Keywords – what are they and how to select the best key phrases?

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Every text which aim is to position website should obtain specific keywords. Thanks to them, Google knows exactly what the content informs the user about, so it displays it higher in the search engine. Today, we hand over a keyword guide directly to you.

Key phrases – what are they?

Key phrases are sentences you type into a search engine so it can display websites you want to see.

Google search screen - disposable gloves

The use of keywords in your texts plays an important marketing role. Thanks to them, you gain specific results:

  • better positioning
  • website traffic
  • many potential customers

Moreover, well-used phrases improves the text clarity and makes it easier to read. For this reason, those are widely used in copywriting to increase business potential significantly.

Types of key phrases

There are several ways to use such words. These can be modelled in terms of length and search intent. In case of the first one mentioned, we distinguish:

Short tail

The short ones (from 1 to 3 words). Their key advantage is the highest searchability possible, while the low conversion and significant competitiveness are the disadvantages. This is an example of such phrase along with the difficulty and specific number of searches:

Screenshot - disposable gloves keyword

Long tail

Long ones, they contain more than 4 words. Similarly, high conversion rate and low competition are their benefits, while not so high number of searches remain problematic. We present an example below:

Screenshot long-tail keyword - disposable nitrile gloves xl

In case of user intentions, key phrases could be:

  • informative – just like „is it worth using disposable gloves”. Those are often related to the most basic intention – to gain knowledge.
  • directing – it could be „SafeHand gloves”. They are entered whether the user is looking for a specific product.
  • transactional – „disposable gloves shop” is an example. In such case, purchase us an intention.
  • investing – such as “latex or nitrile gloves”. These words occur when the user is interested in buying and is looking for more information.

Obtaining a knowledge about every type is an extremely important for every copywriter, so as to match the phrases with the information in the text. As a result, the effectiveness of the created texts increases.

Placing keywords

Content that ought to be visible on Google must contain keywords. Thanks to them, it is indexed and displayed after the user type a specific query into the search engine. Remember about keywords – use them naturally, in different variations, every 50-200 words.

Example

Whether your intention is to create an article that generates traffic for the phrase ”is it worth using disposable gloves”, you can use following key phrases:

  • “disposable gloves – are they worth my money?”
  • “the advantages of disposable gloves”
  • “why are disposable gloves worth using”

Thanks to this, the article will be indexed using many phrases related to each other, while the content itself remain natural and accessible to every reader.

Key phrases are the basis upon which all the texts are created. Therefore, it is crucial to use them not only in the paragraphs, but also in strategic places in the article.

Title

It is the most important place where the keywords might be used. It tells the reader what the content is about. At this stage, the intention for searching should have been specified already.

What was your decision about length of a phrase in order for it to provide what users are looking for?

Tip: A catchy title makes your click-through rate (ctr) increases. It affects positioning of your website.

Headlines

When writing text, make a good use of a different headings’ sizes. Use the ones from H2 to H6 (H1 is the title). Thanks to this, you will form a clear SEO text structure, sort and maintain the hierarchy of the described issues. Such action improve content legibility. What is more, it has proven to have a positive impact on positioning.

Headings scructure

Nevertheless, the best spaces to place key phrase are the H2 and H3 headings (eventually). You do not have to use it in every heading – do not disrupt the natural tone of the text.

Tip: “Smaller” headlines let the reader know that more specific topic is described in the paragraph, i.e. you should use long tail phrases.

Introduction

According to “the fold rule” above, the words used upward the scroll line (at the beginning of the content) are more important. For this reason, the introduction is another place where key phrase may be used.

Tip: For your introduction to be encouraging, introduce the issue raised, but do not answer questions too fast.

How to choose keywords?

The precise keywords selection influence the final results. Visibility on Google depends on it.

You can choose keywords and key phrases using:

Manual search

It consists of typing a phrase that interest us in Google. Even though it seems simple and comes for free, it brings a lot of valuable data.

At the start, Google suggests related terms:

Google search screenshot

At the same time, the search engine displays similar searches that remain popular. You may find them at the bottom of the website.

Related keywords screenshot

The analysis of organic results bring valuable information. Having such basis you can tell how strong are your competitors.

Top 2 google search screen

As you probably see, we are dealing with large portals here. It indicates that it may be difficult to gain visibility for general key phrases.

Unfortunately, this method is limited in the scope of data you obtain. For precise selection of key phrases on the basis of an objective parameters, make use of analytical programs.

Search tools

Here, keyword search tools come to rescue. Those are:

Google Keyword Planner

A free tool that displays phrase suggestions followed by the number of searches per month. It should be noted that the data is related to Google Ads (indicated by CPC rates). Thus, there are limited positioning possibilities.

Google Ads Keywords Planner Screenshot

KWFinder

This program presents larger set of data. To put it short, KWFinder displays hundreds of suggestions for similar phrases along with their competitiveness in terms of SEO. This allows you to view the parameters of domains that occupy higher positions in Google.

KWFinder Screenshot

Unfortunately, quality goes along with the high price, which is 29.90 € per month in form of annual payment, even though first analysis that you carry out is free of charge.

AnswerThePublic

The tool that was supposed to help our imagination when searching for new ideas. It is another interesting tool which help us choose right key phrases.

After you type the specific phrase, you receive numerous suggestions for a given topic. The circle indicates greater competition.

AnswerThePublic screenshot

Two analysis a day are free of charge. If you are a demanding copywriter, then subscription is a must. Annual subscription costs 79 $ per month.

Keywords - FAQ

We present FAQ section below.

How do key phrases work?

Google promotes information it finds useful, as long as it meets the users needs. Keywords are an indication of the subject and queries to which the website answers.

The texts must be of the highest quality. Make sure keywords appear several times, not only in paragraphs, but also in title, introduction and the most important headlines.

What determines keywords effectiveness?

There are two factors that influence your position in Google:

  • competitors – the more websites use a given phrase, the more difficult it is to break through and reach top positions. This is because content has to compete with more sources, thus requires more work and time.
  • company resources – the content published so far is important too. The keyword stays strong whether it is a part of either topical authority or cornerstone content. SEO potential can be improved by internal linking to other articles. Bet on semantically similar phrases (LSI keywords) that occur naturally in every high-quality article.

Nevertheless, positioning is influenced by hundreds of factors so far, so any change that affect user experience positively increases visibility on Google. For this reason, you should check loading time, pay attention to clear structure, obtain SSL certificate, etc.

How often should I modify the key phrases?

There is no rule indicating how many variations of keywords should be used in the text. It is worth remembering, though, that variations broad the scope of indexation, which allows Google to display the article for even more phrases and queries.

This is due to the fact that Koliber algorithm was introduced by Google in 2013. It places emphasis on the context, displaying more precise results to queries, which is why the use of phrases in form of Q&A, and definitions improve the text visibility and generate featured snippets (those are specific parts of the text).

Should I always use keywords?

Not really. Phrases contained in the text are needed whenever the place of publication is indexed by Google. Such examples are:

  • blog website
  • subpage that presents an offer
  • Internet store
  • presell page

At the same time, keywords do not have to be used whether the content is published on:

  • e-commerce platform
  • social media
  • leaflets and product catalogues

Summary

  • Key phrases are sentences typed into search engines to gain results to given query.
  • Using them in the text indexes the website and increases visibility with organic traffic.
  • We distinguish several types of key phrases. The length and search intention remain different.
  • Keywords should be places in the title, introduction, heading, and in the text (once every 50-200 words). It is important to position and contain them in text in a natural manner, using different variations.
  • Selection of keywords and key phrases remain important, but it is a key to gain optimal results. However, there are quite simple tools that help us take an action. These are free of charge. On the other hand, paid programs provide data.

Bartosz Ciesielski

Experienced copywriter who explores the secrets of marketing and positioning. In his articles, he refers to the contemporary achievements of psychology and the philosophy of language, creating cross-sectional content. As a member of the Content Writer team, he takes care of technological and organizational solutions that increase the quality of work. Privately, he reads a lot of books, learns new languages ​​and composes piano pieces.

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