A keyword is a word or phrase that users use to search for the content they are interested in, such as information, goods, services, and so on. In simple terms, keywords are search queries that we make, for example, in the Google search engine. However, these search queries have a special value for the website owner, as people can find their site using them. Keywords are extremely important for search engine optimization. It is under the keywords that the content of the site is optimized so that its pages are relevant to users' queries and receive a high position in search results.
Keywords form the basis of the semantic core, that is, all the words and phrases that accurately describe the content of the site. The selection of keywords is made by analyzing and studying statistics. SEO specialists use programs that collect keywords for this purpose. For example, Google's keyword planner. First, the specialist independently determines the starting keywords that, in his opinion, can be used to search for content on the site. And then collects queries related to the starting keyword. The words must be carefully filtered, although their volume should be as large as possible to completely collect all the client queries that they can use to find the site.
Keywords can be high-frequency, medium-frequency, and low-frequency. Frequency depends on how actively users search for keywords. The higher the frequency, the more traffic can be obtained for a specific query. At the same time, there is strong competition in search results for high-frequency keywords, and it is extremely difficult to get to the top.
Keywords are also divided into varieties:
- geolocation — those that contain the name of a specific city or country in the search query;
- branded — search queries that include the name of a brand;
- navigational — when users search for a particular site or page by its name, but do not know the exact address;
- transactional — queries that users make with the intention of purchasing something, and which include words like «buy», «order» and so on;
- multimedia — queries aimed at searching for content and containing words like «photo», «video» and so on.
The main requirement for keywords is their relevance. The words must accurately correspond to the content of the site, so the generated list is very carefully checked for irrelevant samples. Without keywords, the website owner will not be able to create content that meets the interests of users and ranks high in search results.
