SEO Keywords & their types and how to find & use these

What is a keyword?

A keyword is such a simple and so often used term and concept in our daily lives. Yet, often times when it comes to understanding it with respect to search engine optimization or digital marketing we look for a definition.

In the context of written text or conversation or content any word or words in combination that are popular or used often or can tell you something very briefly is a keyword.

When you want to say something using a few words that will make the other person understand quickly what you want to say about then the words used become a keyword or keywords.

Let us now understand what are keywords when it comes to SEO and also digital marketing and its other channels.

What are keywords in SEO?

Keywords are no special or different words or terms. These are the daily used words and some combination of words that people use to point to, talk about and search for, something that they are looking for, want to know about or read, or want to buy or for some other reasons.

Before beginning to explore, understand and define what are keywords let us make it clear that we are talking about SEO keywords. So, here we will understand what are SEO keywords.

What are SEO keywords

We define SEO keywords as the words that have some purpose which helps users and search engines know more about the content that surrounds these keywords and the content or page that covers these.

SEO keywords means and refers to the important words that we use while doing search engine optimization. These are the keywords we need to as the first step to do SEO of any website. These are the keywords that help us see, evaluate and segment the results we get from doing search engine optimization.

SEO keywords are the keywords or terms, phrases or words which play the most important role throughout the SEO process.

Let us help you understand SEO keywords better through a very simple example of words we used here, right now.

We said SEO keywords. We specifically mentioned that we would be talking about SEO keywords and not just keywords. This is because the term ‘SEO Keywords’ helps much better in making you understand what we are and what we will be talking about. So, ‘SEO Keywords’ is OUR Keyword here.

The second reason for using that term is because the term keyword is more related to SEO than any other online marketing channel or practice.

This is because the whole process and basis of SEO, which works how search engines work, is influenced by or centred around and strongly grounded on keywords. None of the other channels in digital marketing focus that much on keywords, although it still plays some role in parts.

Third, SEO has a dedicated task or sub practice which solely focuses on how to find keywords for any website.

Like SEO keywords, there is also a term called PPC keywords. This means and refers to the keywords we use for search based advertising which is called as PPC or pay-per-click advertising.

Like SEO, PPC also uses search engines. The keywords used in PPC are the same that we try to find in SEO and use there.

There is another area that uses keywords and that is content. Content marketing is the way of marketing by using and publishing content. Even in SEO, we use keywords mainly in the content or as the header or Title of a content.

But the focus on keywords in the content only grows more when it is used for SEO purpose. If you want to just publish on different platforms, which is still high quality, then you will not that much focus on keywords. You may and will still use these, but your key focus in content marketing is to influence users by what you say and how you say.

Why we need keywords in SEO?

Keywords in general but specifically in relation to online content mean the important words in a text or content. These are the words we focus on more. Keywords are words that we use to represent a piece of text or content. Keywords help us define and in a way summarize and present a piece of content.

SEO keywords therefore are the words or set of few words that we use for the purpose of and in the process of doing search engine optimization.

These are those important words which we use in our content and on our web pages to help make those pages and the content within reach people whom we want to target.

Without the use of relevant and proper keywords we cannot fully, properly and specifically target and reach people who are searching for the types of websites or content which we have.

This is because, knowingly and unknowingly, people search (for example in Google or Bing) for information using various words that they think represents the detailed information or content they are looking for.

Can we do SEO without keywords

Even if you do not want to use keywords or if one day you decide to do SEO without using keywords, you will still find keywords all across your page and your content.

You cannot escape from keywords and using these in your content and page for the purpose of search engine optimization.

AND NO! You cannot do SEO without using keywords.

Because whenever you write about something or anything as online content and when that content is read by search engines and even by users, they will always identify some keywords in it.

This is because there will always be some keywords in the content. This is because as we said before that keywords are just the simple words that people use and talk about. So when you write about something then you are going to use those words.

So, you cannot do SEO without keywords. You need to understand how to find & use keywords when you want to start learning SEO from scratch and complete. And this becomes more clear when you read the next section on what you do with SEO keywords.

And no matter what you write for the purpose of SEO, content marketing, for social media, for articles or blogs, or even for some offline purpose, you will use keywords.

The only difference is that when you write for SEO you are specifically focused on keywords. But when you write for non SEO or non PPC purposes then you use these but don’t focus on these as much. And sometimes you just mention these without even knowing it.

If you are looking to start learning SEO then you will know here that keywords play a very important role, from start to finish.

Often people wonder is it worth to learn SEO? And my answer to that is OH YES, definitely. When you learn complete SEO which is how to use, optimize & rank keywords and get traffic then you can do so much.

I got 123K of organic traffic to my single blog in one year by ranking hundreds of keywords.

That is the worth of SEO. And if you want to learn what I learned and did then here is the complete training in SEO for you.

Keyword Research in SEO

What is keyword research in SEO and what it does or how it helps?

You need keywords to start and do SEO. You cannot achieve anything from doing search engine optimization unless you are able to rank your keywords.

Therefore, keyword research is important in SEO. It can be perhaps the most important part. This is because, if you find the right keyword then you reach the right audience.

The complete process and techniques of finding keywords when we do SEO is called as keyword research.

We need to research our keywords for SEO and it is very much needed. This is why you need to do your keyword research properly in SEO.

We often think we know what keywords we want to use on our websites and what we want to rank for.

While doing SEO I met clients who had this approach towards starting search engine optimization for their websites.

But it does not work that way.

You will not get the benefits from SEO this way.

Keyword research or researching for your keywords is very important in SEO.

With this process, we actually dive deep into the world of keywords for any niche. It is only after this we discover many things such as:

How to do Keyword Research (How to find SEO Keywords)

Think like your customers

When you think like your customers you start thinking what they are looking for. You start to think how they would find a website like yours or the product that you are offering. What are the words they would use. In fact what all the different words could be that they will use or might use to find and reach your type of website or page.

This is how you can find the keywords.

Take help from Google

Google can be your best help when you want to find your keywords.

There are main three ways to find keywords by using Google.

Google Keywords Planner

Go to the keyword planner from Google. Select discover new keywords or find volumes. Type in your keyword if you have one or the words that think are relevant for your page.

You can have a list of many keywords which have those words. You will find hundreds of keywords which are related to the keyword or the words you typed in.

Google auto suggest

When you open Google search and start typing words into the search bar then it gives you suggestion for keywords which contain those words. These are keywords suggestions which relate to the words you are typing.

If you have typed in a keyword then Google auto suggest will show you more keywords that are similar to the one you typed in.

Google related searches

When you type any word or keyword and search for it then you can go to the bottom of the search page. There you will find a small list of keywords under the heading Searches related to your keyword.

These are keywords which people also have used to find things similar to what you want to find.

Main types of Keywords we use in SEO

These are few of the common types of keywords which you will find and will be dealing in when you start doing SEO.

Head or Main Keywords

These are the main keywords for every page which represent the subject of the entire page. Head keywords are usually 1-2 words long. These are also usually very generic.

Body keywords

Body keywords are the keywords that we usually use in the body of the content. These can also represent a part or section of a web page and its content. Such keywords are little longer than the head keywords, like 2-3 words.

Long Tail keywords

Long Tail keywords as per the name are those keywords which are much longer. Keywords which are more like phrases and are 4-5 words long, and can be even longer, are Long Tail keywords.

Informational keywords

These are keywords which we use to search for some generic information about anything.

Transactional keywords

The keywords that represent the intention of buying something are transactional keywords. These keywords mostly would include words like buy, price, discount, offer, coupon, sale, delivery, shipping, etc.

Navigational keywords

These are the keywords used when we want to look for specific information to find or reach a particular company, brand or a website. Branded keywords come under this category.

33 Types of Keywords to know about

How many more types of keywords are there? What all & more types of keywords you should know about?

Here are 33 types of keywords you should know about or try to find when doing search engine optimization.

How to use SEO Keywords

Now you need to use your keywords. There are two ways to use keywords.

On Page SEO

One way is to use the keywords on the page. You need to use the keywords that you have selected for a page. This you do by using the on page SEO techniques. This is called on page optimization.

You must have decided your main keyword that you want to focus on your page and write content about.

What on page optimization does is help you use your main keyword in places and in ways that make it easy for users and search engines to find that this is the keyword that you are targeting. It also helps your users know what this page is going to talk about.

There are various on page SEO optimization techniques to do this.

To help you start with on page SEO the first thing that you need to do is use your main SEO keyword in your Title. The Title of every page is the most important place where you should use your keywords.

When you are naming your page then you can also insert your keyword in the name. This is the URL of the page and one of the important places to use your keyword.

The H1 is called the main header. It is usually the first thing that your user will see on your page. Here also you can use your keyword.

Use keywords in content

Second is to use the keywords in your content.

When you write a content then it is about something. That content is also saying something and pointing towards something. That could be an useful information or details about what a product is about and what it gives.

When you write content then you keep in mind what your user wants from you. If you are publishing a product page then you know your users want to buy it and are looking for useful information which could help them in their decision.

When your content is about a keyword then it is natural that it will appear in your content too. So, use your main keyword in your content too. Keep in mind not to use that keyword too much in the content.

Use of SEO Keywords by their types

Head or Main Keywords

The head or main keywords are usually used in the ULR, Title and in H1 tag.

Body keywords

Body keywords are used within the body content and in other header tags like H2, H3, etc.

Long Tail keywords

Long Tail keywords are mainly used in the content.

Informational keywords

Informational keywords are more used in blogs but can also be used in product pages for detailed information.

Transactional keywords

Transactional keywords are used by sellers and are commonly used in ecommerce sites and their product pages. You can also use these in product pages of any business website.

Navigational keywords

Navigational keywords are more used by brands.