Anyone who wants to increase their website traffic and thus their visibility knows thatchoose your keywords carefully to appear in the first results on search engines such as Google, Ecosia, Bing, etc. But how do you go about generating maximum qualified traffic from your keywords?
In this article we give you 10 tips on how to choose the best SEO keywords, which is in a way the key to success. the basis of your SEO strategy.
1. Respond to search intent with the best SEO keywords
Since your ultimate goal is to attract future customers to your website, it's obviously important to take into account the terms they might type into the search bar in order to position you on the best SEO keywords.
First and foremost, you need to clearly define your persona in order to provide the right information to the right person and generate the right response. traffic of the highest possible qualityIt's the one that's going to convert on your website.
First and foremost, you need to put yourself in your customer's shoes and ask yourself:
- "What does he search for on search engines?"
- "What precise terms will it enter in the search bar?"
- "What are the answers he wants to get in the search results?"
We often have preconceived ideas when it comes to choosing our best SEO keywords. It's very useful to take a step back and ask other people what keywords they would have used to search for your services or products.
We'd be surprised if the terms used weren't the ones we thought.
L'research intention is therefore an essential element to take into account in your SEO strategy: think about who you want to reach and where you want to guide them (service, specific subject, solution to a problem you can provide, etc.).
The web user expects to find a precise answer to a question or problem they're facing. When you have keywords in mind, remember to look at the results obtained on search engines to see the type of content put forward and the angle from which the issue was addressed.
To find out, simply type your selected keyword into the search engine and analyze the results. type of content which stands out on the front page and from which angle the issue has been addressed.
- The content type can be an image, a video, an article, etc.
- The angle is either a blog post, a tutorial, a comparison, etc.
2. See what your competitors are doing on Google
Analyzing what your competitors are doing is a good way to see what already works in your sector, keywords for which there is already a lot of competition or for which there is little competition, etc.
By studying your competitors, you can :
- Analyze the SEO keywords used in your competitors' title tags and textual content.
- to see the themes covered and give you ideas for content to cover
- get inspiration for SEO keyword synonyms to use
To facilitate your analysis, you can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Branalyzer or even SEMrush.
3. Am I able to compete on these SEO keywords?
Let's be optimistic: it's always possible to take on your competitors on every SEO keyword, but we won't hide from you the fact that, depending on the competition, this can prove to be an arduous, if not almost impossible, task.
Choosing the right keyword also means taking into account the competition for the keyword and the monthly search volume. You should also bear in mind that some keywords are seasonal, so search volumes can rise and fall sharply from one month to the next. The higher the competition, the more complicated it will be to rank for your selected keyword.
To help you find the best SEO keywords, there are plenty of tools on Google, including free SEO keyword generators:
Be careful, however, when it comes to writing your content once your list of defined keywords There's no point in repeating your keyword too often!
Worse still, this is actually penalized by Google, and can have a negative effect on your SEO. So just because you mention your best SEO keywords everywhere on your page doesn't mean you'll beat the competition in the search results!
A misuse of a keyword can be perceived by the search engine as keyword stuffing. This was a widespread practice at the time, but is now counter-productive as it is reprimanded by Google.
Your keywords on a page of your website can be used several times, and the optimum quantity is defined on the basis of a ratio between the number of keyword appearances and the number of words on the page. So there's no fixed maximum - it all depends on the size of your content.
To avoid redundancy in the use of your keyword, remember to use a varied vocabulary by using synonyms of your main keyword and alternate their use.
And finally, to position yourself well in relation to your competitors, you simply need to put into practice all the points mentioned in this article and even better, call one of our experts.
4. Evaluate the traffic potential of each keyword
To choose the right keyword, you need to analyze potential traffic of each keyword on search engines. This is quite easy to do, thanks to the tools available free of charge on the web.
To find out the search volume for the keyword you've selected, simply enter it in the Keyword Planner and launch the search.
Targeting keywords with a high search volume is obviously interesting for potentially generating a lot of traffic, but it does have its drawbacks. These terms often have a stiff competition and it's therefore difficult to position yourself on the first page. What's more, it may generate a lot of traffic, but the relevance of visitors may be limited, so your traffic is generally less qualified.
In many cases, therefore, it is more interesting to position yourself on a keyword that generates less search volume but more targeted research. That's exactly what we'll see in the next section.
5. The best SEO keywords: the long tail
To define a list of the best SEO keywords and rank in the top positions on search engines, it's highly recommended to work on long-tail keywords.
So, when defining your keywords, think offrom the most global to the most precise. What does this mean? To put it simply, a three-word keyword is more precise than a one-word keyword.
There are several types of keywords:
- Front-end keywords: they're highly sought-after, and there's a lot of competition. Example: "Smartphone".
- Intermediate keywords: these are moderately sought-after keywords with moderate competition. Example: "lightweight smartphone".
- Long-tail keywords: they're not highly searched and there's little competition. Example: "lightweight smartphone with 6-inch screen".
As you can see, long-tail keywords are much more precise, and even if they have a lower search volume, they allow you to reach a target with a higher search volume. more precise search and therefore a real interest in your product or service. In other words, you're more likely to meet a visitor's need, and therefore convert.
We therefore recommend that you vary the use of different keywords Front keywords, intermediate keywords, long-tail keywords.
Focusing solely on front-end keywords is likely to generate few results, as they are very complicated to rank for. So don't forget to add your long-tail keywords to your SEO strategy.
6. Choose the most important SEO keywords
In your SEO strategy, and therefore in the choice of your SEO keywords, you must take one thing into account: one main keyword per page.
This is the basic rule of SEO. Next, you define the secondary keywords that will complete your keyword list. The main keyword, also known asfokus keyword"It must also take into account all the elements mentioned in this article.
Bear in mind that it's preferable for a page's main keyword to be used only once throughout the entire website (this is not the case for secondary keywords, which can be reused).
This confirms the importance of choosing the right main keyword and selecting a specific keyword to avoid using it twice on your website.
7. Choose secondary keywords
Defining secondary keywords allows you to specify the subjects covered by the search engine and to strengthen your main keyword. It's important to identify several secondary keywords on your website to strengthen your natural referencing.
As you've already set up a keyword list, all you have to do is go back to it and add the other keywords mentioned on it.
Often, when you're on a CMS such as WordPress or Wix you have access to SEO plugins that just identify the main keyword in the free version!
8. Does Google understand your keyword?
Pay attention to multiple meanings of your keyword. Google may misunderstand the meaning of your keyword if it has more than one.
Again, the more information you give Google, the more you limit the risk of this happening. Once again, this demonstrates the importance of long-tail keywords or the use of synonyms when necessary.
By default, when you're in doubt as to whether your keyword will be understood by search engines, think about adapting it.
9. TOP 3 free tools for keyword and competitor analysis
There are, of course, many tools available to guide you in your SEO strategy: competitor analysis, keyword analysis, backlink analysis, etc.
Most of them, when you want to access the full range of functions, become chargeable, but you can find them here 3 free analysis tools SEO keyword competition :
Google Keyword Planner
A tool that you can find on Google Ads and which includes figures such as search volume, trends, CPC, etc.
Google Trends
Google tool for targeting search engine trends
Keyword Surfer
Free Google Chrome extension with estimated global and monthly search volumes and lots of other information
10. Analyze your SEO results
Adopting a search engine optimization strategy and taking an interest in the best SEO keywords is all well and good, but analyzing the results obtained afterwards is much better!
There's little point in embarking on SEO without ongoing analysis, and it's almost a waste of time.
SEO as a whole, and in this case the most searched words on Google, is constantly evolving, so your analysis will enable you toidentify trends positive or negative impact on your website's positioning.
There are several free tools available to help you analyze your situation and make decisions that will enhance your visibility.
For example, you can use Google Analytics to analyze incoming traffic and its sources, and get more precise details on the path and actions taken by web users according to the same source.
And the Google Search Console is also an interesting platform for identifying the terms used by Internet users that generate impressions in search results.
These two tools enable you to better understand search intent and adapt your SEO strategy to position yourself on the best SEO keywords.
Analysis with these tools does, however, require a certain amount of expertise. There are plenty of figures and information available, but you still need to know what to analyze in order to implement actions that will have a positive impact on your visibility. That's why we've put together some powerful analysis tools to help you quickly analyze your situation and make the best possible decisions. Discover our GA4 analysis tool or our Google Ads analysis tool.
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