7 SEO Tips for Using Keywords Naturally
Proper use of keywords is a key element in any search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Keywords are what Google and other search engines use to know what your webpages are about and determine the relevance of your content to specific organic search queries.
Riddling your content with keywords isn’t always beneficial to your SEO and content marketing plan. Keyword stuffing is considered a black hat tactic, and Google can penalize you for it, so you need to limit the number of keywords and ensure you insert them in your content as naturally as possible. Here are six ways to do this:
Know Which Keywords Your Content Needs
Before getting on with your article, consider creating a list of all your target keywords and their variations. This will simplify your keyword integration plans in that you will have a cheat sheet to peep into when it’s time to incorporate a keyword.
Use Keywords in Anchor Text Links
When creating content for link building, it is advisable to use keywords as anchor text links in your content. This means that there is another place the visitors can find more information about the keyword. It is a good way to add emphasis on the keyword and its relevance to the content.
Write the Content, Then Incorporate Keywords
There is nothing wrong with inserting keywords while you create your content, but the process can be draining and time-consuming. Many professional content creators prefer starting with the content and inserting the keywords when the article is finished. This not only helps you focus on the fluidity of your content but also saves you time as you don’t have to make unnecessary stops every few sentences to add a keyword. If your keywords are relevant to your content, then you can rest assured they won’t be hard to insert when you’re done writing your article.
Don’t Write for The Search Engines
The point is to impress both your audience and the search engines, but recent updates have made Google’s algorithm extremely dependent on user behavior to determine how pages rank. For example, if Google puts you on the first results page for a certain query, but you get relatively few clicks, it means your headlines are not striking enough, and your content is probably irrelevant. Similarly, if you get plenty of clicks, but most of those users leave your website as soon as they click in, your bounce rate will shoot, and Google will penalize you for it.
What this means from a keyword standpoint is that while they might grab the attention of search engines, it is the audience that will eventually determine where your page ranks, so put them above the machines at all times.
Make Your Content Longer
Long-form content not only allows you to express yourself more freely and expansively but also lets you incorporate more keywords without necessarily stuffing your post. When serpIQ performed research involving more than 20,000 keywords, they found that 2,000 words were the average length for posts that appeared in the top ten results. Essentially, what the study showed is that while Google penalized high keyword density, it still valued keyword count. Long-form content provided a way to increase the count while limiting the density.
Create Headlines with Your Primary Keyword in Mind
Search engines want you to include your primary keyword in your headline. What you may not know is that the keyword must be inserted as naturally as possible. Google may not know you bluffed out the headline, but internet users will, and Google will pick up hints through them. Always think of the keyword before the headline. This will help you create the title and the subject around the keyword.
It would also help if you created a headline before crafting your content because if the latter preceded the former, the two would possibly end up mismatched. This may cause Google to display your page in wrong search results and potentially invite wrong clicks.
Examine How People Write Search Queries
Most people still write full sentences instead of keywords when typing search queries on Google. This is unnecessary on their part but incredibly beneficial for the content creator.
With the help of Google Search Console, you can examine how users search for the subject you are writing about and try to use the same phrases in your content. The use of full, grammatically correct sentences simplifies the process of integration and even provides you with alternative keyword variants to include in your list.
Endnote
Natural keyword integration is often easier said than done. There is a lot to keep in mind, and the possibility of violating other SEO guidelines while focusing on the keywords is high. Use the above tips to integrate both short and long-tail keywords naturally and ensure your content is friendly both to human users and search engines.
