SEO Keywords: What They Are & How to Find Them

What Are SEO Keywords?

SEO keywords are words oregon phrases you privation to optimize your website astir to fertile higher successful hunt results.

Search engines (like Google) usage analyzable algorithms to find rankings. But keywords are a halfway portion of that process.

Using these presumption connected your website indicates to hunt engines what your pages are about. So they tin beryllium shown for applicable queries.

Let’s accidental you person an ecommerce store that sells outdoor gear. Some applicable SEO keywords for your website could be:

• “hiking backpacks”
• “camping tents”
• “lightweight sleeping bags”
• “trail moving shoes”

Ranking for these keywords successful Google puts your contented and products successful beforehand of motivated shoppers searching for those nonstop terms.

That means much imaginable leads, customers, and revenue.

How to Find SEO Keywords for Your Website

Use a Keyword Research Tool

Keyword Magic Tool

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool lets you find SEO keywords for your website based connected a azygous effect word (a wide taxable related to your business).

Let's accidental you person a nutrient blog that shares recipes. Enter a effect keyword into the hunt container and click "Search."

The instrumentality volition past amusement you a agelong database of related keywords that radical hunt for connected Google. 

How bash you cognize which keywords to choose?

First, look astatine the search intent—the crushed wherefore users execute a search.

There are 4 main hunt intent categories:

• Navigational: Users are looking for a circumstantial website oregon leafage (e.g., "food web website")
• Informational: Users privation to larn thing (e.g., "how to brine chicken")
• Commercial: Users are researching products oregon services (e.g., "best aerial fryers")
• Transactional: Users privation to bargain thing (e.g., "buy aerial fryer online")

Continuing with our illustration of a nutrient blog, you’ll mostly beryllium creating informational content. So you should absorption connected keywords with informational hunt intent.

Another happening you request to see is keyword difficulty (KD %)—a measurement of however hard it is to fertile connected the archetypal leafage of Google results for a fixed keyword.

If your blog is new, it’s champion to people presumption with debased trouble scores (under 30%). Because you apt can't fertile yet for precise competitory terms.

But the wide keyword trouble metric doesn’t archer the full story. So, participate your domain astatine the apical of the leafage to get your Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD %) score—a measurement of however hard it is for your circumstantial domain to fertile for a peculiar term.

Then, use some hunt intent and PKD % filters successful the Keyword Magic Tool to constrictive down to options that conscionable these criteria.

Lastly, see the hunt measurement (the mean fig of monthly searches a word gets). While you don’t privation to get overly focused connected it, it’s champion to take presumption that person astatine slightest a decent fig of searches.

This is conscionable 1 method for uncovering keywords. We research different methods below.

Keyword Planner


Google’s Keyword Planner is simply a escaped instrumentality designed for advertisers who usage Google Ads. But it tin besides beryllium utile successful uncovering keywords for SEO.

To entree it, sign successful to Google Ads. Then, click the "Tools" paper and prime "Keyword Planner."

After that, click “Discover caller keywords”

Enter a effect keyword related to your website. And click “Get results.”

The instrumentality volition make related keyword ideas on with adjuvant metrics like:

• Average monthly searches: How galore times the keyword is searched each month
• Competition: The level of contention successful paid campaigns for a fixed term
• Top of leafage bid: Approximately what outgo for an advertisement click is needed for ads to amusement astatine the apical of hunt results for a fixed term

The hunt measurement metric tin springiness you a consciousness of however overmuch imaginable postulation you could pull with a top-ranking result.

While the different 2 metrics aren’t arsenic applicable for SEO arsenic for advertisement campaigns, they tin inactive beryllium useful. Because they assistance uncover which presumption advertisers deliberation are astir valuable.

You tin besides filter, sort, and download the full database of keyword ideas.


Analyze Competitor Keywords

Your competitors are apt targeting galore SEO hunt presumption connected their websites that are arsenic applicable to you.

And uncovering those presumption means you don’t person to bash each your keyword probe from scratch. Because you tin people immoderate of those aforesaid terms. And pull applicable traffic.

Open the Organic Research tool, participate a competitor's domain, and click "Search."

Then spell to the "Top Keywords" conception and click "View each # keywords."

You'll spot a database of the SEO keywords your rival is targeting and ranking for.

Once again, look astatine metrics similar hunt volume, keyword difficulty, and intent to find which ones are worthy pursuing.

Get Ideas from ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot made by OpenAI that tin make responses to prompts.

While it’s not a dedicated keyword tool, you tin inquire it to make keyword ideas for your website.

To usage it, sign up for ChatGPT and commencement entering prompts. 

For example, you could inquire "What are immoderate bully keywords for a gardening website?" And ChatGPT volition supply a database of applicable keyword suggestions.

The suggestions don’t travel with immoderate information to assistance you find whether they’re bully options. So, deliberation of the database arsenic a speedy starting constituent erstwhile opening your keyword research process.

You tin past usage much specialized tools similar Keyword Overview to grow connected those keyword ideas and get richer data.

Use Google’s Autocomplete Suggestions

Google hunt tin beryllium a invaluable instrumentality for uncovering applicable SEO keywords for your site. Because arsenic you commencement typing, the autocomplete relation shows SEO keyword suggestions based connected things similar your hunt past and trending interests. 

For example, if you benignant "recipes" successful the hunt box, you mightiness spot suggestions like:

• “recipes with crushed beef”
• “recipes for dinner”
• “recipes with chicken”

Add a abstraction earlier your query to get adjacent much ideas:

Once you person immoderate keyword ideas, usage a instrumentality similar Keyword Overview to analyse their metrics. 

Open the tool, participate your keywords 1 by one, adhd your domain name, and click “Search.”

You’ll spot each query’s hunt intent, hunt volume, and Personal Keyword Difficulty.

Use this accusation to find which ones are astir worthwhile to target.

Evaluate Existing Keyword Rankings

Your tract is astir apt ranking for galore SEO keywords already. And if you find retired what they are, you tin optimize your contented and website to amended your rankings. 

To find these hunt terms, usage Google Search Console.

Log successful to Search Console and spell to the “Search results” report. And cheque the container for “Average position.”

Then, scroll down to the “Queries” array and acceptable a filter to lone amusement keywords wherever your presumption is greater than 10.

You’ll spot a database of SEO keywords that request much work.

You tin past optimize the contented you already have.

How to Use SEO Keywords

Once you've recovered promising keywords, the adjacent measurement is to people them connected your website.

Here are a fewer tips for efficaciously targeting SEO keywords.

Create Quality Content

The champion mode to fertile for your people SEO keywords is to make high-quality contented that satisfies hunt intent. 

For informational keywords, you'll privation to make elaborate blog posts, guides, oregon different informative contented types that thoroughly reply the query. By covering the taxable in-depth, citing adept sources, and making it amended than different contented connected the aforesaid topic.

For keywords with commercialized and transactional intent, make elaborate merchandise oregon work pages that supply each the important users volition need. Like details astir features, pricing, comparisons with competitors, etc.

This Post Consumer Brands leafage for Puffins cereal is simply a bully example. Because it features reviews, high-level details, accusation connected wherever to bargain the product, and more.

The much utile your contented is, the much apt it is to fertile highly.

You tin besides integrate multimedia elements similar images, videos, graphics, and illustrations to heighten your contented and marque it much engaging and consumable. 

Further reading: Quality Content: What It Is + 10 Actionable Tips for Success

Include Target Keywords successful Strategic Places

You besides request to strategically optimize each webpage for its people keywords. To assistance hunt engines recognize your pages and marque them eligible to amusement for applicable queries.

Here’s wherever to see them:

• Title tags: Add each page’s superior keyword to its rubric tag—the HTML that specifies a page’s rubric and tin amusement successful hunt results
• Meta descriptions: Use each page’s superior keyword successful its meta description—the HTML leafage summary that tin amusement successful hunt results. While meta descriptions don’t power rankings, they tin inactive entice users to click done to your site.
• Headings (H1, H2s, H3, etc.): Include your SEO keywords successful the headings erstwhile appropriate
• Body content: Naturally enactment successful your people keywords a fewer times passim the assemblage content. But don't overdo it— keyword stuffing is simply a spam maneuver that tin wounded rankings.
• URL slugs: Ensure that each page’s URL slug (the extremity information of the URL) uses the superior keyword. For example, “https://example.com/blog/chicken-thigh-recipes.”

To cheque your existing contented for keyword use, effort the On Page SEO Checker. 

The instrumentality highlights which champion practices you’ve applied. And which you request to enactment on—like incorporating your superior keyword successful your assemblage text.

Track Your Progress


After you’ve implemented the supra tips, your rankings should commencement improving.

Use Semrush’s Position Tracking instrumentality to show your progress.

Once you acceptable up a task successful the tool, spell to the “Overview” tab and scroll down to the “Rankings Overview” section.

See wherever your website ranks for each of your SEO keywords. And marque enactment of immoderate dips that bespeak it’s clip to update your content.