What Are Keywords in SEO? Master the Basics With SEO Pros

Got keywords? In SEO, keywords serve a critical role because they help search engines (and users) understand your online content’s focus and relevance to a search, like “how to tie a tie.”

Learn the basics of keywords in SEO, from what they are to how to target them, in this guide from our award-winning team of search engine optimization pros!

What are keywords in SEO?

Keywords are search queries — or the phrases people use in search engines to find what they need. In SEO, keywords are used in online content, like within title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and body copy, to signal the content’s relevance and improve its organic search rankings.

Why are keywords important for SEO?

There are a few reasons keywords matter to SEO, including:

• Reach: SEO keywords are like a secret phrase — use them strategically, and you’ll unlock access to organic traffic from Google, Bing, and other search engines. That’s because keywords target the phrases users most often use to describe common needs, like learning how to tie a tie.
• Relevance: Even though search engines like Google have advanced algorithms to understand the intent of online content, they still use keywords to understand a URL’s relevance to a search. If someone searches for “how to tie a tie,” URLs using that phrase or variations will often rank higher.
• Rankings: Optimized keyword targeting (and integration) correlates with higher rankings. Look at search results for a term that matters to your company and notice how the top-ranking sites likely use that term in headings, body copy, and more.
• Performance: Keywords power more than traffic in SEO. They also power more impactful metrics, like online purchases, quote form submissions, and phone calls. Target phrases relevant to your business and target buyer, and you’ll see bottom-line results from SEO keywords.

What are the types of SEO keywords?

There are four types of SEO keywords:

1. Navigational: The user is looking for a specific website, such as “Facebook.”
2. Informational: The user needs more information and may search “how to bake a cake.”
3. Commercial: The user is searching for specific information to make a purchase, like “gyms near me.”
4. Transactional: The user is looking to make a purchase and may search for “couches for sale.”

Along with two keyword categories:

• Short-tail keywords: These keywords are only one or two words long. Our previous example of “Google” is a short-tail keyword, but “denim shorts” would be another example.
• Long-tail keywords: A long-tail keyword contains three or more words and is sometimes a full sentence. They are naturally more specific due to their length. For example, someone may search for “best Italian restaurants in New York,” which is more detailed than “best restaurants.”

How to interpret keyword metrics for SEO

Before exploring how to find SEO keywords, it’s important to understand keyword metrics:

How to find SEO keywords

Learn how to find SEO keywords for your search engine optimization program now:

1. Get a keyword research tool

While not required, a keyword research tool is highly recommended for finding keywords for SEO. That’s because these tools provide helpful vetting data — like search volume and difficulty — which will make your job easier.

There are plenty of free research tools available, too, including:

• Soolve
• Keywords Everywhere
• Google Keyword Planner

You can even use Google Search Console — if you’re already receiving site traffic — to see what phrases people are using to find your site’s content. Of course, this tool works best for websites with dozens of URLs.

2. Source ideas

Next, start sourcing ideas, like from:

• Client-facing teams, like sales, customer support, or customer success
• Online forums
• Online reviews
• Online groups
• Competitor websites

If you’re familiar with your company and its industry, brainstorm some ideas by asking:

• What are our most popular and/or in-demand products?
• What problems do our solutions solve?
• What features define our ideal customer profile (ICP)?
• What are some current talking points or trends in the industry?
• What questions do people ask our client-facing teams the most?

When you understand your target market and business purpose, you can generate dozens of ideas for your website. The challenge is prioritizing — and producing — the content for these keywords.

3. Determine search intent

You’ve gathered some topic ideas.

Now, start investigating their search intent — what are users looking for when they search these terms on Google, Bing, and other search engines? The best way to understand search intent is to look at the search results!

For example, look at:

• The top-ranking pages, like what questions they answer (and in what order)
• The search features, like whether there are product ads or a local 3-pack
• The other search results, like for images or videos

Based on this information, decide if the search intent is relevant to your business. Will ranking for this keyword benefit your search engine optimization goals, like generating qualified traffic, backlinks, or leads?

If not, remove the topic from your list.

4. Gather keyword metrics

Next, use your preferred keyword research tool to start gathering keyword metrics, like:

• Search volume
• Keyword difficulty
• Keyword cost per click

You’ll often find some of your keyword ideas have search volume — and others don’t.

It’s important to note that zero-volume keywords are still valuable, and can often uncover terms with search volume. If you’re using a free keyword research tool like Keywords Everywhere, for example, it’ll suggest similar terms that have search volume.

Paid keyword research tools, like Ahrefs, can streamline this process even more.

Ahrefs, for example, allows you to enter a URL and view its keyword rankings — meaning, you can take the highest-ranking URL for a keyword idea and view its rankings to uncover more relevant (or higher-volume) terms.

In our experience, the most common mistake we see at this stage is focusing too much on search volume — and not enough on a keyword’s potential. Just because a keyword has thousands of searches per month doesn’t mean it’ll drive qualified traffic.

Not to mention, high-volume keywords are also more competitive, which can put them out of reach for less-established websites. So, remember to consider keyword relevance when selecting which queries to target.

5. Build a keyword map

A keyword map is like a mini family tree — it shows the parent and child keywords for a given URL. For example, a URL with the parent keyword (also called a core or focus keyword) “how to tie a tie” might target child keywords (also called related keywords) like:

• best way to tie a tie
• how to tie a neck tie
• how to tie a tie step by step

These additional SEO keywords expand a URL’s potential reach by supporting the different ways users search, like being more conversational, detailed, or brief. You can find related keywords using the earlier strategies for finding a parent or core keyword.

6. Prioritize optimizations

Finally, make some tough decisions.

While AI has helped optimize some SEO tasks, search engine optimization still requires some work on your part 😉. So, you’ll need to decide where to focus your time when it comes to producing content topics and adding their SEO keywords.

In most cases, businesses focus on their revenue-driving content first.

Keep Reading: Keyword Research Guide

How to integrate keywords for SEO

When it comes to integrating keywords for SEO, this table can help:

Keep Reading: On-Page SEO Guide

Need help finding keywords?

A keyword-focused SEO strategy is one of the best things you can have to get more website traffic and increase sales. However, it requires extensive keyword research and keyword optimization.

Try our free keyword generator. No login is required to use our keyword research tool – and you’ll get keyword ideas instantly.

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Generate up to 50 tailored keyword ideas with essential data like search volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC – no login required!

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At SEO.com, we have all the resources you need to grow your knowledge of SEO topics, such as keywords. Check out our ultimate keyword research guide today to learn how to find the right keywords for your website. Also, take a look at our beginner’s SEO guide to discover more about SEO in general.

If you’d like to leave all the keyword work up to the professionals, view our SEO services and contact us to get a free SEO proposal! WebFX — the company behind SEO.com — has helped thousands of businesses get real results through SEO, and we’d love to do the same for you.