The impact of keyword choice on website rankings

SEO Keyword

Presenting information in an artful manner is no longer enough to win over customers on the web.

The strategic manner in which that information is presented and analyzed is just as important as the quality of the content.  Keywords, key phrases and local identifiers are particularly important in winning the SEO battle.  SEO is an acronym that stands for search engine optimization.  Select the best possible keywords and key phrases for your unique online content and it stands a much better chance of making it to the first page or two of those uber-important search engine results pages, also known as SERPs.

Keyword Selection Should not be a Guessing Game

Too many business owners, managers and marketers assume they can properly guess which keywords, key phrases and local identifiers are most important for their website.  However, even business owners who understand their target audience and industry in-depth do not always guess the best possible keywords and key phrases for their online content.  Proper analysis and research, possibly performed by data scientists, must be conducted as opposed to simply guessingwhich keywords will boost SEO.

Those who use a variety of tools to identify the most important keywords will gain critically important exposure in the coveted online real estate.  As an example, Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest SEO tool and PrepostSEO’s keyword density checker are quite helpful at identifying optimal keywords and key phrases for online content.  Spend the little bit of time necessary researching the specific keywords the target audience is searching for and it really will be significantly easier to connect with the target audience.

Focus on Relevancy

Website rankings in the SERPs are largely dictated by whether the proper keywords and key phrases are used at the appropriate frequency.  These important words and phrases must be relevant not only to the local area but also to the industry and problems customers are looking to solve.  The keywords and key phrases should match the company itself as well as those it targets.

As an example, if a business is looking to rank for the term “IT” or “information technology”, it should use that word in its online content, ideally as a component of a larger keyword phrase such as “information technology in New Orleans.”  However, the keyword/key phrase in question must appear to be a natural component of the content in question.

Search Engines are Designed for Sleuthing Accuracy

The point of search engines is to pinpoint online content that is most similar to that searched which sleuths actually search for.  This is precisely why keyword choice matters so much.  Websites that contain just the right amount of the keywords and key phrases online sleuths are searching for will move up the SERPs and be seen by that many more internet users.  This means the subtleties of keywords are of the utmost importance.  As an example, if people commonly misspell a certain word when searching for a specific service, product or topic, it makes sense to intentionally misspell that word in online content as doing so spurs that many more matches in the context of SEO.

Be Mindful of Keyword Frequency

Keyword frequency, also known as keyword saturation rate or density, has the potential to make the difference between winning and losing the SEO battle.  If too many keywords or key phrases are used, Google and other search engine algorithms well penalize that content for oversaturation.  However, if too few keywords are used, the content will not escalate through the SERPs onto the primary internet real estate everyone desires – the first couple SERPs.

In general, it is best for the keyword saturation rate to fall between 0.5% and 3%.  Businesses that produce a steady stream of online content with keywords and key phrases utilized at this frequency will enjoy SEO success in the form of improved online visibility, more clicks and ultimately, that many more conversions of prospects into loyal, paying customers.