Keywords are important in any website or blog because they’re used to help search engines (like Google) identify what your content is about and rank you higher in their search results. But how do you know which keywords to use? And how do you optimize your page so that it ranks higher on Google? This guide will help answer those questions, explain SEO keywords, and show you exactly how to optimize your site for better rankings.
The basics of on-page SEO
If you want your site to rank highly in search results, it’s important that you optimize its content. In practical terms, that means making sure each page is keyword-heavy and stuffed with relevant information about a specific topic. If users are looking for information on whatever subject you happen to be writing about, your site needs to appear at or near the top of their search results—and SEO keywords make that possible. On-page SEO can help sites rank higher in Google (and other popular search engines) because it makes text more readable and tells engines what each page is about. In short, on-page SEO is absolutely essential for better rankings. Here’s how it works
Understanding keywords
SEO keywords are a big deal, even though they’re not what they used to be. This is why understanding them can help you come up with better SEO strategies. The best way to start is by looking at your competitors and their rankings. You can do that by using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs (both of which I recommend). Once you have an idea of what keywords your competitors rank for, look at those terms in Google Trends and see how popular they are over time. If it looks like there’s a steady increase in popularity over time, then that keyword may be worth targeting.
Guest blogging
In one study, guest blogging was shown to increase a site’s organic traffic by 487%. In another report, 86% of marketers who used guest blogging saw an increase in their website’s search engine rankings. However, not all guest blogging is created equal. It’s important that you follow several best practices when choosing and producing content for your guests blogs.
Backlinking
A website’s rank in search results is determined by its authority. Search engines like Google put a lot of emphasis on backlinks, or links pointing at your site from other sites. The higher quality these backlinks are, and more of them you have, then better your rank will be. These can come from reputable sources such as newspaper websites, review sites, and well-known experts. They can also come from poorly designed link farms (sites which offer incentives in exchange for linking to yours). In general it’s best not to use these types of services; instead look towards natural link building. Finding authoritative sites which can link to you naturally will have a far greater impact on your ranking than paying for links ever could!
Local search engine optimization
If you have a brick-and-mortar business, you might be wondering how to optimize your site for local search. Simply put, local search engine optimization is about helping potential customers find your business online using relevant keywords and phrases that are targeted at local customers. In other words, if someone searches for vitamins in Google, they won’t be taken to your page unless it has a ton of good content on vitamins or you’re in a position to help sell them one. But if they search specifically within their city (or even their neighborhood) for vitamins, your results will likely come up—because someone nearby likely searched that same phrase recently.
