In today’s modern digital society where the Google algorithm is growing more and more advanced, the question “are keywords still important in SEO ranking?” keeps on rising.
A keyword is a word or a short phrase that gives an idea to the reader what your content is about. This is what readers typically will focus on when curating their search on google to seek specific information. If your site keywords match the user’s searched words, your page will appear in the search results. This will help you reach your targeted audience and generate organic leads for your business. It is worth noting that there is a difference between understanding the importance of keywords and how to use it smartly to increase your SEO ranking.
Why is keyword important?
Keywords introduce your content to your target audience. The more unique your keywords are, the easier for your target audience to find your page. For example, if you use “Digital Marketing Agency” as keyword, it will give you around 1 Billion results but if you search “Digital Marketing Agency in Phoenix”, it reduces the result rate by 99%. Highly strategic keywords will naturally increase the chances of reaching your ideal targeted audience.
How Search Engines Use Keywords?
Search engines like Bing and Google use your keywords to match the user’s searched words. They will find pages, links and videos that are relevant to the query.
Search engines also use AI technology to understand the purpose of the search. They locate pages with synonymous keywords that make sense to the query of the user.
How to find the right keywords?
A great place to start is by generally assessing your business’s mission, purpose and value. Assess your current content featured on your website and seek the key points of the message you are trying to convey. Choose the words that best represent your message and label it as a keyword. Test out those chosen keywords by typing it in the search engine to see how many results are generated. From these results, try to modify your keywords and check your site’s ranking if it will move up or down in the search results.
For small business owners, we highly recommend to use long-tail keywords for a better search result ranking. With this focus in mind, you will have an easier time targeting the right audience for your market.
When conducting your keyword research, SEO companies recommend using a Keyword Research Tool to save time. Just enter a term you want to use as a keyword and it will give you a list of better long-tail keywords you can choose from.
Keep in mind that finding the best keyword to use is very important in optimizing SEO but it is just one of many factors that affects SEO ranking. Once you ace your keywords, you are 1 step closer to improving your website’s rank.
