How to Choose Good Keywords

Let’s face it — if blogging were straightforward and easy, everyone would be getting a ton of search traffic to each and every one of their web pages.

The reality, though, is that 96.6% of pages get zero organic search traffic from Google.

But what about the roughly 3% of people who are successfully ranking their pages on Google and getting organic search traffic consistently?

What are they doing differently?

Well, it starts with choosing the right keywords for SEO. So, in this article, we’ll go over how to choose keywords for SEO that will actually get you results. Keep reading!

How to choose good keywords

So, how do you choose keywords that you actually have a chance to rank for and bring in traffic that will convert into customers? Here are our top tips.

Use keyword research tools

Keyword research tools like Semrush, Ubersuggest, and Ahrefs give you valuable data to help you decide which keywords to target in your content. They typically help you:

• Generate keyword ideas so you know what content to create

• Estimate search volume so you know how many people are searching for a keyword each month

• Evaluate keyword difficulty, usually on a scale of 0 to 100

• Analyze competitors, like the backlink profile and domain authority of the top-ranking results

These tools can help you make informed, data-backed decisions.

Think like your target audience

If you want to attract the right people, you need to think like your audience.

Let’s say you're a nutritionist targeting vegans. What would they be Googling? Maybe something like “vegan diet plan.”

Of course, you’ll need to validate these ideas (more on that below), but brainstorming what your audience might search is a great place to start.

By targeting these specific keywords, you make your content more relevant to their needs which not only helps you show up in their search results but also attracts visitors who might genuinely be interested in your offers. If you choose keywords that don’t align with their needs, like "car repair tips" or "best pizza recipes," you’ll attract the wrong audience and miss out on potential clients/customers.

Choose keywords with search traffic

After coming up with these audience-targeted keywords (whether you did it through keyword search tools or just your own ideas), you need to validate these ideas. The first step to doing this is figuring out if a keyword gets search traffic, which you can do using one of the aforementioned keyword tools. The screenshot below is of Ubersuggest’s keyword dashboard.

Choose keywords that are less competitive

While search traffic is great, the reality is that terms that have a lot of search traffic are often very competitive and difficult to rank for. So, you want to make sure to choose keywords that aren’t super competitive. Two of the best ways to check the competitiveness of a keyword is its search difficulty (the keyword tools usually have a difficulty score) or the domain authority of the top search results (the higher they are, the more competitive). Keywords with a high search difficulty score or with search results full of websites with a domain authority much higher than yours will be tough to rank for.

Choose long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are typically 3–5+ words long and capture more specific, intent-driven searches. In general, they are going to be easier to rank for than short-tail keywords. For example, instead of “vegan diet plan,” you might try the longer, more specific keyword, “vegan diet plan high protein.”

The other benefit of long-tail keywords is that you can also target more variations of the keyword (like “high-protein vegan diet,” “high-protein vegan recipes,” etc.), giving you more reach from one piece of content.

Frequently asked questions

What are SEO keywords?

SEO keywords are words or phrases that people type into search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) when they're looking for information, products, or services. They are then delivered thousands of results and click on one or more of these results to get the information, product, or service they’re looking for.

Why are SEO keywords important?

Creating content around keywords that your audience is searching for can help your content show up in search engine results, making it easier for people to find you.

For example, if you run a bakery and you want to attract more customers, you might use keywords like "best cupcakes in [your city]," "bakery in [your city]" or "wedding cake baker in [your city]." By optimizing your website content and blog posts for these keywords, you're more likely to show up when someone searches for these terms. 

What are common mistakes people make choosing keywords?

Choosing the right keywords is easier said than done. That’s why so many people try writing blog content, choosing keywords with little thought, then inevitably not see much traffic from their content and think that SEO doesn’t work. And there are a few mistakes we most commonly see people make when it comes to choosing their keywords:

• They choose keywords that get no search traffic
  Don’t make the mistake of picking topics just because you want to write about them. If no one is searching for it, it won’t bring in traffic. So, focus on what your audience is already looking for.

• They choose keywords that are hyper-competitive
  Sure, ranking for a high-volume keyword sounds great, but if you’re competing against massive sites with deep SEO budgets, it’s going to be tough. Look for lower-competition keywords where you can realistically rank.

• They choose keywords that don’t attract their target audience
  Traffic is meaningless if it doesn’t convert. If your business is in fitness, writing about baking might get clicks, but it won’t attract the right people. Always choose keywords aligned with your audience’s interests and your offer.

Want more help?

Choosing the right keywords takes work, but hopefully, this guide has helped.

But if you need extra help with choosing the right keywords that reach the right audience and drive traffic to your site, check out our SEO strategy service, where we’ll do the keyword research for you so you can focus on creating content that ranks and converts. Or, if you want to learn more about SEO, check out some of our other blog posts!