Search engine optimization (SEO) is a way to improve your company’s search engine ranking organically. Using the correct keywords can help enhance this. Keywords are typically a word or short phrase that you use to attract users to your website. People will type these keywords into a search engine in hopes of finding a solution to their problem or gathering more information on a topic.

For example, someone might type in how to change a car tire and automotive blogs can pop up explaining how to change tires. These blogs are using keywords to bring readers to them. The same can be said for other industries and businesses.

Below, we dive deeper into these keywords and how you can utilize them for your business.

Keyword Significance

The reason keywords are so important is because they are a way to drive targeted traffic to your website for free. You can pay to be more competitive with keywords, but you can also be successful without spending money. When used correctly, keywords can significantly enhance your online presence.

Keywords are different from search queries. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. A search query is what a user types in a search engine while the keyword is the word or phrase taken from the query. From the previous example of the automotive blog, the search query is “how to change a car tire” and the keyword could be car tire.

Keyword Types

There are two main types of keywords, broad and long tail. Broad keywords are terms that can be used across the industry such as shoe, car, hair, etc. Long tail keywords are three to four word phrases that get more specific about a topic such as black leather jacket, 2017 red Nissan, and more. Long tail is easier to rank for because you’re not competing with as many businesses over these terms and the conversion rate is higher.

Keyword Tools

Due to the importance of keywords, it requires research to ensure you’re using the correct phrases. To find these keywords, there are some free tools and methods to make it easier.

Adwords Keyword Planner. The keyword planner is a free resource from Google that helps you build a strong keyword list. To use the tool, you must have an Adwords account, which is free to create. Most businesses use the planner because they will bid on keywords and use them in their PPC campaigns, but you can use the tool to enhance your marketing strategy outside of these campaigns.

The planner lets you know how certain keywords will perform, creating new lists, and gives you ideas for additional keywords. You can type in a website URL and the planner will generate some ideas of keywords to use.

You can also see monthly search volume, data based on location, specific language, competitive rank and more. Depending on your needs, you can gather in depth, valuable information for free with the planner. There are plenty of SEO tools, but I suggest starting with the one that Google created. They are the ones who will be ranking your terms, so it makes sense to use their tools.

Google Trends: This tool might be one of the most versatile, free tools for SEO. It does just as the name states and gives you information on the trends through Google. Google Trends provides you with how often a term is searched in comparison to all of the searches on Google. The home page provides featured interests and trending stories for the day. When exploring different topics these can be segmented This can be segmented into, topic, region and time. You will also be given related topics and queries.

These segments can be used for SEO strategy.

• Geo Targeting: The location segment allows you to see where searches are taking place such as country, state, etc. This can be valuable if you’re focusing on local seo strategy and looking into certain markets.
• Ride the Wave: After searching popular terms, you can ride the wave of these searches and create content that can generate media coverage for your business as well. If the term can be related to your business, it’s worth trying to ride the wave.

Research terms, write about it and share the story through the appropriate channels. This could be social media or other platforms. Use trending hashtags and get your content out there for others to see. This is an easy way to jump on another topic and garner free traffic.