Summary
How to use keywords to increase traffic to your website
Identifying your target keywords
Creating compelling, keyword-rich content
How to use keywords to increase traffic to your website
With 80% of online product journeys starting with a Google search, prioritising your SEO strategy is one of the best ways to increase organic traffic to your website.
In this article, we will give you a step-by-step guide to creating a keyword strategy, from researching the best high intent keywords and creating content that seamlessly incorporates your target keywords to tracking your traffic increases and analysing keyword trends.
What are keywords?
When it comes to SEO (search engine optimisations), keywords are words or phrases that people use when looking for something online, usually in search engines.
There are two main types of keywords:
Short-tail keywords
Short-tail keywords are more broad and general keywords that someone may use when first researching a product or service. They are typically made up of one or two words, such as ‘running shoes’ or ‘pilates’.
Due to their broad nature, these keywords often have a high search volume, meaning lots of people are using these keywords and there is greater competition to appear in these searches.
While they are high in volume, the user's intent is often lower. They may be looking generally, and haven’t yet made up their mind. While these searches may result in traffic, it is unlikely that it will result in a purchase.
Long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are much more specific, and usually feature three or more words. Unlike short-tail keywords, these will be more narrow searches, like ‘best running shoes for wide feet’ or questions, such as ‘can I do pilates while pregnant?’.
There is usually lower search volume on these more specific long-tail keywords, meaning there is less competition. It also usually indicates a greater search intent, with users often more invested in their searches and more willing to make a purchase or book an appointment.
For a successful SEO keyword strategy, you want to target a mix of short- and long-tail keywords.
Identifying your target keywords
The first step to creating a keyword strategy to increase traffic to your website is to conduct keyword research. This will help you to identify keywords that are relevant to your business and are being used by your target audience.
Luckily, there are many free tools that can help you gain a better understanding of search volume and the exact words and phrases that people are using. These tools will also rate the difficulty of the keywords, indicating how hard it will be to rank for these keywords.
The SEO sweet-spot is to target keywords that have a balance of high volume and low-to-moderate difficulty, which will likely be long-tail keywords, while also understanding what the main short-tail keywords for your industry are. This will enable you to create content that targets potential customers at all stages of their journey.
Once you’ve got your list of target keywords, you can categorise them into primary (the main focus of your content) and secondary (supporting keywords that add context).
Creating compelling, keyword-rich content
Now you’ve identified the relevant keywords you want to target, it’s time to create content that is engaging and educational once a user clicks on your website.
For long-tail keywords, try to answer common questions or give searchers more information that can help them in their decision making,
It’s important to avoid keyword-stuffing. Overusing keywords in unnatural or clunky copy on your website can have a negative impact on your users' experience and even result in search engines, like Google, penalising you by not showing your content on SERPs (search engine results pages).
Instead, strategic placement of keywords throughout your copy will be impactful while also allowing you to create informative and interesting content.
Key areas to include your target keywords are:
- Page title - this is the first place search engines look for keywords, so it’s important to have your primary keyword here.
- Headings - include your keyword in any headings or subheadings throughout the article
- First paragraph - try to have your keyword in the first 200 words
- Meta description- a short, descriptive meta description, with a clear CTA, can help to increase your click-thru rate
- Image alt-text - having keywords in your alt-text will help your content appear in image searches too!
- URL - if you can, try to have your keyword in the web page URL.
Tracking traffic improvements and keyword trends
Once you have optimised your website with your target keywords, it's important to track the impact on your ranking and increases in traffic. You can use Google Analytics or other free keyword tracking and ranking tools to easily see any rank position changes.
It’s a good idea to keep track of the search volume of your keywords over time, allowing you to adapt to search trends to meet the demands and search habits of your target consumers and update your strategy accordingly.
Final thoughts
Targeting keywords that are relevant to your business can help to put your product or service in front of potential customers when they are searching, and direct them to your website with content that is as educational as it is engaging.
With a keyword strategy that is data-driven, you can create content that targets audiences with high conversion intent, track your traffic increases and adapt to changing consumer search habits.
Want to increase your search engine traffic?
We create tailored keyword strategies that not only get you seen on search engines, but get your clicks, too. Get in touch to explore the best solution for your site.
