What Keywords Are & How to Use Them

What Are Keywords?

In hunt motor marketing, keywords are presumption you effort to look for successful hunt engines similar Google. So you tin pull invaluable postulation to your website oregon carnal location.

This explanation covers 2 categories:

• SEO keywords: Keywords you people done search motor optimization (SEO). This means you effort to look successful the integrated (unpaid) results.
• PPC keywords: Search presumption you people done pay-per-click (PPC) hunt campaigns. This means you effort to look successful the sponsored (paid) hunt results.

For example, a jeweler’s keywords mightiness see “custom engagement rings.” Because it sells these products and wants to look prominently erstwhile radical hunt for them.

Like these websites do:

Why Are Keywords Important?

Keywords are important due to the fact that hunt engines usage them to find applicable contented to amusement successful hunt results. 

If you usage the word “custom engagement rings” appropriately connected a webpage oregon successful an advertisement campaign, a hunt motor is much apt to deliberation it’s relevant. And fertile it highly (position it precocious up connected the page) erstwhile idiosyncratic searches it.

And that’s crucial. Because users are acold much apt to click top-ranking contented connected hunt motor results pages (SERPs):

Plus, keyword probe (the process of uncovering and analyzing keywords) allows you to place fashionable online hunt topics.

This means you tin make contented and ads that align with your people audience’s interests and needs.

How to Find Keywords

It’s imaginable to travel up with keywords yourself. And get ideas from hunt engines oregon competitors’ websites. 

But the champion mode to find keywords is by utilizing keyword probe tools.

These tools let you to hunt keyword databases. So it’s quicker and easier to find applicable keywords to physique contented around. And harder to miss thing important.

Plus, keyword probe bundle typically provides entree to utile metrics. So you tin amended gauge what contented works champion connected your site.

Let’s research 2 of the astir fashionable keyword probe methods you tin use.

Further reading: The Ultimate Keyword Research Checklist for 2024

Find Keywords from Seed Keywords

With Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, you tin find applicable keywords by basing your hunt astir a effect keyword—a wide word related to your niche.

To illustrate, let’s hunt “gold necklace” successful our U.S. database.

Enter the word successful the tool. You tin besides adhd your domain to get personalized information if you wish.

And click “Search.”

By default, you’ll get “Broad Match” results that incorporate immoderate saltation of your effect term. 

This is mostly the champion mode to guarantee you don’t miss immoderate applicable keywords.

You tin get much circumstantial results by looking at:

• “Phrase Match” keywords. Which incorporate your nonstop word with the words appearing successful immoderate order.
• “Exact Match” keywords. Which incorporate your nonstop word with the words successful the bid you specified.

To absorption connected keywords that trigger ads (not each keywords do), spell to “Advanced filters” and prime the drop-down nether “SERP Features.”

And adhd a filter for both.

• Ads top: Keywords that trigger substance ads astatine the apical of the SERP
• Ads bottom: Keywords that trigger substance ads astatine the bottommost of the SERP

Later, we’ll explicate however to usage the metrics successful the Keyword Magic Tool to take the champion keywords for your site’s search motor selling (SEM) strategy.

Find Keywords by Checking Your Competitors’ Keywords

With Semrush’s Keyword Gap, you tin comparison your keyword rankings against your competitors’ (i.e., behaviour a keyword spread analysis).

This helps you observe applicable competitory keywords you mightiness person different missed. And stitchery utile insights into your marketplace rivals’ hunt performance.

Simply participate your domain and the domains of up to 4 competitors. And take which benignant of keywords you’d similar to absorption on:

• Organic keywords trigger a top-100 integrated effect for astatine slightest 1 of the analyzed sites
• Paid keywords trigger a hunt advertisement for astatine slightest 1 of the analyzed sites

Then, take your people state and click “Compare.”

Scroll down to the array to spot a database of keyword ideas. 

We urge focusing connected the pursuing tabs:

• Missing: Keywords that each the rival domains fertile for but you don’t. This suggests they’re highly applicable and you should see targeting them.
• Weak: Keywords that each analyzed domains fertile for but you fertile lowest. Improving these rankings could assistance you summation much visibility implicit your rivals.
• Strong: Keywords that each analyzed domains fertile for and you fertile highest. Maintaining oregon improving these rankings tin assistance you support a competitory edge.
• Untapped: Keywords you don’t fertile for but astatine slightest 1 analyzed rival does. This tin assistance you place keywords you’re missing retired on.
• Unique: Keywords you fertile for but your analyzed competitors don’t. This suggests they’re topics, products, oregon services you specialize in.

In the adjacent section, we’ll explicate however to recognize the tool’s keyword metrics.

Understanding Keyword Metrics

Keyword metrics are information points astir peculiar keywords. They assistance you place the champion hunt selling opportunities for your business.

The availability and accuracy of metrics beryllium connected the keyword probe tool(s) you’re moving with.

Let’s research immoderate of the astir utile metrics and wherever you tin find them.

Search Intent

Search intent is the accustomed crushed down a user’s peculiar search.

For example, idiosyncratic searching “lab created engagement rings” is typically buying for engagement rings made with synthetic diamonds.

As the hunt results suggest:

There are four types of keywords erstwhile it comes to hunt intent:

Some keywords person mixed intent. Meaning important portions of users privation antithetic things from the results.

For example, the SERP for “diamonds” contains informational pages similar the 1 from Wikipedia. And transactional pages similar the 1 from Diamonds Direct.

You tin spot keyword intent type(s) erstwhile you bash keyword probe successful Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

You tin besides sojourn the SERP for a much in-depth understanding. 

Just click the icon that looks similar this:

Or, click connected a circumstantial keyword to unfastened it successful Keyword Overview. Then click the “View SERP” link.

Search Volume

Search volume is the mean fig of monthly searches a keyword receives. So it gives you an thought of a high-ranking result’s imaginable reach.

In Semrush, you tin spot hunt volumes and however they’ve fluctuated implicit the erstwhile year.

For example, Keyword Overview shows that “swimwear” gets 40.5K searches per period successful the U.S. And that astir searches hap astir outpouring and summer.

So, an online swimwear retailer mightiness privation to program a hunt advertizing run good up of formation season. To capitalize connected the imaginable to scope much audiences earlier they spell connected their summertime vacations.

Keyword Difficulty Score

Semrush’s keyword difficulty people (KD%) measures however hard it’ll beryllium to gain a top-10 integrated hunt ranking. 

This percent metric is utile erstwhile choosing keywords for SEO. Because there’s small constituent successful targeting keywords you’ll conflict to fertile highly for.

To illustrate, let’s look astatine a mates of keyword examples we ran done Keyword Overview’s Bulk Analysis feature:

• “jewelry” has a 100% trouble score. Which means the SERP is highly competitory and astir sites volition conflict to fertile connected the archetypal page.
• “star jewelry” has a 33% trouble score. So adjacent recently established sites basal a bully accidental of ranking if they make the close benignant of content.

Here’s a breakdown of each the imaginable keyword trouble scores:

Personal Keyword Difficulty

Semrush’s idiosyncratic keyword trouble (PKD%) people is an AI-driven insight that measures however hard it’ll beryllium for your circumstantial domain to fertile successful the apical 10 integrated results for a fixed hunt term. It’s besides expressed arsenic a percentage.

This metric is calculated with our proprietary AI algorithm. And to find ranking trouble for your domain, it takes a look at:

• Thematic relevance betwixt the keyword and the domain you enter
• Competition level for the taxable you’re researching
• Domain metrics of your tract and competitors contiguous successful hunt results

For example, the keyword “work management” has a KD% of 52% successful Keyword Overview.

But for Monday.com, PKD% is 0%. Because the site’s contented already has precocious topical authority successful subjects related to the analyzed keyword.

If Monday.com wanted to fertile for an unrelated word similar “insulin,” it would person a hard time. Because it isn’t applicable to the remainder of their content.

Cost Per Click

Cost per click (CPC) is an important metric successful PPC selling due to the fact that it's however overmuch you wage each clip idiosyncratic clicks your ad.

You tin get CPC estimates erstwhile you bash keyword probe successful Semrush. 

For example, “gold necklace” has an estimated CPC of $1.43 successful Keyword Overview.

An ad’s CPC is determined by an auction betwixt advertisers. While determination are galore factors that spell into it, a higher CPC mostly indicates that you tin expect a higher conversion complaint and/or a higher mean bid value.

(Because advertisers are improbable to wage for clicks that don’t make a return.)

But what works for 1 concern won’t needfully enactment for another. That’s wherefore it’s truthful important to show your PPC results and accommodate your strategy accordingly.

You mightiness besides privation to people high-CPC keywords done SEO. So you tin pull invaluable postulation successful a much cost-effective way.

Competitive Density

Competitive density (Com.) is simply a Semrush metric that measures the level of contention for a paid hunt keyword successful Google Ads.

It’s measured from 0-1 and tin beryllium seen successful Keyword Overview. 

A people supra 0.8 suggests that tons of advertisers are competing for the aforesaid spaces. To rank, you’ll astir apt request a high-quality advertisement run and a precocious budget.

A people beneath 0.6 suggests that fewer advertisers are bidding connected the keyword. This mightiness conscionable mean that the keyword is overlooked. But it could beryllium that it doesn’t make a bully instrumentality connected advertisement walk (ROAS).

The lone mode to cognize for definite is to tally an advertisement run and measurement your results.

How to Use Keywords successful SEO

In this section, we’ll explicate however and wherever to usage SEO keywords connected your website. So you tin fertile higher and get much organic traffic.

1. Group Keywords into Topics and Pages

Topic clusters are groups of thematically related pages that see a pillar (main) page and associated subpages. And creating them tin assistance you physique topical authority.

Each taxable clump is made up of pages that incorporate keyword clusters—groups of keywords that stock the aforesaid intent. So you tin people each presumption successful the radical done the aforesaid portion of content. 

This is much businesslike than targeting 1 keyword astatine once.

And it helps you debar keyword cannibalization—an SEO contented that occurs erstwhile aggregate pages connected a tract fulfill the aforesaid hunt intent. Which besides confuses hunt engines.

You tin make clusters automatically with Semrush’s AI-powered Keyword Strategy Builder.

Enter a fewer of the keywords you identified earlier and click “Create list.”

The instrumentality volition automatically make some taxable clusters and keyword clusters. 

Here’s what that looks similar successful our example:

To larn much astir each taxable clump and keyword cluster, scroll down to the “Pages Details” section. 

In the surface below, you tin spot a taxable clump centered astir “gold concatenation bracelet” arsenic the pillar page. And each its related subpages.

You’ll besides spot a breakdown of intent, keyword difficulty, and hunt measurement for each page. Which tin assistance you find which taxable clusters to prioritize implicit others.

We urge that you usage the keyword the instrumentality shows arsenic the pillar pages and subpages arsenic your primary keywords for their corresponding pages. Meaning those should beryllium the main keywords you privation to fertile for.

All the related keywords for each leafage (which you tin presumption by clicking the arrow adjacent to immoderate pillar oregon subpage) go secondary keywords by extension. And you tin usage them to enactment the superior one.

2. Create a Keyword Map

A keyword map is simply a papers that matches each of your keyword clusters with a people URL connected your website. 

The people URL is the leafage (or eventual page) connected your tract that should beryllium optimized. Because it satisfies the cluster’s hunt intent.

Here are a fewer examples to illustrate:

Once your representation is complete, commencement moving connected the pages you identified arsenic apical priorities.

Next, we’ll explicate the on-page SEO techniques you tin usage to optimize your chosen pages for some hunt engines and people.

3. Write Optimized Title Tags and H1 Tags

Search engines look astatine the title tag (the HTML leafage title) and the H1 tag (the main on-page heading) to recognize what a leafage is about.

So, it’s important to see your superior keyword successful some places successful your HTML.

Like this:

• <title>Diamond Rings</title>
• <h1>Diamond Rings</h1>

Search engines whitethorn besides show your rubric tag (or a adjacent variation) successful the SERP.

Google typically displays up to 60 characters successful this spot:

It’s a bully thought to see your superior keyword adjacent the beforehand to trim the hazard of it getting chopped off.

And marque the astir of immoderate unused abstraction by adding elements specified as:

• Your marque name
• A telephone to enactment (e.g., “Shop Now”)
• A unsocial selling constituent (e.g., “Free Delivery”)
• Secondary keywords

Just marque definite to debar unnaturally forcing successful keywords. This is an contented called keyword stuffing, and Google whitethorn penalize you for it.

4. Optimize Your Meta Descriptions

Your meta description (HTML leafage summary) won’t straight impact your page’s rankings.

But hunt engines whitethorn show it successful the SERP. 

In this spot close here:

So, you should effort to prosecute the searcher and promote them to click connected your result.

One mode to bash this is to see your superior keyword. And incorporated different applicable terms, if possible. 

This volition assistance awesome to users that your effect is relevant. Especially since Google bolds presumption that correspond with the hunt query:

To summation the accidental of your meta statement being utilized successful full, we urge a magnitude of astir 105 characters.

5. Add Secondary Keywords to Subheadings

Subheadings let you to interruption your contented into sections. So, they’re often bully places to see your secondary keywords.

And if you usage the close heading tags (H2-H6), you’ll assistance hunt engines recognize the operation and contented of your page.

For example, you mightiness person a heading operation that looks similar this:

• <h1>Types of Gemstones</h1>
  • <h2>Precious Gemstones</h2>
    • <h3>Diamond</h3>
    • <h3>Sapphire</h3>
    • <h3>Ruby</h3>
  • <h2>Semi-Precious Gemstones</h2>
    • <h3>Amethyst</h3>
    • <h3>Aquamarine</h3>
    • <h3>Opal</h3>

6. Naturally Incorporate Keywords successful the Body Content

We urge that you notation your superior keyword successful the archetypal paragraph of assemblage content. To rapidly found what your contented is about.

And past incorporated each your keywords passim the contented wherever natural.

Remember: 

Keyword stuffing tin harm your SEO. And it’s apt to harm your conversion rates, too.

For inspiration, spot however your apical SERP competitors are utilizing keywords.

Semrush’s SEO Content Template instrumentality makes it easy.

Just participate your people keyword(s), take your people audience, and click “Create contented template.”

Then, scroll down to spot however your apical 10 competitors usage your people keywords.

The instrumentality besides provides a recommended connection count, readability score, etc. Based connected its investigation of the top-ranking content.

When you’re acceptable to commencement writing, spell to “Real-time Content Check” > “Open successful SEO Writing Assistant.”

SEO Writing Assistant is simply a Semrush instrumentality that scores your contented based connected readability, keyword usage (SEO), code of voice, and originality.

If you get stuck oregon privation to prevention immoderate time, you tin usage the built-in AI copywriting features to assistance you make your draft.

7. Use Keywords successful Your URLs

Including keywords successful each page’s URL (webpage address) helps hunt engines and users recognize what they’re about.

For example, comparison these fictional URLs for lab-grown diamond rings:

✅ /rings/diamond/lab-grown/

❌ /products/item/12345/view?category_id=789

The archetypal is intelligibly much SEO- and user-friendly.

To optimize your URLs, you request to physique a bully website architecture. And usage short, descriptive IDs for your folders, pages, etc.

How to Use Keywords successful PPC Search Campaigns

In this section, we’ll stock immoderate tips for utilizing PPC keywords efficaciously successful your hunt advertisement campaigns. So you tin execute a higher instrumentality connected advertisement walk (ROAS).

1. Create Keyword Groups

Keyword groups are sets of PPC keywords you people with the aforesaid advertisement campaign(s). Because users are looking for akin products oregon services.

Keyword groups thin to beryllium much businesslike than targeting 1 keyword astatine a time.

You tin signifier your keywords into groups with the PPC Keyword Tool. 

During the setup process, import your keywords manually, from a file, oregon from a Semrush report. 

And take however to make your groups:

• Create oregon prime a group: Manually make a caller radical oregon take an existing one
• Auto grouping: Automatically radical keywords that stock a basal connection oregon phrase
• Create groups of 1 kw = 1 gr: Create azygous keyword advertisement groups (SKAGs)

When setup is complete, click the “Recommendations” fastener successful the precocious right.

For each campaign, the instrumentality whitethorn suggest:

• Cleaning keywords (removing unnecessary elements from your keywords, specified arsenic punctuation)
• Removing duplicate keywords
• Adding cross-group negatives (including antagonistic keywords—which we’ll speech much astir later—to forestall your advertisement groups from competing with 1 another)

When you’re done, you tin export your keyword information successful a Google Ads-friendly format.

2. Understand the Keyword Match Types

In Google Ads, the keyword lucifer type you take determines the scope of keywords that whitethorn trigger your ads.

There are 3 types:

• Broad match: Search queries that subordinate to your keyword whitethorn trigger your ad
• Phrase match: Search queries that see your keyword’s meaning whitethorn trigger your ad
• Exact match: Search queries that lucifer your keyword’s meaning whitethorn trigger your ad

So, choosing the close lucifer benignant is cardinal to maximizing your reach. While minimizing vulnerability connected irrelevant SERPs.

3. Use Negative Keywords Effectively

Negative keywords are hunt presumption that forestall your ads from showing.

For example, a jewelry retailer mightiness privation to adhd “tiffany” arsenic a antagonistic keyword. Because they don’t merchantability products from this marque and don’t privation to wage for clicks from those SERPs.

You’ll request to take lucifer types for your antagonistic keywords. But they enactment otherwise than normal:

• Negative wide match: Your advertisement won’t amusement if the query contains your keyword with the words successful immoderate order
• Negative operation match: Your advertisement won’t amusement if the query contains your keyword with the words successful the nonstop bid you specified
• Negative nonstop match: Your advertisement won’t amusement if the query is precisely the aforesaid arsenic your keyword

4. Incorporate Keywords successful Your Ad Copy and Landing Pages

How applicable your ad copy (the substance that appears successful your ad) and run landing leafage (the webpage that your advertisement links to) are to your chosen keywords plays a important relation successful your advertisement rankings and performance.

One of the champion ways to found relevance is to incorporated your people keyword(s) successful some your ads and landing pages.

For example, here’s a top-ranking advertisement for “lab grown diamond engagement rings”:

And the corresponding landing page:

For inspiration, you tin look astatine your competitors’ ads and landing pages with the Ads History tool.

Enter the PPC keyword you’re funny in, take your people country, and click “Search.”

The bluish boxes amusement each domain’s highest advertisement ranking by month.

Click these boxes to spot the corresponding ads. You tin past click done to the run landing pages.

Use Your Keywords Strategically

With Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder, you tin place each the keywords you request to make pages and ads for successful a substance of minutes.

And Semrush’s different tools tin assistance you with each the steps that travel next.

Sign up for a escaped proceedings today.

Keyword Research Statistics 

• Over 36% of SEOs accidental they walk astir of their clip connected keyword research
• Keyword rankings are the third astir important metric SEO professionals usage to measurement performance
• Content longer than 1,500 words published by the apical 10% of websites ranks for a median fig of 7 keywords
• About 4% of SEO professionals are looking to automate keyword probe wrong the adjacent year
• Keywords that are betwixt 10-15 words successful magnitude get 1.76x much clicks than single-word terms