A keyword is a word or phrase used by a person when searching.. The keyword(s) must appear more prominently on a particular webpage. Examples of keywords: “volcano”, “solar”, “car rental”, “iPhone 16 price”, “iPhone vs Samsung”, “Effects of volcanoes on the environment”.
Types of keywords
They’re two types of keywords: short-term and long-term keywords.
Short-tail keywords
Short-tail keywords or “head” terms are single-worded terms without much detail.
Examples: “iPhone”, “volcano”, “car rental” etc.
Pros of head keywords
- High search volumes leading to more traffic.
- More website authority from backlinks
Cons
- Highly competitive
- May be difficult to determine the type of search intent (more on that later). For example, the above photo for “iPhone” search is not specific; is the person looking to buy an iPhone or want to read about iPhones?, hence Google shows the Apple website and Wikipedia.
- Can bring less qualified traffic; people with a low-buying potential
Long-tailed keywords
Long-tailed keywords are specific and detailed search queries.
Examples: “iPhone 16 price”, “How volcanoes alter the environment”, “Honda fit rental price per day”
Pros
- Less competition; you can easily rank on the first page.
- You get the right traffic more likely to convert.
- Can make your website authority in a specific niche
Cons
- Low traffic volumes due to few searches.
- Can be difficult to find
Keyword Intent
Keyword (or search) intent refers to the reason behind a search. Certain words in search queries hint at what a person is looking for.
There are mainly 4 types of search intent:
Informational intent: The searcher is looking for information on a particular topic. Words like “How” and “What” are common.
Examples: “How do volcanoes form”, “”iPhone 16 specs”, “What is weathering”, “Rocks”
Navigational intent: The searcher is looking for a particular page on a specific website.
Examples: “Facebook login”, “Gmail login”, “UZ student portal”
Commercial intent: The searcher exploring products and services to buy.
Examples: “iPhone vs Samsung”, “iPhone 16 reviews”
Transactional intent: The searcher is looking to buy a product or service.
Examples: “iPhone 16 price”, “Buy iPhone 16”, “solar panels for sale”, “car rental services near me”
How keywords affect SEO
Keywords are important in ranking a website on the first page as they tell search engines what the page is all about.
How (where) to find keywords
Here are the Free tools and methods you can use to find keywords.
- Know your industry in and out, and what people are searching for. Get in forums and groups and observe what people are asking.
- Manual search: Insert a head term, e.g. “car rental” on Google/Bing and analyse the autocomplete or “People also ask” section for keyword ideas.
- Ahrefs keyword generator
- Wordstream keyword finder
- Keyword.io long-tailed keywords generator
How to apply keywords
Keywords must be placed naturally on a page. Don’t stuff keywords by overplacing or putting them in places they don’t belong .
Put your keywords naturally in the title, meta description, h1, and the first paragraph of content.
They should also appear more than once in the body if they’re short keywords; for long-tailed keywords it would sound repetitive and unnatural.
Conclusion
Keywords are crucial for ranking a website as they signal search engines what the page is all about.
FAQs
Where to place keywords?
You should place keywords naturally in the title, meta description, first paragraph, and body.
What is keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing is the practice of placing keywords unnaturally on a page to rank high in searches.
Can keyword stuffing result in a penalty
Yes, you can get banned on search engines like Google and Bing for stuffing keywords.
