Why Are Keywords So Important to SEO?
What is a Keyword in Digital Marketing?
A keyword refers to a group of words that are used by a user to search for a product or service that they need in search engines.
Having these keywords in the right places on your website means you can show up in search results when these keywords are searched.
If your website says “Pet Supplies in Brighton” and someone searches for that keyword, you can show up in the search results.
Why are Keywords Important for Digital Marketing?
A keyword’s job is to connect information you provide with the person searching for that information - they’re the tether between you and your customers.
Every time someone searches for your brand the keyword they search is linked to the keyword on your website; without them, you can’t be found.
You likely already have keywords on your website, but by placing them purposefully in H1s and H2s you turn them into a strategy - and remember, there’s a difference between your website being “keyword rich” and “keyword stuffed,” if you use too many keywords close to each other, Google can lower your ranking.
Knowing all that, it’s time to go over exactly HOW you turn keywords into a strategy, and the different kinds of keywords you need to be aware of.
How Keywords and User Journey Connect:
What is A User Journey?
Put yourself in the shoes of your customer; when you’re looking for a product or service, you go through different stages before deciding which to purchase.
The stages are:
Awareness, Consideration, Conversion, and Retention.
(We’ll go into more detail on them later on, don’t worry!)
Depending on what you’re trying to achieve and where your audience is on their journey relevant to that, the keywords you use can change entirely.
It’s best to have your user journey in mind when thinking about the keywords you want to rank for and include on your website.
Targeting Audiences with Keywords
If you know your audience and the journey they go through before making a purchase from you, you can reach them at multiple points on that journey, making them more likely to choose you over competitors.
Your audience may have a segment of 25-35 year old women on a good income who own cats; knowing that you can think about what kind of searches they would make at different stages of their journey, and target them directly.
For example, someone searching for “cat collars” isn’t looking for a specific brand, they’re just trying to see what kind of collars are available to purchase - they are at the “awareness” stage. Now is your chance to attract them and make your brand stand out among others, and if you know what segment of your audience you’re targeting, you can use keywords that are relevant specifically to them.
Explicit vs Implicit Searcher Intent:
An “Explicit Searcher” is looking for up to date, relevant information, has specific concerns and specific searches, and is likely about to make a purchasing decision - they know what they want to find.
These searchers are at the consideration/conversion stage of the user journey, they know what they want to find and mostly know where to go to purchase that product or service already.
An example of explicit search intent is: “Breakaway cat collar for kittens.”
The searcher is looking for a specific product, but they are still deciding where to purchase that from.
An “Implicit Searcher” doesn’t really know what they’re looking for. They’re getting a feel for the market and the brands within it, but aren’t about to make a purchase yet.
These searchers are at the awareness stage of the user journey, simply investigating options and deciding whether a purchase is necessary or not.
An example of implicit search intent is: “do I need a breakaway collar for my cat?”
The searcher is simply investigating a topic, but may still make a purchase once they’ve done more research.
Implicit and explicit searcher intent can be determined by a lot of variables, including the location and device they’re searching from, and the same search can change between the two depending on those variables - that’s why it’s important to know your user journey ahead of time.
What Kind of Keywords Can You Use in Digital Marketing?
Primary and Secondary Keywords
Primary keywords can also be referred to as focus or target keywords - these are the most important keywords for your website that describe your business, products or services.
Secondary keywords can also be referred to as tertiary or supporting keywords - these include all other keywords that you’re targeting.
For example, a primary keyword could be “cat collar,” and secondary keywords that associate with that could be “green,” “safety,” or “bell.”
Branded and Unbranded Keywords
Branded keywords, shockingly, include your brand name in the search. It can also include misspellings, branded acronyms, or even campaign taglines if that’s something relevant to you.
For example, “Pets At Home” is a branded keyword.
Unbranded keywords pretty much include everything else - like a problem the customer is facing, or a business service or offer.
For example, “cat supplies” is an unbranded keyword.
User Journey Phase Keywords
These keywords target customers at pivotal points in the user journey, and can make the difference between a lead turning into a conversion or not - these are really important, as they create a funnel that you can track and adjust as you go.
They may be action orientated, like providing extra information or expert content that builds awareness and trust between your business and a user, or they may simply be placed in copy on pages with relevant products or services.
To connect these to the user journey, let’s look at some examples:
Awareness: “What’s the difference between a normal cat collar and a breakaway collar?”
Consideration: “Do I need a breakaway collar?” or “breakaway cat collar reviews.”
Conversion: “Breakaway cat collar with bell.”
Retention: “Pets At Home cat collars.”
Global and Local Keywords
A local search term can mean that either the searcher is looking for something in their immediate area, like “pet supplies store near me,” or that they are likely to visit a specific location, like “pet supplies store Brighton.”
Global keywords refer to any keywords with no location attached, like “pet supplies store.”
Local keywords are incredibly important if you run a business with a physical location or that operates in a specific geographic region - they help you reach customers who can actually use your services. They can help you appear on the Map Pack on Google, and make you more likely to appear on a search results page than a large franchised corporation; that’s something you want to take advantage of!
Seed and Page-Specific Keywords
Seed keywords are the basic batch of keywords that you start with.
You can come up with these yourself based off of user journey, or use something like Google Keyword Planner to find them. These keywords branch off and allow you to find other, more specific keywords later down the line.
Page-Specific keywords are more drilled down and niche; they’re relevant to an individual page of your website, but wouldn’t necessarily describe your website as a whole. You’ll likely have a few of these to start with, and then you’ll find more throughout your research and by using seed keywords.
An example of a seed keyword: “pet supplies store.”
A page-specific example: “cat collars,” “dog collars,” or “pet beds.”
Head and Long-Tail Keywords
The easiest way to remember these names is that a head keyword will have high search volumes, and long-tail keywords have low search volumes.
The names actually come from the shape of the graph, with a small number of high searches and a huge number of low searches - thinking about these graphs might be intimidating, but the more you use and research keywords the more used to them you get.
The majority of searches are considered “long-tail,” due to how many new searches are made on Google everyday. You’re more likely to be the first person to search for something than you think!
Head keywords come with high search volumes which means lots of eyes, but it also means lots of competition and less clear intent - aiming for the right long-tail keywords can get you far more conversions even though it’s reaching fewer people.
The more specific a search, the more specific it’s intent, the easier it is to create content that’s exactly what they’re searching for.
For example, someone searching “pets” could be looking for a bunch of different things, so aiming your keywords to rank for that isn’t a great idea, even without the enormous competition. Trying to rank for “where can I buy cat collars?” may seem really specific, but in reality your pet supply store is answering that long-tail search far more accurately.
Application
To get an idea of the best way to apply the different keywords, take a look at our On-Page SEO Guide.
Otherwise, we’ve covered it all! You should now have a better understanding of how keywords affect SEO and how to use them to your advantage.
If you’re still struggling to get your head around it all, why not reach out for a consultation?
