TL;DR: Keywords are – um key words in your content that can be used to drive traffic to your site. They are at the core of SEO which is what it’s all about, but then isn’t all about, but then is again.
What are Keywords?
Stick with me here for just a few seconds… A keyword is a word used to encrypt and solve encrypted codes or ciphers. It is the key from which a coded message is written and it is needed to decipher that code.
I didn’t realize until I had to come up with a definition how apt the term is for how they are used online. As far as that definition goes, a keyword is a word (or group of words) used when searching for content online that identifies the subject matter of that content.
Or put simply, it is what you type in when you’re searching for something on Google (or other search engine).
In code breaking they are keys that used to unlock the content of a coded message. Online they are the keys to finding the information you are seeking.
There are very broadly speaking three classifications of keywords – at least that’s how I’m dividing them up here. Depending on your criteria, you can classify them by other qualities, but here I am choosing to divide them by word count
Single-word Keywords:
Don’t make me spell out the obvious here. It’s in the name. Words like, “cars”, “Ford”, and “compact”
As you can probably tell, these words are of pretty limited use because of how broadly used they are
Short-tail Keywords
A keyword with one or two additional words added to it. Like a short phrase. This set of 2 or three words is still considered one keyword. It’s confusing, but it is what it is. Some examples of short tail keywords (or keyword phrases) are, “late model cars”, “Ford model T”, and “compact electric vehicles”.
Obviously if you are searching for these things, adding the extra words narrows down your search.
Long-tail Keywords
These are longer phrases. It’s up to you how you define long for the topic at hand. but here are two examples: “Ford compact cars produced between 2016 and 20021”, or “How well do cars manufactured by Ford between 2016 and 2021 retain their value as compared to similar vehicles from their closest two competitors”.
As you can probably guess, the longer and more detailed the search phrase, the better chance you have of getting the result you’re looking for. In theory anyway.
Okay. So we know what key words are, but what is keyword use and research all about?
It’s all about SEO
SEO: Search engine optimization
It’s all about getting your content to rank high on search engines. And let’s face it, that means ranking high on Google. There are others, but for better or worse Google is the largest player and sets the standards for the others.
If you know your audience is searching the phrase “collectable oval playing cards from the White House” and you write a post with that title, and which delivers just what people are looking for when they search that term – you are going to be high in the rankings.
Actually, I made that phrase up. Nothing on the web exactly matches it at this moment. But there are over 14 million other results that “nearly” match it. If you made wrote that ideal article, you’d rank #1. But don’t waste your time. no one is searching that phrase.
And that illustrates two points:
1 – You want the target phrase to rank high so people who search it find you
2 – You want it to be a phrase that enough people are searching to make it worth your while
That is SEO in a nutshell. Figure out what people are searching for and provide it to them with as little competition as possible.
That is valuable information to have. So valuable that in 2022 the SEO industry is valued at 80 billion dollars annually.
Actually, It’s not all about SEO
But wait. If people and companies are spending 80 billion dollars a year just to show up high in the rankings, what chance do you have? Especially if your plan is to spend zero dollars or close to it.
Actually, you don’t have to admit defeat so readily. You sitting in front of that screen right now with no more money or technology at your disposal that what you have with you right now can do a pretty good job of getting a sliver of the online marketing pie.
By using some relatively simple methods you can come up with keywords to help you produce content (and products) people are looking for. You can build your online presence based around those keywords.
And you do NOT need to rank on even the first page of results on google for that to be a benefit to you and potentially drive traffic and sales to your website.
Why? Because you know that you can get traffic from sources other than Google. You can get it from dozens of other places which include social media platforms, question/answer websites, online marketplaces and other sites specializing in your niche. Imagine if someone on a site specializing in buying and selling used Fords was looking for information you had from that long tail keyword example. Safe to say you’d get their attention.
And the beauty of social media platforms is that no matter what your niche, if you get out there and produce consistent content and enough of it on that platform, your audience will find you if they exist. There are ways to stack the odds in your favor.
Maybe it is about SEO after all
Think of search engines and Google is first to come to mind probably. Then maybe Bing. After that, maybe Yahoo? DuckDuckGo? Or if you’re old like me you may remember Lycos, AltaVista, Dogpile, and AskJeeves.
But there are other search engines that you may not think of in those terms: Names like YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Trello, Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, Quora, Reddit.
They each have their plusses and minuses, features and restrictions. But they are all platforms that people search quite often. They are all places that people go when they are looking for something to solve a problem for them.
And it may not surprise you that the way to rank higher on those platforms is the same as it is for ranking higher on Google. Keywords, keywords, keywords.
They’re not the only thing that will improve your rank and traffic across the board, but they’re a pretty huge part of it. ANd finding good keywords is useful for more than just SEO too.
But that’s another article.