How to Target Keywords - SEO 101

You can't do SEO without keyword targeting. It's an essential part of on-page search engine optimisation (SEO).

Keywords can make a huge impact on your search engine rankings. 

By targeting relevant keywords on your site, you can increase your online visibility. You can also drive more organic traffic.

Targeting keywords also helps you stay connected to your target audience.

In this article, we'll talk about how to target keywords. We'll also go through different strategies, tools, and best practices for keyword opportunities.

⭐ Why Is Keyword Targeting Important for SEO?

Keyword targeting consists of two steps. 

The first step includes researching keywords relevant to your products or services. 

The second step is to add them to your website and content.

The goal is to increase your rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). Ranking well in organic search results is very important. If you want to drive traffic to your site, keyword targeting is the way to do it.

Your job is to optimise your content around specific keywords. Search engines will then recognise the relevance of your content to those keywords. As a result, the search engines will display the web page higher in SERPs.

Here are the most important reasons why you should target keywords on your website:

• Higher search engine results
• Increased traffic potential
• More opportunities for inbound links
• Growing brand perception
• A better understanding of user intent
• Cost-efficient compared to pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns

Keyword targeting informs Google crawlers and internet users what a website offers. This, in turn, helps rank sites higher on SERPs. It drives more traffic and increases conversions as a result.

📌 How to Target Keywords for SEO?

Targeted keywords are words and phrases your target audience searches for. They use Google and other search engines to do this.

A target keyword can be a word or a phrase. They range in keyword density or search volume, keyword difficulty, and length.

We can divide keyword targeting for SEO into five steps:

1. Doing keyword research
2. Identifying relevant and high-volume keywords
3. Analysing keyword competitiveness
4. Adding keywords to your website's content
5. Adjusting your keyword strategy over time

🔎 Doing Effective Keyword Research

To effectively target keywords for SEO, the first step is to do keyword research. 

Keyword research allows businesses to understand what their audience is searching for online. It also tells them how they can optimise their content accordingly.

Quality keyword research provides further insights into accurate brand and product keywords. It also gives us information about searcher behaviour. We can find out which keywords are competitive by volume and page rank.

By using targeted keywords, you can align your content with what users are searching for. Doing this ensures that those keywords match their search intent. 

This improves user experience. The chances of users finding value in your content will be higher.

It can lead to better engagement, conversions, and customer satisfaction.

SEO strategists usually start by brainstorming a list of relevant topics. These topics must be important to the business and its target audience. 

The next step is to research specific keywords. You can do this with keyword research tools, such as:

• Ahrefs
• SEMrush
• Google Keyword Planner
• Moz Keyword Planner
• Google Trends
• Serpstat
• Long Tail Pro

These apps come with many useful tools. For instance, the keyword magic tool, keyword gap tool, keyword overview, and keyword manager. 

They can also generate a list of keywords you can use in new and existing content.

🧲 Identifying Relevant and High-Volume Keywords

Make sure to choose relevant keywords. They should reflect what your business has to offer.

Google will look at those keywords when ranking your site in search results. 

This process involves finding keywords related to your business. They should be keywords potential customers frequently search for.

When choosing which keywords to target, relevant keywords are the best. They shouldn't be too competitive. Your target keyword should also summarise what a specific web page is about.

One way to find relevant and high-volume keywords is with research tools. They allow businesses to use a seed keyword to get a list of similar keywords.

They will also be able to analyse important metrics, such as:

1. Monthly search volume (MSV)
2. Level of competition
3. Difficulty score
4. Cost per click (CPC)

Targeting high-traffic keywords may not always be the best strategy for every business. Popular keywords may not always be the best keywords for your website.

In some cases, long-tail keywords may be better suited for smaller or niche businesses. These are keywords that consist of three or more words. They're less competitive than more common keywords.

Use a mix of head terms (shorter, more general phrases) and long-tail terms. This provides a balance between attracting a larger audience and meeting specific user needs.

📊 Analysing Keyword Competitiveness

Some keywords are more popular than others. You need to be careful about which keywords you’re using, as some might be harder to rank for.

Since there are so many sites and blogs on the internet, most keywords are highly competitive. All those sites are competing with you for visibility and traffic. 

Keyword targeting allows you to optimise your content in a strategic way. In other words, it helps you stand out from your competitors.

Analysing competitor websites can offer valuable insights into what strategies they're using. This information can help improve your own SEO strategy. 

It can also help you identify areas where you might gain an advantage.

There are different methods you can use to analyse keyword competitiveness, including:

• Using SERPs. Do a manual search on search engines. You can use the target keyword and analyse the top-ranking pages. You'll be able to assess their quality, relevance, and authority.
• Keyword research tools. Use a keyword research tool like Moz Keyword Explorer, SEMrush, or Ahrefs. 
• Backlink analysis. Backlinks are crucial for SEO and can impact keyword competitiveness. Analyse the backlink profiles of top-ranking pages. Use backlink analysis tools to do this.
• Content gap analysis. Review the existing content related to the target keyword on your site. You can do the same for your competitors' websites.
• Search volume. Balancing search volume and competitiveness is important. You'll be able to identify keywords that have a reasonable level of competition.

Keep in mind that tracking how competitive keywords are is a long process. It's not a one-time task.

▶️ Adding Keywords to the Website's Content

Now that you know which keywords to target on your website, let's see where you can put them. This step is all about strategic placement.

You can provide search engines with clear signals about the focus of your content. This enhances how search engines see your site and its content.

Here are the best places to add SEO keywords:

1. Body content
2. Page titles
3. Headings
4. URLs
5. Meta descriptions
6. Images and image Alt attributes
7. Internal and external links
8. Ad copy

When it comes to body content, you can add relevant keywords to a blog post, landing page, home page, or other pages. Remember, the goal is to incorporate keywords naturally.

The most important location to include target keywords is the website's metadata. This includes the title tag, meta description, and URL. 

Placing keywords in page titles and headings is always a good idea. You can add them to the beginning of the line, which can yield even better results.

Another effective strategy is internal linking.

Use anchor text with relevant keywords when linking related pages on your site. This way, you can help improve both user experience and SEO. You'll make it easier for visitors and search engines to navigate your site.

✅ Adjusting Your Keyword Strategy Over Time

It's very important to keep track of your keyword strategy over time. You may also need to adjust it for the best results. 

This will help you keep your site at the top of search results. A well-crafted strategy can lead to increased organic traffic. You'll also see higher dwell time and more conversions.

It's essential to remember that search algorithms are always evolving. A successful keyword-targeting strategy today may not be as effective tomorrow.

If you want to keep going, you have to track and adjust your strategy. To do this, you must keep up with changes in search engine algorithms and user behaviour. 

This requires ongoing research into relevant keywords. You also have to analyse how well they perform over time.

By tracking metrics, you can figure out which ones are driving the most valuable traffic. 

Important metrics include click-through rates, bounce rates, and conversion rates for specific keywords.

You can use various free tools to improve your strategy. These include Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

❌ Keyword Stuffing and Other Black Hat Techniques

There are many keyword strategies you can use to improve your SEO. But, there are certain techniques that you should never use. These are called black hat techniques.

Black hat SEO techniques include:

• Keyword stuffing
• Cloaking
• Link farms
• Duplicate content
• Doorway pages

Keyword stuffing used to be a Google ranking factor, but now it can lead to a penalty.

This technique involves repeating the same keyword many times in your content. Meta descriptions, titles, and hidden text are also often used for keyword stuffing.

Keyword stuffing creates unnatural and unreadable content that doesn't offer value to users. 

Google penalises websites that use this tactic. You'll get a lowered page rank and reduced visibility in search results.

❓ FAQ

How do I find the balance between high-volume and low-volume keywords?

The balance between high-volume and low-volume keywords depends on many factors. These include website size and keyword difficulty.

New or smaller sites should target long-tail keywords. Bigger businesses can target keywords with a higher search volume. 

A mix of both is great for a balanced strategy.

Can I target the same focus keyword across different web pages?

You shouldn't target the same focus keyword on different web pages. 

It will lead to keyword cannibalisation. It will also make it difficult for search engines to determine which page is most relevant. 

Each page should target a unique focus keyword for optimal SEO performance.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when adding keywords to your site?

Skip these mistakes when adding keywords to your site:

• Keyword stuffing
• Using target keywords that aren't important 
• Using the same target keyword on the whole site
• Failing to target specific focus keywords for each page

If you want to get this step right, you need to do high-quality keyword research. You can also add target keywords to the back-end code and throughout the content.

🎓 Knowing How to Use Keywords

Researching and targeting keywords are crucial elements of SEO. They should be a part of every SEO strategy. 

You also need to know how to use the right keywords in the right places. This will help you rank pages higher in search results and attract more traffic.

If you need help with keyword research, you've come to the right place. RankRise SEO specialists know how to conduct thorough keyword research.

If you want to know more about our SEO services, feel free to contact us.