What is a keyword?

A keyword is a word or phrase that a potential customer will type into a search engine, such as Google, to find your product or service.

Why are keywords important?

When you use keywords on your website, search engines can gain a better understanding of the content on your page, allowing them to match your website to the right search queries. When done effectively, this can result in better rankings.

How to choose your keywords

There are two options when it comes to selecting your keywords.

1. The research method
2. The 'no research' method

The Research method

This is the recommended method to determine your keywords. While a bit more effort is required, the result is a selection of keywords that will give you a better chance of appearing in front of your customer.

There are a range of keyword research tools available, but one of the best free options is Uber Suggest.

Step 1: List your web pages

Using your SEO document (link in the Introduction lecture), open the Keywords tab. Add your main pages under the 'Page' column.

Step 2: List the search terms you want each page to rank for

Under the 'Keywords' column, list the terms you want that page to appear for. Try to limit this to three keywords as a starting point.

Note: each keyword should only be listed once. You can have multiple keywords for one page, but only 1 page per keyword.

Step 3: Check your keywords using Uber Suggest

Using Uber Suggest, enter the first keyword into the search box and select your region. Under the 'Keyword ideas' section, you'll see a list of related terms with a number of metrics. The important ones to look at are:

• Volume: the number of searches this keyword has in a month
• SD: estimated competition for this keyword (aka SEO difficulty). The higher the number, the more competitive

The best opportunities are keywords with a high Volume, and a low SD. Remember, it still needs to be relevant to the page!

Step 4: Update your list of keywords

If you find better keyword opportunities than the ones you have listed, add them to your list as you go.

Step 5: Select a primary keyword for each page

Go through the keywords you've listed for each page. For any pages that have more than one listed, select the best option to use as your 'primary keyword'. This will be the main focus for the page.

Step 6: Check out your amazing list of keywords!

Congratulations! You have successfully completed your keyword research.

The 'No Research' method

While it's recommended you do your research, there's also a 'no research' method, which involves using common sense. With the 'no research' method, you need to get into the mind of your customer and think about the terms they would type into a search engine to find your product.

Step 1: List your web pages

Using your SEO document, open the 'Keywords' tab. Add your main pages under the 'Page' column.

Step 2: List the search terms you want each page to rank for

Under the 'Keywords' column, list the terms you want that page to appear for. Try to limit this to three keywords as a starting point.

Note: each keyword should only be listed once. You can have multiple keywords for one page, but only 1 page per keyword.

Step 3: Select a primary keyword for each page

Go through the keywords you've listed for each page. For any pages that have more than one listed, select the best option to use as your 'primary keyword'. This will be the main focus for the page.

How to implement keywords on your website

Now you have your list of keywords, you can add these to your website. It’s not as simple as ‘assigning’ keywords to a page, you need to incorporate it into your content. The following modules will walk you through how to include keywords and implement the basic elements of on-page SEO:

• Page titles
• Page descriptions
• Headings
• Images

To get started learning about Page titles, click the Complete and continue button at the top of the screen.