When exploring the realm of Search Engine Optimization, often known as SEO, for the first time, selecting the appropriate keywords can be a daunting task.
Keywords have the potential to increase both the quality and quantity of organic website traffic your website receives. Keyword research is crucial for a number of reasons, but for SEO primarily because keywords have the ability to increase both the quality and quantity of organic website traffic your website receives.
If you’re unsure of where to begin when selecting keywords, we’re here to assist.
Strategies for selecting effective SEO keywords include, but are not limited to:
Determine the domain authority of your website.
Identifying keywords relevant to search volume
Selecting keywords based on the authority of your domain
Creating relevant content
1. Determine Your Site’s Domain Authority
The first step in selecting effective keywords for SEO is to determine the domain authority of your website.
Domain authority (DA) is a value between 1 and 100 that forecasts a website’s likelihood of ranking in search engine results.
Several elements, including the quality of your website’s content and the number of backlinks, go into determining your domain authority (DA) score.
There are several free tools available to determine the domain authority of your website, such as Semrush and Ahrefs. It is natural for your website’s domain authority to be low in the beginning, especially for a brand-new site, but your keyword choices should reflect this.
Before beginning keyword research, you may establish which keywords you can absolutely compete for by first determining your domain authority (DA).
2. Identify Keywords Relevant to Search Volume
The second technique for finding effective keywords for SEO is to employ a keyword research tool to locate relevant keywords with search demand.
The search demand is the number of individuals that search for a particular term every month, and there are several tools available to assist you to locate keywords.
Free keyword research tools, such as Ahrefs’ free keyword generator and Semrush’s free Keyword Magic Tool, may be sufficient for your needs, but the data they provide is restricted to the fundamentals, such as search volume and keyword difficulty.
A Semrush membership is advised for gaining a more complete understanding of keywords and enhancing SEO efforts.
To prioritize SEO, you should seek keywords that are specific to your niche. This will assist to guarantee that your website ranks for those exact keywords and that you are providing helpful, high-quality content for your website.
It’s also important to note that long-tail keywords tend to have a lower search volume than short-tail keywords, yet employing them might be advantageous due to their specificity.
“coffee shops in Cardiff” is an example of a long-tail keyword, as opposed to the short-tail term “coffee shops.” Hence, by competing for the long-tail term in this situation, you may compete in a highly competitive market and attract consumers with precise search intent.
Doing your keyword research properly is vital for your SEO largely because keywords have the ability to boost both the quality and quantity of the organic online traffic your website receives.
3. Choose Keywords Based On Your Domain’s Authority
Not all keywords are equal, and some are considerably more competitive to rank for, so it’s essential to select keywords in line with your domain authority.
The majority of keywords (94.74%) receive fewer than 10 monthly searches, and if you have a site with a relatively low DA score, it is preferable to target keywords with a smaller search volume because you will have a higher chance of ranking for them.
For example, if your domain score is 10, the majority of the time it is ideal to target keywords with a search volume of 10 or less.
In addition, the majority of keyword research tools provide a Keyword Difficulty score to assist you to evaluate your ability to compete and make an informed selection when selecting keywords.
While it could be tempting to pick keywords with a larger search demand in an attempt to increase your SEO, this represents a bigger risk if you’re not able to compete for the phrase.
Although there are exceptions to this, and it can pay off to be ambitious if you become a greater authority within your field, it’s advisable to play it safe when you’re initially getting started with a low domain authority score.
With competition analysis, you may also identify which keywords your niche’s rivals are employing.
With the use of tools such as Semrush’s Organic Research Tool, you may uncover an in-depth examination of the keywords and traffic that your rivals obtain from them.
This not only helps you identify fresh keyword prospects but also gives you a strategy for competing with your rivals.
In addition, Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool allows you to compare your website to those of your rivals in order to identify any keywords you’ve overlooked and are not presently ranking for, enabling you to change and improve your website’s SEO.
The majority of keywords (94.74%) receive fewer than 10 monthly searches, and if you have a site with a relatively low DA score, it is preferable to target keywords with a smaller search volume because you will have a higher chance of ranking for them.
4. Create content that corresponds to the search intent
To choose good keywords with SEO in mind, you must also create content that matches the search intent.
Search intent “is the primary objective a user has when entering a query into a search engine,” and for most individuals, this is to learn, purchase, or locate a certain item.
While some keywords are quite specific, many are open to interpretation, and Google will not rank your content well if it is not optimized for the search intent. As a consequence, while researching the relevant term, it is essential to evaluate the results carefully.
For example, if you choose a keyword about the greatest shoulder exercises for the gym, it is obvious that readers would be seeking to understand.
In contrast, when it comes to a non-specific term, such as gym supplements, it is less clear if the search aim is to purchase gym supplements or to find a tutorial on how to utilize gym supplements.
After you have discovered the search intent, you can create helpful and relevant content for the reader searching for that keyword.
This will not only improve your SEO, but it will also assist to develop trust and signal to Google that you are an authority in your industry.
To prioritize SEO, you should seek keywords that are specific to your niche. This will assist to guarantee that your website ranks for those exact keywords and that you are providing helpful, high-quality content for your website.
How We Can Assist
At SEO Cheltenham, we understand how intimidating SEO can be when you’re just beginning.
Whether you need assistance with keyword research, an SEO team, or training on how to perform your own SEO, we are able to assist you.
Contact us immediately if you like to learn more about the SEO services we offer at Lumen SEO. Instead, you may send us a message on LinkedIn or Instagram.
