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What Do SEO Keywords Mean?
Sharon Muniz 
April 12, 2022
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What Do SEO Keywords Mean?
Today, people use the internet to find products and services that meet their needs. This means that if you want prospective customers to find your business online, your site needs to rank by SEO keywords in search engines for the words and phrases they’re searching for.
In the SEO industry, these words and phrases are referred to as keywords, and they are important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But what exactly do keywords mean? And why are they important?
We will answer these questions and more in this post.
What Are SEO Keywords?
A keyword is a word or phrase linked to a piece of information or content on a website. Keywords often feature a primary keyword plus a set of keywords associated with it logically and semantically.
Basically, keywords are the terms (words or phrases) entered by individuals into search engines when searching for a website or information. Search engines depend on keywords to understand what your website is all about. This way, they can provide users with the information that they need and are searching for. By adding SEO keywords to your content, you can increase the chances of your content ranking for those terms and get displayed in the search results.
Website owners and content creators have to do keywords research to identify the terms people are actually searching for in a niche or industry. That’s because relevant keywords increase the chance of customers finding your content in their search results.
There are two types of SEO keywords you need to know about.
Short-tail Keywords
Short-tail keywords often contain one to three words, such as “Dog” or “Used truck”. Website owners and content creators use these keywords to generate a broad appeal. Usually, they have extremely high search volume, meaning most users search for them every month.
These keywords can help you get your site and content in front of as many prospective customers as possible. But remember, short-tail keywords have high competition. Therefore, ranking among the top five search results on Google for these keywords might prove difficult, especially if your website is new.
Companies that have been using SEO for years can benefit a lot from targeting short-tail keywords. However, if you are just starting a small business in Virginia, you’re better off with long-tail keywords.
Long-tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords contain up to ten words or even more. For example, “best guard dog breeds for families with kids” is a long-tail keyword.
These keywords have lower search volume, unlike short-tail keywords. This means less competition, so new businesses have a better chance of ranking for them. Also, long-tail keywords’ intent tends to be clearer so you can zero in on your target group.
Why Are SEO Keywords Important?
Your site’s ability to rank well on search engines depends on a lot of factors, and SEO keywords are one of them. Without these terms, search engine crawlers will have a hard time understanding what your content is all about. That reduces your website’s ability to attract organic traffic.
Search engines like Google and Bings work by marching a user’s search query available indexed pages. When crawling and indexing pages, search engine crawlers or bots visit a webpage, extract the needed information, and include it in their index. They later use the information during the matching or ranking process when somebody clicks search.
SEO keywords are among the extracted information from web pages. If the extracted keywords match the users’ query, the crawlers will display your page in the search results.
Therefore, keywords help search engines to provide users with the information they need. SEO Keywords are also important in different phases of the link-building process.
Final Thoughts
The right SEO keywords will help you rank higher in google search results, boost your web traffic and increase your conversion rates. Plus, they provide you with an opportunity to better connect with visitors interested in your product, service, or information. Because of this, it’s crucial to conduct SEO keyword research to select the right words and phrases for your website.
References
https://moz.com/learn/seo/what-are-keywords
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