Hi, welcome back again for yet another article of this multipart series about How to Rank Higher On Google. This is the third part of this multipart series. the first part was How to Rank Higher On Google (Part 1: On-Page SEO). The second part was How to Rank Higher On Google (Part 2: Off-Page SEO). Now this third part will be about Keyword Research & Optimization. For you to rank on google you need to use the right keywords. You do not just write any article and rank without any keywords. Similarly, you do not just stuff many keywords on your article and expect to rank. So how do you do it right? To answer you, read below to understand.
Step #3. Keyword Research & Optimization.
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the words and phrases (keywords) that people use in search engines. You search these words and phrases so that you can use them on your blogs and pages so that you rank on google. Yes even today google still focuses on keywords to rank your page.
What is keyword optimization?
Keyword optimization is placing the words and phrases in the right places on your blog/page to rank better. Yes you do not just place the keywords anywhere in your article to rank. You have to place it at the right places. Normally once per paragraph. Or maybe once per two paragraphs. If you just place the keywords in one place repetitively then google will consider that as keyword stuffing. Hence google will penalize you for that.
Steps for Keyword Research
Step #1. Brainstorm Topics.
First you need to know what your article will be all about. You need to know your niche and your category. This will guide you on how to pick the right keywords.
Step #2. Use Keyword Research Tools.
To make your work easier, use tools like the ones listed below.
- Google Keyword Planner.
- Ahrefs.
- SEMrush.
- Ubersuggest.
- Moz Keyword Explorer.
Step #3. Analyze Search Intent.
The main guide of keyword research is the search intent. Search intent is what are the people searching for? What do they want? You need to know all these questions so that you can answer them. By answering them we mean writing content that satisfies that search intent. If it is customers who are looking to buy something, then position yourself as the seller.
Some key search intent include:
- Informational. e.g., “How to lose weight”.
- Navigational. e.g., “Nike official website”.
- Transactional. e.g., “Buy running shoes online”.
- Commercial Investigation. e.g., “Best smartphones 2025”.
Step #4. Check Search Volume & Competition.
Now that you know your keywords, its time to check the search volume of these keywords. Similarly, we need to check the level of competition for the keyword. What do these things mean? For the search volume, we need to know how many people are searching this keywords on google. All keywords do not have the same search volume. There are those that have more search volume than others. The more the search volume the better for you. Less search volume is bad. You do not want to spend years writing articles for keywords that people do not search for.
For competition, you do not want keywords that have a very high competition. This is because it becomes so hard to beat the competition. If you can find keywords that have high search volume and yet a small competition, that’s the best. The best keywords have high search volume and low competition.
Step #5. Look for Long-Tail Keywords.
Long-tail keywords are easier to rank than short-tail keywords. Hence search for the long-term keywords and work on them. Go for keywords that are specific but with lower competition. Also make sure that the keywords do not have so much competition.
Step #6. Analyze Competitor Keywords.
See what other competitors are doing. Remember that google is not a place for you only. You are not the only one trying to rank on google. There are so many other people like you also trying to rank for the same keywords. Hence analyze competitors and beat them.
Best Practices for Keyword Optimization.
#1. Title Tags & Meta Descriptions.
Use keywords in your titles and even your meta descriptions. This will help you rank for those keywords. Hence leading to higher click-through rates.
#2. URL Structure.
Use keywords in your URL. Yes google considers the keywords in your urls. For example example.com/keyword-research-tips.
#3. Use the right Headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.).
Use the right header tags such as H1, H2, H3,… all the way to H5. All these keywords must be hierarchical. Thus you cannot skip one level down to the next. Each level should follow the next in that order. In addition to that, your page must contain a H1 header.
#4. Content Optimization.
Place the keywords naturally within your article to make it sound natural. This will make your article rank for those keywords.
#5. Alt Text for Images.
Use keywords in descriptions and alt text in your images. This will improve your images ranking.
#6. Internal & External Linking.
Link to right pages on your website. Link to important pages of your website. Additionally, link to relevant pages and authority sites outside your website. For all those links use keyword-rich anchor text.
#7. Use LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) Keywords.
These are related words that improve content relevance.
#8. Mobile Optimization.
Make all your pages mobile first. Most people these days access internet through mobile phones.
Conclusion.
Now you know how to do keyword research and optimization. This marks the third part of this multipart series about How to Rank Higher On Google. Come back again tomorrow to read the 4th part.
