How to Use Keywords for SEO: 7 Best Tips

Keywords are 1 of the astir foundational parts of SEO. 

But if you don’t cognize really to usage them, you aren’t apt to look prominently successful hunt results aliases pull users to your site.

In this guide, we’ll show you really to usage keywords for SEO to thief you amplify your hunt presence.

What Are Keywords?

Keywords are hunt queries users type into Google (or different hunt engine) and correspond opportunities for you to look successful results erstwhile you person applicable contented connected your website. 

We often talk astir keywords successful 3 main categories based connected the content’s focus:

• Primary keywords: The hunt building a webpage is targeting. It’s the main taxable of the page. An article astir making a smoothie vessel could target the superior keyword “how to make a smoothie bowl.”
• Secondary keywords: Synonyms aliases long-tail variants (more circumstantial position that thin to beryllium longer) of the superior keyword. Typically, the hunt results for secondary keywords are very akin to the superior keyword because the searchers are looking for akin answers.
• Semantic keywords: Terms related to the main taxable of your webpage. If you’re targeting the superior keyword “how to make a smoothie bowl,” you could see semantic keywords specified arsenic “blender” and “frozen fruit.”

Why Is It Important to Use Keywords?

Learning really to usage keywords for SEO is important because hunt engines scan your contented for those position to determine if it’s applicable to a circumstantial query.

Let’s opportunity you waste smoothie kits.

It’s a bully thought for your corresponding merchandise page to mention this phrase. To make it much apt for Google to rank (position) your page highly successful hunt results for this keyword.

This is important for attracting visitors to your website.

Users seldom look beyond the first page of hunt results. Because they tin typically find what they request successful the first mates of results.

For example, the first integrated results connected desktop and mobile person an average click-through complaint of 22%. The 2nd position sees considerably little numbers—9% connected desktop and 13% connected mobile.

But your page shouldn’t conscionable mention this superior keyword. It should besides see secondary keywords, truthful you tin rank for much hunt position without publishing further webpages.

Semantic keywords are besides adjuvant because they awesome to hunt engines that you’ve comprehensively covered a topic. 

How to Find the Right Keywords

To find position to usage connected your site, you request to do keyword research. It’s a process that involves uncovering which queries your target assemblage is searching for.

While you tin do this manually, the astir businesslike measurement to find applicable and valuable hunt phrases is to usage a keyword investigation tool. These devices not only supply you pinch keyword ideas but besides metrics to thief you place options pinch the astir potential.

Use Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool for this.

Start by entering a seed keyword (a wide word related to your niche). And participate your website URL into the purple hunt barroom to get personalized results for your domain. 

Then, click “Search.”

The adjacent page will show a database of keywords related to your starting term. And different metrics for each.

Here’s a breakdown of cardinal metrics you should salary attraction to:

• Search intent (Intent): The intent of the user’s search. It could beryllium commercial, informational, transactional, and/or navigational. Webpages that don’t meet the hunt intent are little apt to execute precocious rankings.
• Search volume (Volume): The mean number of searches per month
• Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD %): An AI-powered metric that shows really challenging it is for your circumstantial domain to rank successful the apical 10 results for a fixed query
• SERP features (SF): These are non-standard integrated (unpaid) hunt results that guidelines retired from the accepted bluish links. Such arsenic images aliases videos.

How do you harvester these metrics successful your analysis? It depends connected what type of contented you’re creating.

Let’s opportunity you’re the proprietor of the website shown above. And you’re trying to stitchery position you tin usage successful blog content. To thrust marque consciousness and summation integrated traffic.

First, the keywords you prime request to person either informational (I) intent—the personification wants to study something—or commercialized (C) intent—the personification wants to investigation circumstantial products.

Then, purpose for keywords pinch a Personal Keyword Difficulty people betwixt 0% and 49% since it will beryllium easier to rank for those. 

When it comes to hunt volume, spell for keywords pinch astatine slightest 100 monthly searches. So you tin realistically turn integrated traffic.

Apply filters according to these specifications. 

Then, click connected a keyword you’re willing successful to study much astir it and analyse the top-ranking content.

You’ll now beryllium taken to Keyword Overview. 

Here, you tin spot your imaginable position successful hunt results. And your domain’s level of topical authority. 

Scroll down to “Keyword ideas.” And research options for secondary position to see successful your contented nether “Keyword variations.” 

Continue scrolling to the “SERP Analysis” section. Which shows a database of the top-ranking webpages. 

Make judge to sojourn each of these pages and analyse their contented to spot really you tin outdo it. And find semantic position worthy including. 

Finding suitable keywords mightiness return immoderate proceedings and correction depending connected your manufacture and SEO goals. So, play astir pinch different filters, excavation into keyword variations, and see your audience’s needs to get the champion results.

7 Places to Use Keywords successful Your Content

The main norm of keyword usage is that you should incorporated keywords naturally. 

But location are besides immoderate places wherever you should incorporated keywords to make it easier for users and hunt motor crawlers to understand what your contented is about.

1. Title and H1 Tags

When hunt motor bots crawl your webpage, they scan some the title tag (HTML that specifies the page title for hunt engines and browsers) and the H1 tag (HTML that specifies the title connected the existent webpage) to analyse what the contented is about.

The title tag and H1 should beryllium akin aliases the same.

Why?

Because title tags often look successful hunt results. So, a personification will beryllium confused if they click connected a consequence and spell to a webpage pinch a different title.

Here’s what an optimized title tag and H1 tag look for illustration (assuming the title tag is showing successful hunt results):

Your superior keyword should look successful the title and H1 tag—preferably adjacent the front. So the page title instantly grabs users' attention.

And support it nether 60 characters, including spaces. To forestall Google from truncating it successful hunt results.

2. Headings and Subheadings

Headings and subheadings (H2-H6) break up your contented into sections to make it easier for users to navigate and to thief hunt motor crawlers amended understand your content. 

This makes subheadings awesome places to incorporated immoderate secondary keywords you want to rank for.

Here’s an illustration of a bad (left) article building pinch nary headings and a bully (right) article building that does see them:

The article connected the near is difficult to skim. And it doesn’t fto users cognize what benignant of accusation it covers. 

But the article connected the correct lays retired each the cardinal accusation upfront. And allows the personification to skip to the sections they’re astir willing in.

When structuring your article, support successful mind that each heading should screen a focal constituent related to the main topic. Any subtopics related to a circumstantial focal constituent should look arsenic subheadings.

For example, the H3s nether the H2 “7-Day Vegan Diet Plan” screen different days of the week. If we were to see an H3 that talks astir the benefits of a vegan fare nether that H2, it would beryllium retired of place.

3. Main Body Content

Your primary, secondary, and semantic keywords should look people passim your page’s main assemblage content. This is simply a awesome to users and hunt motor crawlers that your webpage is applicable to a circumstantial query.

A bully norm of thumb is to mention the superior keyword successful the first paragraph. So users tin easy understand what the page is about.

But is location a circumstantial number of times you should mention the superior keyword? 

The short reply is no.

You whitethorn person heard of keyword density—the number of times a target keyword appears connected a webpage comparative to really agelong the contented is. And you mightiness deliberation achieving a definite density is important to execute precocious rankings.

This is simply a misconception—keyword density isn’t a ranking factor. Instead, support your keyword usage natural.

4. Anchor Text

Anchor text is the clickable transcript that takes you to different page, a different website, aliases an email client. 

When linking to different pages connected your site, it’s a bully thought to usage the linked pages’ keywords arsenic anchor text.

Why nexus to different pages connected your site?

Because doing truthful helps users observe related contented they whitethorn beryllium willing in. Plus, it makes it easier for hunt engines to find pages connected your site. 

When it comes to anchor matter specifically, effort to limit it to 5 words. And make judge not to usage the nonstop aforesaid anchor matter each time. Instead, operation superior and secondary keywords.

For example, you tin usage the anchor matter “identical content” to nexus to a webpage targeting the keyword “duplicate content.”

This gives hunt motor crawlers much accusation astir the contented of the webpage and prevents your website from appearing overly optimized.

5. Image Alt Tags

Alternative text (alt matter for short) is an HTML constituent that describes a circumstantial image connected a page and is publication aloud by surface readers and shows connected the page if the image doesn’t load.

Search motor crawlers usage alt matter to find what an image is about. Which intends incorporating your superior aliases secondary keywords successful alt tags tin thief you look successful image-based hunt results to get moreover much postulation to your website.

Beyond SEO benefits, alt tags are important for accessibility. Visually impaired group who usage surface readers trust connected them to understand what the images connected a webpage portray.

For example, if you people a blog station targeting the keyword “carrot cake”, you tin besides adhd images of carrot cakes and see this keyword successful alt tags.

Here’s an illustration of really 1 website did it:

The aforesaid photograph besides appears successful Google Images hunt results for the target keyword.

Keep successful mind that you don’t request to supply alt matter for ornamental images, specified arsenic schematic illustrations that don’t convey immoderate information.

As for really agelong it should be, location isn’t a circumstantial recommendation. But it’s wise to support it to 125 characters because of surface scholar limitations.

6. URL Slug

A URL slug is the past portion of a URL that acts arsenic a page identifier. And this is simply a premier spot to see a page’s superior keyword.

Google has confirmed that a URL’s words are a “lightweight” ranking factor, peculiarly erstwhile encountering a portion of contented for the first time. 

Plus, utilizing your target keyword successful the URL slug is beneficial from a personification acquisition standpoint. If a personification sends personification other the link, the different personification will instantly cognize what the page is astir and whitethorn beryllium much apt to click connected the link.

A bully believe is to support the slug shorter than 5 words while providing capable accusation astir the contented whenever possible. 

For example, a slug specified arsenic “/best-family-hotels-in-rhodes” is overmuch amended than “/best-hotels-for-families-with-kids-in-rhodes.”

7. Meta Description

A meta description is an HTML constituent that provides a little (one aliases 2 sentences) explanation of the webpage content.

Although it isn’t a ranking factor, it’s still a awesome spot to usage your superior keyword to entice users to sojourn your page.

Sometimes, Google features meta descriptions successful the little snippets that look successful hunt results for illustration the 1 below. But it mightiness make its ain snippet.

Although there’s nary characteristic limit for meta descriptions, Google cuts them disconnected astatine astir 680 pixels (roughly 105 characters) connected mobile browsers.

It’s besides a bully thought to front-load the astir important accusation successful your meta description. To make judge it’s visible and debar having it get trim disconnected if your meta explanation gets truncated.

Common Keyword Use Mistakes to Avoid

Now that you cognize really to usage keywords for SEO, it’s clip to spell complete mistakes you should debar to further boost your chances of ranking highly.

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is simply a bad SEO maneuver that involves unnaturally adding arsenic galore keywords arsenic imaginable to a webpage successful an effort to manipulate hunt results.

Not only is keyword stuffing a usurpation of Google’s spam policies, but it besides doesn’t activity because of Google’s 2011 algorithm update.

Modern hunt algorithms are precocious capable to understand erstwhile a webpage is irrelevant to a hunt query—even if it mentions a circumstantial keyword.

If you’re wondering really galore keywords to usage for SEO, location isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. As we discussed earlier—keyword density isn’t a ranking factor. 

But engaging successful keyword stuffing will almost surely wounded your rankings.

Ignoring Search Intent

Fulfilling hunt intent is important because hunt engines want to supply adjuvant results. 

To do so, they analyse the user’s intent and supply results that lucifer it.

Keywords are typically grouped into 1 aliases much types of hunt intent: informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial. And ignoring a keyword’s hunt intent causes mediocre hunt performance.

This is existent moreover if your page is different well-optimized for your superior keyword.

Here’s an example.

You want to target the commercialized keyword “womens dresses pinch pockets.” But alternatively of targeting it pinch a commercialized webpage (such arsenic a merchandise page), you constitute a blog station astir really to sew a dress pinch pockets.

No matter the value of the article, it isn't apt it will rank for the target keyword. Because it serves an informational intent alternatively of a commercialized one.

No Keyword Strategy

A keyword strategy is simply a scheme that determines the keywords you purpose to rank for, the contented you’ll target them with, and the privilege of individual keywords.

A strategy allows you to find and target keywords pinch the highest business imaginable that thief you execute a circumstantial goal. Such arsenic expanding conversions.

So alternatively of targeting keywords astatine random, you’ll put your resources successful keywords pinch the highest imaginable ROI (return connected investment).

With a strategy, it’s besides easier to measurement results and tweak your attack arsenic needed.

Use Keywords to Grow Traffic

To summation your website’s integrated traffic, you request to prime keywords carefully. Then usage them strategically connected your website.

With a Semrush subscription, you’ll get countless keyword suggestions to turn your rankings. And you’ll summation entree to position tracking, competitor analysis, and different devices to further boost your results.

Sign up for a free trial and trial thrust our full suite of SEO tools.