Keyword

Keywords are specific words or phrases that people use to find what they are looking for when browsing on the internet. For example, someone looking to buy a jacket online might search “buy jacket online” or “jacket prices” on their browsers. The search engine will then pull up the most relevant results for the inputted keyword, in order to satisfy the search intent of the user. 

Keywords are extremely relevant to digital marketing as they are used to create SEO content. Since Google and all other search engines prioritize satisfying search intent by providing relevant results, they rank the pages that have high quality, relevant content that contains the keywords and phrases high on the search results, giving them higher visibility. 

Hence, in order to optimize their webpage for rankings, digital marketers create content around the keywords related to their business that will satisfy the search intent of their target audience and increase their search ranking. And a higher ranking means more visibility and more traffic being driven to the page. 

Where to Use Keywords

Some of the different places keywords can be incorporated are 

• Page titles 
• Blogs and articles
• Meta descriptions 
• Social media posts
  

Types of Keywords

While there are many different types of keywords that have been identified, the two most common types are - 

• Short Tail Keywords - These are identified as ones that are only 2-3 words, have a high search volume, and are very hard to compete with. For example, “running shoes” or “gym wear”. They are not very specific and are used by searches that are in the initial stages of research, which is known as the discovery stage. ‍
• Long-Tail Keywords - These keywords are usually around 7-10 words. They are longer because the searcher is more descriptive about what they want or what they’re looking for and they yield specific results. With long-tailed keywords, it’s easier to understand the user’s search intent and create content that satisfies it.