TDL; also, don’t assume that your site is doomed or will be doomed if you select/have selected a top-level domain that is different from “.com”.
However, it is important to note that the type of TDL you select, matters; therefore, consider “.com” whenever you want to select a TDL in the future. Although the type of TDL selected doesn’t directly impact a site’s search engine ranking, it does matter to an extent because most internet users and searchers tend to trust “.com” and probably “.org” more than the rest.
For whatever reason, the type of TDL a site uses can increase or decrease people’s trust in it—and this is huge! The more people trust your domain, the more it will impact your site’s overall SEO, improve your search engine ranking, and attract traffic to your site.
2. Choose https
Nowadays, internet security is a big issue. With the increasing rate of identity theft and cybercrime on the internet, internet users and searchers always want to be sure that they are surfing a secure domain.
As a result, it is highly recommended that you use “https” in your URLs instead of “http”. In case you don’t know the difference between “https” and “http”, “https” means “HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure” which is the secure version of “http”, while “http” just means “HyperText Transfer Protocol”—without the word “Secure”. This simply implies that information on a site that has “https” is encrypted and provides a significantly heightened level of security.
Searchmetrics had reported that “https” is gaining more relevance, and becoming more of a ranking factor for Google: “https” increases the level of trust and conversion rates because of the encryption and extra security it gives to sites that have purchasing processes, or sensitive user information.
3. Choose lowercase letters and avoid uppercase letters
Although this is commonly practiced among most site owners, it is still important to mention it so that people who aren’t aware can become aware. Always choose lowercase letters because the use of uppercase letters potentially leads to 404 errors or redirects on some servers.
4. Choose hyphens instead of underscores
Spaces aren’t allowed in URLs; so if you want to put spaces in between words, you can use only one of two choices: hyphens ( – ), or underscores ( _ ); although you can choose between the two, it’s recommended that you should always use hyphens because that’s what Google prefers; therefore, be rest assured that hyphens are the best option.
5. Choose safe characters and avoid unsafe characters
It’s totally safe to use safe characters in your URL, but it’s not totally safe to use unsafe characters which you should avoid as much as possible because they are known to create usability issues and significant issues for browsers.
Examples of safe characters include alphanumeric characters such as: 0 to 9, a to z, mathematical symbols, brackets, punctuation marks; on the other hand, examples of unsafe characters include: ~ { } < > % ^ [ ] #.
6. Use one or two keywords
Although it is unlikely that placing keywords in your URL will get your posts or pages to the top of search engines, it can boost your ranking on search engine results pages. Therefore, it is important to include keywords in your URLs, but be mindful of how you use them so they won’t be viewed as spam, and get your site penalized.
From a user’s or searcher’s point of view, it could be important to use keywords in a URL because, even if you don’t attach an anchor text to the URL, in a certain way the URL can still serve as the anchor text and instantly tell users what your content is about. This could encourage a lot of people to click on the URL even if it doesn’t have an anchor text.
According to information available on one of Search Engine Land’s pages, choose one or two keywords per URL; adding more won’t help to improve your ranking on Google and other search engines. In terms of positioning, it’s best to put your keywords at/toward the beginning of your URL.
7. Don’t repeat or stuff keywords
Repeating keywords or stuffing them in URLs could lead your site to disaster. Don’t stuff keywords unnecessarily in your URL. There are no rewards for repeating keywords; the practice could be viewed as an attempt to manipulate search engines and could diminish your site’s credibility in the eyes of users and search engines.
8. Use the least number of words you possibly can: if possible, use between three and five
In an interview, Google’s Matt Cutts had stated that URLs that consist of three, four, or five words are perfectly okay; but the longer they become, the lesser Google’s algorithm will weigh the words and just not give the URLs as much credit.
In summary, distill the essence of your content into anywhere between three to five words. Generally, keep the number of words to the least minimum, but do it in a way that can still enable users or readers to have an idea of what to expect when they clicking a URL.
9. Keep the length of your URL to the least number of characters you possibly can: if possible, use between 50 and 60 characters
Backlinko analyzed 11.8 million Google search results and found out that “Shorter URLs tend to rank better than long URLs”; therefore, the shorter a URL, the better it will improve your search engine ranking and attract traffic to your site.
Backlinko also analyzed one million Google search results and the statistics showed that, in order for a URL to perform as best as it possibly can in a search engine, the maximum number of characters in the URL should be kept to anywhere between 50 and 60 characters. Having up to 80 or more characters could negatively impact your search engine ranking and traffic.
10. Make your URL easily readable
There is a strong bond between a user-friendly URL and overall SEO. A readable URL will make it easy for users and search engines to understand the type of content that should be expected on a destination, post, or page. Therefore, do all you can to structure your URL in a way that can make it easily readable, even if it has some hyphens and forward slashes.
Structure your URL so that it can be simple, clear, and easily understood by users immediately or shortly after they glance at it for a few moments.
Conclusion
If you can create useful content, and make SEO-friendly URLs by using the points stated above, you will be able to improve your search engine ranking and attract more traffic to your site.
While the process of making SEO-friendly URLs might appear difficult, time-wasting, and tricky, it uses a lot of common-sense principles that you can easily practice, apply, and benefit from.
Keyword optimization can be defined as the process of conducting keyword research in order to analyze and select the best keywords that would be able to target and drive qualified traffic from search engines to a website and its article(s).
Why do most websites and blogs take keyword search optimization as a “do-or-die” thing? Because the proper use of keywords can actually make a difference for websites and blogs.
It has to be noted that keyword search optimization is very important in the initial stages of planning for content production and search engine marketing campaigns.
Importance/advantages of using keyword search optimization
When it comes to search engine marketing, keyword research and optimization is very important because it offers high and valuable returns. As a content writer or blogger, searching for/using popular keywords (both short-tail and long-tail) will really help to produce trendy content that can attract organic traffic.
Keyword search optimization can actually help your content reach and attract potential customers if you have an idea of the words/keywords that are mostly typed during queries/searches; in order to do that, you can use a keyword optimization tool website.
The undeniable fact is that, on search engines, most websites are ranked for quality in combination with appropriate use of certain keywords that search engines can find. The use of keyword search optimization has the following advantages:
It attracts an engaged audience: the type of audience you are looking for.
It leads to increased conversion in terms of views and sales: it helps relevant content not only to attract visitors but also to convert them to customers and sources of cash or revenue generation.
It gives content creators and bloggers insight into current internet marketing trends. By consistently analyzing keywords, it becomes easy to always understand internet users’ and consumers’ behavior, and what potential customers are mostly searching for.
It helps to properly prioritize time, and not waste it on creating content that uses inefficient keywords that can’t attract as much traffic as other more efficient ones. Using the right keywords can greatly increase a site’s return on investment (ROI) in terms of views and exposure.
If you are a site or blog owner who is interested in improving your SEO rankings, this article will provide you with an example and the most important steps to do so using keyword search results.
The use of popular keywords can improve your SEO rankings. The following are 10 important practices that can greatly increase your SEO rankings:
(1) Know or state “exactly” what you would like to write about, and write the main keyword or keywords down
At the initial stage of preparing articles, it is very important to have a concrete and precise idea of what you would like to write about.
For example, let’s assume you are an affiliate marketer who wants to promote “WordPress.com”—not WordPress.org—then your main keyword should be “WordPress.com”.
Other keywords could follow, but before you decide on using them, conduct a keyword search for “WordPress.com” and assess your results in order to find other minor/related keywords that are popularly searched for.
(2) Conduct keyword search for “WordPress.com” and select other minor/related keywords that can be used to enrich your articles and improve SEO ranking
A number of sites can be used to conduct keyword searches online. However, if you would like to conduct free keyword search, you can use KeywordTool.io via the following link: https://keywordtool.io/google.
Visit the website and select “Global”—if you would like to find the recent most popular keywords that are being searched worldwide—and the language, which in this case is English.
After you select those two options, type/enter “WordPress.com” in the search box and the following results of the top 23 most popularly searched keywords (worldwide) would appear as shown in the figures below:
Figure 1: Top 7 most popularly searched keywords, worldwide
Figure 2: Top 8th to 23rd most popularly searched keywords, worldwide
Note that the most popularly searched keywords—minor/related keywords—are “WordPress.com themes”, “WordPress.com” pricing, “WordPress.com or WordPress.org), etc.—the list goes on as you move down the table.
(3) Study the results obtained from keyword search
After you conduct keyword search, study the results, assess and select the keywords that would best fit the content you intend to create.
If you already had other keywords in mind that didn’t show up in the search results, you can still find a way to discuss them in your content.
(4) Select the keywords you wish to place/use in your article
(5) Choose a befitting and attractive title or headline that would likely attract clicks—make sure the main keyword is in the title
From our example—creating content around the keyword “WordPress.com”—we could select a title such as: “Why WordPress.com is the best platform to build your website: themes, pricing, support”.
This title is would likely attract clicks from searchers of the most popular keywords because it tells them that themes, pricing, support—which are among the most popular keywords—will be discussed.
(6) Put the minor/related keywords in “bold” sub-headings within your content. This can help scanners quickly locate different types of popular keywords.
(7) Conduct thorough internet and book searches for the most informative content that is related to your interest and is based on your selected keywords.
(8) Write your content in an original, informative, and interesting way that can provide readers with useful information.
(9) Make sure you discuss each piece of relevant information under each bold sub-heading within your content.
(9) Place an appreciable amount of white space (spacing) in your content in order to make it easier for people to read.
(10) Self-edit your work, or give it to a good editor to view it before publishing. This would ensure your work is void of grammatical errors that can reduce your SEO rankings on search engines
It is widely believed that gaining experience (or trying out things) is the best way to learn and become more certain or confident in many areas of life. My experience in testing and applying keyword search optimization on a few articles has been paying off—but I know this is just the beginning!
Since I started publishing content on the internet 7 years ago, I’ve never really liked the idea of concentrating on keywords or applying keyword search optimization, most especially because of the extra effort it requires and the rules that have to be followed in order to properly incorporate it when producing content.
On the other hand, stats from my website’s dashboard, and Google search console performance reports have proven that keyword search optimization (or “keyword optimization SEO”) will always help articles attract views and clicks from other search engines, even if followers from a hosted platform (for e.g., Weebly, Blogger, WordPress.com, etc,) are not attracted to the article enough to make them “comment” or “like” the articles.
One major lesson I’ve learned is that even if nobody is attracted enough to “comment on” or “like” an article that is first published within a hosted platform (like Blogger or WordPress.com) where most site owners or bloggers get/have their respective followers, the article can still receive the highest number of views from all types of search engines, especially Google. (But keyword search optimization will be needed to get there.)
In fact, as at the time of writing, My reception of “the versatile blogger award” was in the 1st position in terms of the total number of likes from WordPress.com-based readers, while Definition & types of technical drawing was in the 71st position. We can all agree that results would have been very different if readers outside WordPress.com—such as those from Google, Bing, Yahoo Search, Facebook, etc.—were easily allowed to like/comment on WordPress.com-based posts.
In order to convince you about the reality, we will take a look at screenshots, stats, and analysis of one of my article’s views on my site’s WordPress.com-hosted dashboard, and Google search console performance reports, respectively; also, I will briefly discuss about 2 other articles that have been responding well to to searches/queries, and attracting views from Google.
Before we move forward, truth be told: over time, keyword optimization can help your articles attract the highest number of views possible from all search engines, especially the most powerful one: Google. The right application of keyword search optimization can bring your website a lot of exposure, visitors, customers, conversions, and even money.
Generally, we will discuss the following:
Definition of keyword search optimization.
Importance/advantages of using keyword search optimization.
Screenshots, stats, and analysis of my highest viewed keyword-search-optimized article titled: “Definition & types of technical drawing”.
Practical example: where and how to place keywords.
Conclusion.
Definition of keyword search optimization
Keyword optimization can be defined as the process of conducting keyword research in order to analyze and select the best keywords that would be able to target and drive qualified traffic from search engines to a website and its article(s).
Why do most websites and blogs take keyword search optimization as a “do-or-die” thing? Because the proper use of keywords can actually make a difference for websites and blogs.
It has to be noted that keyword search optimization is very important in the initial stages of planning for content production and search engine marketing campaigns.
Importance/advantages of using keyword search optimization
When it comes to search engine marketing, keyword research and optimization is very important because it offers high and valuable returns. As a content writer or blogger, searching for/using popular keywords (both short-tail and long-tail) will really help to produce trendy content that can attract organic traffic.
Keyword search optimization can actually help your content reach and attract potential customers if you have an idea of the words/keywords that are mostly typed during queries/searches. And to do that, you can use a keyword optimization tool website in a way that will be explained further below.
The undeniable fact is that, on search engines, most websites are ranked for quality in combination with the appropriate use of certain keywords. The use of keyword search optimization has the following advantages:
It attracts an engaged audience: the type of audience you are looking for.
It leads to increased conversion in terms of views and sales: it helps relevant content not only to attract visitors, but also to convert them to customers and sources of cash or revenue generation.
It gives content creators and bloggers insight into current internet marketing trends. By consistently analyzing keywords, it becomes easy to always understand internet users’ and consumers’ behavior, and what potential customers are mostly searching for.
It helps to prioritize time properly and not waste it on creating content that uses inefficient keywords that can’t attract as much traffic as other more efficient ones can. Using the right keywords can greatly increase a site’s return on investment (ROI) in terms of views and exposure.
etc.
Screenshots, stats, and analysis of my keyword-search-optimized article titled: “Definition & types of technical drawing”
Although the article Definition & types of technical drawing doesn’t have/hasn’t had anything close to the highest number of likes and comments on my site since it was published some time ago (February 15, 2019), it currently attracts between 30 and 50+ views per day, even when I don’t publish. Initially, it started from a few views per day but was increasing every day until it started attracting 50+ views per day.
Most of the views come from Google; you can see the stats for only one day on “Screenshot 1” below.
Screenshot 1: the article’s average Google views per day
As you can see, the stats on the image show that my website attracted a total of 167 views on August 16, 2019. And even though I didn’t publish a new article on that day, my website was referred 63 times from Google, while the article itself attracted 55 views, and my Google search console performance clicks and impressions for days and weeks also confirm that most of the article’s views always come from Google, rather than from WordPress.com.
The good thing is that the longer an informative and keyword search optimized article stays on the internet, the more it tends to increasingly attract search engines, and the more it will be found, especially if quality content and keyword search optimization are properly incorporated into content during the writing stage, and prior to publishing.
As you can see on “Screenshot 2”, as at the time of writing, my site has been referred 963 times from Google, 156 times from Bing, and 20,156 times from WordPress.com’s readers in 2019; while the article itself has received 1,352 views from all search engines (including Google). Generally, as at the time of writing, my site had 110 articles and had been viewed about 42,300+ times.
In addition, daily stats and observations from Google search console performance reports have proven that the—although comparably less popular on WordPress.com—had been viewed about 900+ times or more from Google; and this can be attributed to the use of keyword search optimization.
Screenshot 2: article’s total number of views
I also applied keyword search optimization to 2 other articles which have also been doing quite well on Google as you can see on “Screenshot 2” (above) and “Screenshot 3” (below) of my site’s stats dashboard and Google users’ queries/searches such as “why study environmental science”, “why do we need to study environmental science”, and “Christian freelance writing jobs”. These queries/searches lead to my articles titled: 15 Reasons why you should study environmental science and Christian freelance writing jobs: 19 websites that pay for submissions.
Screenshot 3: performance and Google search console report on Google users’ queries for related articles
Generally, as you can see on “Screenshot 2”, no other article has attracted more views than the article under discussion; in addition, “Screenshot 3” informs us that no other article on this site has attracted more clicks and impressions on Google than Definition & types of technical drawing; it’s just way too far ahead of the rest.
In fact, the stats (August 17, 2019) on “Screenshot 4” show that the article has an average position of 1.4 (almost 1.0) on Google whenever searches/queries are made using the long-tail keyword: “Types of technical drawing”.
Screenshot 4: average position of article whenever a specific query/search is made by users on Google
As defined by Google, the average position, which is based on searches from every part of the world, is the average position of a website in search results whenever a specific search/query (for e.g., “types of technical drawing”) is made during searches by internet users.
One important thing to always remember is that proper use and placement of keywords can make it extremely possible for content to be easily seen and accessed through all types of search engines, be it Google, Bing, WordPress.com, etc.
The performance/stats of quality and keyword-optimized articles on Google can be very inspiring and provide more insight to people who are interested in knowing the benefits of keyword search optimization.
A little bit later, we will view a brief practical example on how a combination of a keyword optimization tool website and keyword search optimization (or, keyword optimization SEO) can be applied during the writing process, and before publishing articles. The great results of such a combination usually show up long after keyword-optimized articles have been published.
Practical example: where and how to place keywords
Take a look at “Screenshots 5″ and “Screenshot 6” below:
Screenshot 5: search result showing the first 7 keywords
Screenshot 6: search result showing the 8th to 23rd keywords
Now, assume you are the person producing/writing the article, and follow the instructions below:
Think and concentrate on the exact type of article you want to write about, and write the main keyword and title down. You might not get the exact title you want at the beginning, but first, just write something important down, especially the keyword. The title should have an important specific word (or keywords). In this example, I am an affiliate marketer who wants to genuinely encourage people to sign up with WordPress.com because of the obvious benefits/advantages, and stats; so I’ve decided to write a detailed and convincing article explaining why WordPress.com is better than WordPress.org. The thing to note is that WordPress.com is the main keyword here; so go to the next step: search for other “related” keywords associated with WordPress.com searches/queries by search engine users. Generally, the aim is to create an article that will provide a higher number of people with quality information when they type various related long-tail keywords on the internet or search engines.
Type “WordPress.com” in the search box and wait a moment for the results to appear.
In “Screenshot 5”, you will notice 7 keywords arranged in decreasing order of search volume stats (which are hidden by the website) from top to bottom. It is not so important to know what the actual search volume stats are; rather, the most important information to take away from the search is that globally, the first keyword (WordPress.com themes), is the most searched keyword (or “long-tail keyword”), while “WordPress.com pricing” is the second most searched keyword, and the list continues.
If you think the first set of keywords are not too relevant to the content you want to produce, then do a better or broader job by going beyond the first 7 (or even the first 10) keywords. Look at more keywords by going further below; so take a look at “Screenshot 6” where you can see the 8th placed keyword, up to the 23rd placed one: “WordPress.com themes”, “WordPress.com dashboard”, etc.
Out of the first 5, 10, or 20 most searched keywords, select just a few that you know will be relevant to the content you want to produce for people to find, or read/view. The more keywords you select and use, the easier it will be for many people to find your articles via search engines. One of the keywords that would likely benefit a WordPress.com affiliate the most is the third most searched keyword which is “WordPress.com vs WordPress.org”. And that’s what this article is centered on, with an edge that explains the benefits of using WordPress.com, and why people should sign up.
Use the keywords in your content as subtitles and make them bold and a bit larger so that even scanners (people who hurriedly scan content) can still be attracted to one or two subtitles which can draw their attention in, and finally make them read the whole article.
Finally, write a relevant and information-rich article, and ensure that the main keywords are in each (or at least some) of the sub-titles or sub-headings.
Alternatively, you could write different articles, with each article concentrating only on one keyword—one article for one keyword. But if you choose this option, you will have to write several articles in order to cover many keywords.
Note:
In order to get the best results, use bold subtitles and make sure keywords are placed in some of them, if not all.
Make sure articles are informative, clearly expressed, and contain good grammar and punctuation (depending on the language used).
Place sufficient white space in your content because most people find it difficult to continuously read or concentrate on content that leaves no breathing space or pauses for the flow of their trending thoughts.
Be patient because, even after getting verified on Google search console, it usually takes Google time to index a site; say from somewhere between a few days, and some weeks.
Conclusion
If you use keyword optimization tool website and follow the above instructions, it will be easy to carry out keyword search & analysis, structure your internet marketing agenda, and continuously attract the broadest base of any type of audience.
Note first that it’s important to verify your site on Google Search Console in order to gain access to insightful stats that can sharpen your keyword search optimization strategy. You can do verification through your site’s WordPress.com dashboard, or here.
Because of the extra effort involved in applying keyword search optimization, most site owners, marketers, and bloggers don’t find time to optimize keywords in their content. This is not always good because the absence of keywords and keyword search optimization can negatively impact a site’s search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) status/results, respectively.
If you don’t choose and use the types of keywords that are often sought after, it might be a bit difficult for your content to be found on the wider internet base. That means lesser, little or no traffic; and lesser, little or no views, sales, and money as well—especially if, in addition to the absence of keywords, you don’t have a solid base on social media platforms.
By consistently applying keyword search optimization, and expanding your website’s database of keywords, your site traffic, views, leads and sales will always continue to grow at an optimal level.
If you are interested in reading updates on the content of this article and seeing screenshots of the positions of one of my articles on Google at 1.3, 1.2, and 1.1—1st position in 28 countries—then click the following links:
Motivation & Environment 