How to Target Keywords With Blog Posts

You’ve astir apt heard a batch astir the value of targeting keywords with your blog posts.

But wherefore should you bash that? And however exactly do you people keywords?

You’ll larn however successful this post. 

Why people keywords?

If your contented ranks precocious connected Google, you tin get postulation consistently over time. 

For example, we published this station connected precocious Google hunt operators successful 2018. To this date, we’re inactive getting tons of integrated traffic: 

But you can’t conscionable people immoderate random station and expect hunt postulation to travel your way. To get accordant integrated traffic, you request to constitute astir topics that radical are searching for.

This is wherefore you should beryllium targeting keywords with your blog posts. 

How to people keywords with blog posts

You present cognize wherefore it’s important to people keywords. But however exactly do you “target” them?

Here’s how. 

1. Find keyword ideas

The process begins by figuring retired what keywords you privation to target. We’re not conscionable looking for immoderate random keywords—we’re looking for applicable keywords that radical are searching for.

The easiest mode to bash this is to usage a keyword tool. Keyword tools are databases of words and phrases with their SEO metrics. They amusement you a database of ideas based connected the effect keyword thought you’ve entered. 

You tin usage immoderate keyword probe tool. Many of them are free. However, astir of the escaped keyword tools are constricted successful immoderate way—they whitethorn person a tiny database, person mediocre oregon nary filters, deficiency SEO metrics, and more. 

That tin marque it hard to marque bully decisions. 

So we urge that you usage a “professional” keyword instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. Here’s however to usage the instrumentality to find keyword ideas:

1. Enter 1 (or a few) applicable effect keywords, e.g., effort plugging keywords similar “coffee,” “latte,” “french press,” etc., if you person a java blog
2. Go to the Matching presumption report
3. Switch the tab to Questions

You’ll spot that determination are implicit 300,000 imaginable keywords you could target. That’s excessively many—and astir of them are astir apt excessively competitive. If you’re conscionable starting out, it’s amended to people keywords that are:

• High successful Traffic Potential (TP) – TP is the estimated magnitude of hunt postulation you tin perchance summation if you fertile #1 for that topic. We cipher it by estimating the magnitude of hunt postulation the #1 leafage presently gets.
• Low successful Keyword Difficulty (KD) – KD is however hard it is to fertile for the keyword successful the apical 10 integrated hunt results. 

Use the disposable filters to trim the list down:

From here, you tin look done the database and prime retired those keywords that are applicable to your site.

Recommended reading: Keyword Research: The Beginner’s Guide by Ahrefs 

2. Identify hunt intent

Google’s purpose is to fertile the astir applicable contented for immoderate query. As such, it tries to recognize why a searcher is Googling that keyword truthful it tin service the astir applicable results. 

That means, successful bid to fertile precocious connected Google, we request to place and lucifer hunt intent. Fortunately, we tin bash this by looking astatine the current top-ranking pages for your people query. Specifically, we privation to place the 3 Cs of hunt intent:

• Content type – The ascendant benignant of contented connected the SERPs—in this case, blog posts.
• Content format – The ascendant contented format, specified arsenic guides, listicles, reviews, and more. 
• Content angle – The ascendant angle. Examples see the existent year, for beginners, elemental and easy, and more. 

For example, let’s instrumentality a look astatine the top-ranking pages for the keyword “how to cleanable java maker”:

• Content type – They’re each blog posts.
• Content format – Most of them are how-to guides.
• Content angle – It seems similar a fewer of them mentioned “with vinegar.” It could beryllium a imaginable space you mightiness privation to go for. 

If you’re targeting this keyword, for example, it’s apt you’ll person to make a how-to usher connected cleaning a java shaper (perhaps with vinegar!).

Recommended reading: What Is Search Intent? A Complete Guide for Beginners 

3. Create the content

Targeting keywords with blog posts is nary longer astir stuffing arsenic galore keywords arsenic possible. That’s an past maneuver that nary longer works. If you privation to fertile precocious connected Google, you request to amusement Google that your content is relevant and deserves to beryllium connected the first page. 

By matching hunt intent, you’ve already cleared the archetypal hurdle. But however other tin you amusement Google your contented deserves to be there? 

Here’s how:

A. Cover important subtopics

If determination are subtopics that astir each the top-ranking pages cover, past it’s a motion that searchers are looking for them. 

Here’s however to find these subtopics:

1. Paste a fewer top-ranking URLs for your main taxable into Ahrefs’ Content Gap tool
2. Leave the bottommost conception blank
3. Hit Show keywords
4. Set the Intersection filter to 3 and 4 targets

We tin spot that the top-ranking pages screen topics like these:

• What is earned media
• Earned media examples
• Owned media examples
• Paid media examples
• Paid media vs earned media
• Owned media vs earned media

And more.

If we’re covering this taxable (“earned media”), it is apt we’ll person to screen these subtopics too. Even better: You tin usage them arsenic imaginable H2s to signifier your content. 

B. Invest successful a bully scholar experience

You should marque definite your contented is casual to read. After all, the intent of your blog station is not conscionable to fertile but besides to get the scholar to devour your content. 

Follow these tips to make an effortless speechmaking experience:

• Use descriptive subheadings (H2–H6) for hierarchy
• Use bullets to assistance with skimming
• Use images and GIFs (where needed) to interruption up the text
• Use short sentences and paragraphs to debar “walls of text”
• Use simple words that everyone tin understand
• Write arsenic you speak to marque things conversational
• Read your transcript retired loud (when editing) to creaseless the flow

C. Don’t hide your on-page SEO

Your on-page SEO is the “icing” connected the barroom that helps marque it doubly wide to Google and searchers that your leafage is relevant.

Here are the basics:

• Use the keyword successful the rubric (if possible) – Google confirmed the value of headings successful 2020. If it’s difficult, don’t shoehorn the keyword—use a adjacent saltation instead.
• Use short, descriptive URLs – A descriptive URL, usually the keyword, helps searchers recognize what a leafage is astir earlier clicking. 
• Write a compelling meta description – It’s not a ranking factor, but it further helps entice searchers to click connected your result.
• Use descriptive alt text – This helps Google recognize images better. 
• Link to applicable interior and outer resources – Linking to applicable interior and outer resources helps visitors navigate your website and find much information.

Learn more

Interested successful learning much astir SEO and creating SEO content? Check retired these resources:

• SEO: The Complete Guide for Beginners
• SEO Basics: Beginner’s Guide to SEO Success
• What Is SEO Content? How to Write Content That Ranks
• How to Write a Blog Post successful 9 Steps (That People Actually Want to Read)

Any questions oregon comments? Let maine cognize on Twitter.