Types of Keywords for Content Creation and When to Use Them

In  Marketing

Keywords play a significant role in how search engines filter web pages. Therefore, it is essential that you understand how to write keyword-rich copy for maximum effect. Every piece of content should have a keyword strategy behind it to ensure that your business won’t hit a block. Many business owners do not understand how valuable content can engage the target audience or can drive them far away from the website.  

There are many opinions on how to best approach using keyword phrases in any SEO content you create or post. However, in this article, we will dive deeper into the role of keywords in content creation, and we will share with you a few tips for doing so effectively and safely. 

What Are Keywords and How Do They Work?

We want to start by explaining keywords and search engine optimisation (SEO). The SEO process means using words or phrases that best describe what your website page is about. This will help your pages rank higher on the search engine results page (SERP). Search engines such as Google use crawlers to read, index and catalogue your page and use the information on the page to determine its relevance to a particular search query. It will determine where the web page will be placed in the search rankings for a particular term. 

Keywords are not a ranking factor, but their use in content creation and links is. A list of keywords without any connection to your pages is not enough to achieve great results. When using keywords for content creation and SEO, it is best to start with keyword research. This way, you will find relevant keywords to include on your pages. More than that, keyword research will facilitate the content creation process as your content will be written around the words and phrases your active audience is looking for.   

What Is Content Creation?

Content creation involves generating ideas, planning, writing and posting a text on specific topics to attract potential customers. Content creators understand the mechanism of getting your target audience’s attention and pulling them into your marketing funnel. A content strategy must put your brand in front of people so they can become familiar with it. Based on the type of content, you can first get their interest and build a desire or need for your products or services. In the end, they will take action and convert into paying customers. If your products or service thrill them, they will become loyal customers, and they might become unofficial ambassadors of your brand and recommend it to their friends and family. 

However, you should know that even if you get in front of your target customers, not everyone will feel the need to buy your product or service, and they will not automatically buy it or advocate for it. This is why you need to have a content marketing strategy to pull them into the marketing funnel and help them at every stage to complete the process.

Why Do We Use Keywords in Content Writing?

When you launch your website, you need to bring traffic and people to engage with it. This cannot happen if your online business does not appear in the organic search. SEO keywords aim to get your business in front of customers, and you should focus on using them correctly. 

Search engines use crawlers, and crawlers use keywords to determine what your piece of content is about. They will decide where to place your website in the organic rankings by comparing your content to others with similar keywords. Your main goal is to write high-quality content that is relevant and popular for your audience. The better your keywords, the higher you will rank. However, you also should respect the E-A-T principle to help boost your rankings.

If you do not use keywords, your pieces of content will not be found by the search engine crawlers or customers, resulting in low engagement rates and loss of revenue.  

Types of Keywords for Content Creation

There are multiple ways of choosing the right keywords based on what types of content you want to create. Now let’s concentrate on how to select keywords to increase your organic traffic. Your SEO efforts should focus on knowing what keyword metrics are valuable for your business and what keyword attributes will bring you the best results. 

Keywords based on search volume 

Some words are more popular than others. Choosing a viral keyword to focus on will not guarantee success. Yes, it can boost your organic traffic, but the audience might not be interested in what you sell. Our recommendation is to research keyword ideas and choose the ones that are the most relevant to what your business sells. You can check a keyword’s search volume and how hard it will be to rank number one for a specific keyword by using Ahref Keyword Explorer. Search volume is a good metric to predict the potential search traffic, but it is not flawless. You should check the search trends even if the volume shows that a specific keyword is top-ranking.   

Keywords based on search intent

Search intent or user intent refers to the objective a user has in mind when typing a specific query. Focus on creating content that matches the user’s needs to get the most out of your SEO efforts. Don’t try to optimise your homepage for a keyword when people are searching for blogs, for example. The purpose behind a query can have informational intent, where users are in the research phase and are looking for more information to solve an issue. The navigational intent means users are looking for a specific page, product or service, and commercial intent refers to users ready to buy.  

Keywords based on “value”

Most people get stuck to choosing keywords with a high monthly search volume and keyword intent, but they totally ignore the value that a specific word can have for their business. Your content marketers should focus on putting themselves in the user’s shoes. We recommend using a keyword research tool such as Moz Keyword Explorer to understand a keyword’s value.    

Keywords based on difficulty 

When choosing your perfect keywords, you should consider how hard it will be to rank for them. Even if your target keyword has a significant search volume, corresponds to the search intent and provides value to your business, it doesn’t mean it is a good fit for your website if it is challenging to rank for. Another handy keyword tool you can check the difficulty of is Ahref’s Keyword Difficulty Checker. A competitive keyword is not enough. The top-ranking websites have a lot of backlinks, which are a ranking factor, and it would be very tough to outrank them.   

Because there are many content types, such as white papers, social media posts, blogs, landing pages, etc., a professional content writer must know the core elements that make the finest keywords for content writing.

Now let’s talk about the attributes that make a good keyword:

  • Specificity – we recommend you avoid very generic words because they will be tough to rank for. Try to be more specific. Let’s say you sell makeup. You can add an attribute of your product, your location, and the services you offer or the brand of the product.
  • Long-tail keywords better describe your product or service. We strongly recommend using this type of phrase because you can be more specific, and your chances of ranking higher are better, as the competition is less aggressive.
  • Region-specific keywords are a great way to improve your local SEO. They are essential to let search engines and potential customers know where your business is located. You will help local clients find you; if you have a physical store, they can make in-store purchases. 
  • Use natural language. We recommend using phrases in a natural language because you optimise your content for people, not robots. Imagine how an actual customer is typing a query in the search box, what questions they can ask, and how you will deliver your online content when they are looking for it. Creating buyer personas and making customer profiling is a great way to understand your audience’s behaviour and needs when searching. The semantic search area is growing. This is why article writers and content marketers should focus on understanding the search intent and the context of search terms. Even if we speak about informational keywords, evergreen keywords, negative keywords, commercial keywords, etc., search engines aim to improve accuracy and deliver more relevant results, which implies that the author of the content should understand that too.   
  • You should consider planning and implementing content for voice search. Users are asking questions in a natural language for content search. They don’t use disjointed keyword phrases, but they ask questions as they do in real life, such as “where can I find the best plumber in London?” We recommend you include elements of these types of questions in your content.   

How and When To Use Keywords in Your Content for SEO?

It is easy to create keyword lists, but implementing them is more complex than you think. You should respect rules and best practices when adding keywords to a website. How do you find the right keyword for your content writing? 

First, we suggest starting with your research. Proper keyword research will give you the power to make knowledgeable decisions on what phrases and questions to use. You can put together a list of topics related to your business, take all the areas of your business and write generic words. Later, take the lists and find specific keywords by considering what information your audience might try to find on those topics. After deciding on your best keywords, go to Google and type them. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see more related search terms. You can also check Google Trends and the Answerthepublic website to get more ideas on real-life search terms based on the keywords you already have. 

Secondly, we recommend you plan and test your keywords to shorten your list and use only the most effective words. You can use Wordtracker and Google Keyword Planner to narrow your list on quantitative data such as search traffic, competition, click and cost if you implement Google Ads

Now it’s time to implement your keywords in critical positions. We recommend using Yoast to check your SEO score and the effectiveness of keyword distribution in your content. When using keywords throughout your content, remember they should be relevant and match the rest of your text. Otherwise, you risk getting penalised by Google for keyword spamming. We highly recommend that you naturally write your content and not go overboard with your keywords to avoid keyword stuffing. Also, you can revise and rewrite your old content with the new core keywords. 

Let’s see when to use your keywords and where to place them:

  • Meta description – is a basic way to add your primary keyword for SEO purposes. The meta description is a short summary that describes what the content is about, and adding your keyword to this piece of content will help Google better understand and filter the results. We recommend including one or two of your seed keywords in the meta description. 
  • Title tag – this is the SEO title. Similar to the meta description users will see on the SERP when they are typing a search query. The title tag is clickable from the results page and will direct users to your website page. We recommend using only your primary keyword in your title tag and your company’s name. 
  • Titles – we strongly recommend using keywords in your content’s title. To better understand your content, Google matches the title header with the meta description and meta title. Your article headlines should be catchy and draw attention. You can study headlines. Try to write powerful headlines or aim for a viral headline. Be careful not to go into the clickbait area because users do not appreciate it. You can do a little research on headline writing styles and see what fits you. Moreover, question-based headlines are great when your piece of content is written to inform or educate the target audience.  
  • First paragraph – we recommend using keywords within the first 200 words because that is the introduction of the discussed subject. If your introduction is good, users will continue to read your article. You can also include a secondary keyword in the first paragraph, not in the first sentence. You can also distribute additional keywords after your first and second keywords.  
  • Content’s body – even if it is an SEO-centered digital environment, your readers come first. We advise you not to compromise the readability, user engagement and conversion rates for keyword placement.   
  • Last paragraph – is similar to the introduction. We recommend using your head keyword in the last paragraph, and you can also include a secondary keyword. Bloggers usually have a call to action (CTA) in the last paragraph. 
  • Headings – you can use multiple headings throughout your article. They help you break your text, which is a must-have from a visual and readability point of view. From an SEO point of view, headings are crucial because the HTML tags identify the type of heading used (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.), and they are a ranking signal. Placing keywords in headings might be the best way to rank for multiple keywords. Longer content ranks better than short content. 
  • Anchor text links – are a must in your content because they draw attention and imply that there is another website page where users can find more information about that word. Placing strategic keywords in anchor text links will help other pages on your website. This will help your entire website because you create an internal linking structure that tells Google what blog posts or website pages are the most important for a specific keyword phrase. Do not use your seed keywords for the anchor text links.
  • Image alt tags – using keywords in the image alt tags will help your images to be shown in image searches. 
  • URLs – we strongly recommend placing your primary keyword in the page’s URL because if you use it in your meta description, title tag, the first and last paragraph, it makes no sense not to use it in the URL.

Our Advice

We strongly recommend focusing on your SEO and keyword distribution in your content creation because it brings core benefits in the long run. Many online businesses do not understand the importance of content optimisation and ongoing SEO maintenance, so they rely on paid ads or PPC campaigns. We disagree with this because they are just boosting traffic and maybe sales in the short term, but 70-80% of consumers ignore ads. Improving your SEO is better and less expensive. We also recommend using Google Analytics to monitor your results. Think about your target audience. What they need, what they are looking for, what questions you can answer, etc. Lastly, but definitely not least, use proper grammar

If you do not have the resources to work on your SEO or digital marketing strategies to ensure healthy and steady growth for your online business, you can contact us today, and we will take care of it in no time. 

Frequently Asked Questions

If I choose popular keywords, can I rank higher on the search engine results page?

No. The more popular the keywords, the more competition for ranking high. We recommend using niche keywords and phrases.

How many keywords should I put in my content?

Depends on the type of content and its length. You can use your primary keyword once every 100 to 150 words.

How often can I use H1 in an article or blog post?

Once.

What is a primary keyword?

The keyword you want to rank for.