Community
844 viewsIn this wide world of SEO, keywords are used to rank in the SERPs for desired search queries. They are integral to every SEO strategy, and one cannot do without them.
So, what are keywords?
Keywords are the terms or words that a user inputs in the search bar to find information about or related to it.
If you type ‘best keyword research tool’ in the search box, then ‘best keyword research tool’ would be a keyword.
And interestingly, you’d find a lot of web pages in the SERPs using it:
So, having a clear understanding of keywords and the terms that are associated with them is essential.
To start with, let’s discuss search volume, difficulty or competition, and CPC of keywords.
1. Search Volume
Search Volume of a keyword is the number of times it is being searched on a search engine within a time frame and in a particular location.
It throws light on the number of people searching for a keyword, thereby its demand.
Using our keyword research tool, you can easily find the search volume of keywords and the keyword suggestions generated by the tool.
You can even check the search volume from time to time as it is dynamic and keeps updating frequently.
2. Difficulty or Competiton
Difficulty (or competition) of a keyword measures how tough it is to rank for that keyword.
It is determined by the quantity and quality of backlinks of the top ten search results for a keyword.
The higher the difficulty, the harder it is to rank for that keyword. Also, just like search volume, keywords’ difficulty keeps changing with time.
3. Competitive Density
Competitive Density of a keyword represents the number of advertisers that target that keyword in paid search. It is measured in a range from 0 to 1.
If the number is closer to 1, it means that a high number of advertisers are bidding on this keyword.
4. Cost-Per-Click
Cost-Per-Click of a keyword is the amount advertisers pay for each click on their advertisement running on that keyword.
High CPC indicates that the keyword is extremely popular among the advertisers, and the campaign might be costly.
Keyword CPC also keeps fluctuating; you can check it using our keyword research tool.
Based on the CPC, you can select keywords for your paid campaigns.
5. Seed Keywords
Seed Keywords are the short-tail keywords fed to the keyword research tools to generate keyword suggestions.
These keywords generally have high monthly search volumes and high competition. So, it is not easy to rank for them.
However, they sprout other relatively easier keywords to rank and optimise for.
You can also enter the seed keyword in the Google search box to generate keyword suggestions.
Here’s what we get for the seed keyword ‘Rankwatch’:
6. Search Intent
Search Intent describes the objective of an online search. It is the what and why behind any search query.
Search engines use search intent to understand what a user is looking for and provide more relevant results.
Broadly, there are 4 types of search intent:
- Informational
- Navigational
- Transactional
- Commercial
7. Transactional Intent
Transactional intent refers to the user’s goal of making a purchase, which is reflected in the search query.
Keyword phrases that include words like “buy”, “discount”, “coupon”, “price”, etc., are examples of search queries with transactional intent.
They tell the search engines that the user plans to put money into something. Accordingly, they will display buying options in the search results.
Just like this:
8. Commercial Intent
Commercial Intent is the user’s aim of researching a product or service with the chance of turning into a lead or a customer.
For instance, a user searches for ‘best phones under 15000’. This search query intends to compare different phones available in the market (commercial intent). Later, the user might buy a phone which costs 15000 or less.
For such queries, the organic search results might be listicle format articles or review videos:
9. Navigational Intent
Navigational Intent hints that the user is familiar with what they are looking for; they just want to get there quickly and easily.
When the user is looking for a specific page, domain, or address, their search queries have a navigational intent. For example, ‘twitter login’, ‘italian restaurants near me’, ‘london airport directions’, etc.
Search engines shuffle their search results a bit to tackle navigational queries:
10. Informational Intent
Informational Intent is the user’s objective of gaining some specific knowledge or details about a topic.
For example, a user searches for “garlic sauce”, wishing to learn how to make garlic sauce and looking for related information.
Sensing this informational intent, search engines will display recipes in the organic search results.
Similarly, for other queries with informational intent, search engines display results from the “WH” family i.e. What, Where, Who, When, Why and How?
11. Branded Keywords
Branded Keywords are the searches or queries on a search engine that include a brand, company, or business.
For example, the search query “rankwatch free tools” is a branded keyword and would contain search results from the RankWatch website.
Other branded keyword examples are apple airpods, rayban sunglasses, vero moda jacket, etc.
12. Geo-Targeted Keywords
Geo-targeted keywords are location-based search queries. They focus on location and often include it in the phrase like this:
Search engines prioritize local businesses in the search results for geo-specific search queries related to businesses.
Try searching for ‘business schools in united states’, ‘cafe in johannesburg’, or ‘plumbing services in new york’, and you’ll see local businesses rising to the top in search results.
13. Negative Keywords
Negative Keywords is a PPC advertising filter that helps advertisers to prevent showing ads on certain specific keywords.
Advertisers can exclude keywords from their campaigns and focus on the ones that give them maximum results.
For example, you are advertising your car repair service, and you don’t want to show ads for bike repair service.
In this case, you can mark ‘bike repair service’ (and related phrases) as a negative keyword.
14. Long-Tail Keywords
Long-Tail keywords are phrases made of three or more words. They are more specific, have relatively lower competition, and give the top-niche search results.
For example, ‘my experiments with truth book price on amazon’ and ‘washing machine top load samsung’ are long-tail keywords.
Having a long-tail keywords strategy enhances your SEO and drives better results.
15. Meta Title
Meta Title is the text that appears in blue color in the SERPs and on the browser tabs when a page opens. It tells the user and search engines what a web page is all about.
16. Meta Description
Meta Description is an HTML element that describes and summarises the content of a page in around 155 characters.
It helps the user and search engines to understand the context and content of a web page.
17. Keyword Stuffing
Keyword Stuffing is the practice of loading a webpage with multiple keywords to manipulate a website’s rankings on Google.
Loading up your content with lots of keywords symbolizes that a site focuses more on its rankings than on the readers.
However, keyword stuffing should be avoided as the new search algorithms penalize it and drop the site’s rankings in the SERPs.
18. Keyword Research
Keyword Research is the process of finding suitable and most profitable keywords for a site or a web page to achieve desired goals.
The keywords are used strategically to build up the relevancy of the content and rank the site or web page high on SERPs.
One of the most efficient ways to conduct keyword research is to use a free keyword research tool. It will generate a pool of keyword suggestions within seconds!
19. Keyword Cannibalization
Keyword Cannibalization is a scenario where too many identical keywords are present throughout the website.
It confuses the search engines, resulting in low rankings, irrelevant rankings, and ranking multiple pages for the same keyword.
Therefore, keyword cannibalization should be avoided at all costs.
20. Keyword Density
Keyword Density is the number of times a particular keyword appears on a web page.
Essentially, it helps search engines understand the context of the web page and rank it accordingly.
Maintaining a fairly good keyword density throughout the web page is important to achieve desired results.
But overdoing keyword use in the content might lead to stuffing and must be avoided. Stay careful!
Summing Up
Keywords are very important for SEO. Finding the right keywords and using them in the right way is crucial for the success of your SEO campaigns.
So, every beginner should know all the terms related to them beforehand.
With this post, you’d be able to learn more about keywords and kickstart your SEO journey with confidence.
If there is any term related to keywords that you would like us to add in this blog, let us know in the comment section below.
Share Your Thoughts