Optimizing content on a site for SEO is the best way to boost organic rankings. Regularly adding descriptive headings, easy-to-read body text and original images to landing pages will help your site stay relevant for important searches. Optimizing for the right core keywords is a must if an SEO campaign is going to be a success.
It’s essential to do keyword research to make sure optimizations are targeting the most valuable terms and reaching the right audience.
Core keywords are terms that focus on the main topics of your site and will lay the foundation for optimizing content. Many terms have dozens of variations but finding the keyword that works best for your site will help you make the most of your SEO efforts. Here are some ways you can identify core keywords to make sure your SEO plan is headed in the right direction.
Putting together a list of core keywords will help you prioritize search terms and keep content focused.
Check Competitor Sites
Looking at competitor sites to see page titles, meta descriptions and headings they’re using can be a quick way to find what terms they find most valuable. Page titles and <h1> – <h3> tags will generally give you a good feel for the search terms a site is prioritizing. Adding the terms that match what content on your site is about is a great way to get your list of core keywords started.
Once you have a list of terms, the next step is actually searching for them on Google or another search engine. Seeing what’s actually showing on search engine results pages (SERPs) will help confirm the terms are valuable. Reviewing organic results can also give you a feel for page titles and meta descriptions ranking high on SERPs that will help when you’re optimizing content later.
Keyword Planner Tools
Taking advantage of one of the many keyword planner tools available on the web is another method you can use to identify valuable keywords for SEO.
The Google Keyword Planner is available in the Google Ads dashboard and gives you the option to enter keywords and/or site urls to retrieve a list of related search terms. Info about search volume, level of competition, and recommended bid amounts for Google Ads will show with terms and can be used to make sure you’re prioritizing the best keywords. An option to specify the physical location to target is also available if you’re interested in local SEO vs. reaching a global audience.
There are also other keyword planner tools like ahrefs, SEMrush and Moz available that have paid/unpaid versions that can be used to find keywords for SEO. Using one of these tools to scan keywords/urls from the Google Keyword Planner is a good way to confirm your list of core keywords makes sense and pick up on any terms you may have missed.
Use Core Terms for Effective SEO Strategy
Using your core keywords to define site structure and determine the best subjects to post new content for on your blog/landing pages is a great way to give your content purpose. Having too many pages focused on the same keyword will limit the value of each page. Using your core keywords to optimize each page for a unique term is essential. Branching out to target different variations of keywords from your core list will help increase site relevancy and give you the best chance to find success with SEO.