Keywords are phrases and terms that search engine algorithms make use of to find search results for users. When you want to look for something on the web, you would type in a word or two into Google or Bing. These little wording snippets are known in the SEO world as keywords.
For search engine users, keywords are necessary for locating the websites they want. For website owners, keywords are essential for showing up on the target audience’s search results. Therefore, it’s important to choose the right keywords for your website to rank high among the most relevant search results.
Consider, for example, that you run a restaurant. Then “restaurant” should be a keyword for your website. You may notice that just “restaurant” is a very broad term and the competition for this search phrase is high. Therefore, you can make it more specific, such as “Mexican restaurant” or “high-end Mexican restaurant NYC.” Highly specific keywords, for which the competition is low, are called long-tail keywords.
Long-tail keywords can significantly help your website improve its search rankings. You can also reach your target audience better. However, finding such keywords is no easy task. Keyword research can be time-consuming and expensive. Fortunately, there are online tools you can use to ease this process. Google Keyword Planner is one such popular tool. There are better options for finding long-tail keywords, such as hiring a dedicated SEO professional to run Keyword Research on your website.
Keywords, like most things, should be used in moderation. Having more keywords on your web page won’t make it rank higher than a competing site. Placing too many keywords on a webpage is known as “keyword stuffing.” Search engines like Google frown on such practices. Rather than help your site, too many keywords might push it down the search rankings.
You should now have a basic understanding of what keywords are. When you first start a website its best to use only one or two highly relevant keywords words. Then place these on your website in moderate amounts. The right use of keywords is crucial for getting good search rankings.