SEO Basics: What You Should Know About Keyword Research

What is a keyword anyway and what do you need it for?

You may also know the keyword as a search term — essentially, the word (or even the phrase) that is entered in the search mask of a search engine to subsequently obtain the SERPs, i.e. the results of the search query. Thus, search engines can use the keyword to show you relevant pages for your search. On the other hand, this means that companies also need these keywords in the content of their websites in order to be found on the Internet at all.

The user always formulates search queries with an underlying intention. Which keywords are searched for, often depends on the search intention. Here there are three categories to which they can be assigned:

1. Informative search query

The user is looking for something on which he wants to obtain information or expand his knowledge. In particular, this is a search for instructions, background knowledge and information as well as answers to specific questions.

An example could be the following “cooking rice” — as a result, the search results will give you concrete help for your entered problem or question.

2. Transactional search query

Here it is about making a transaction. There is thus a clear intention to act and purchase. The product you are looking for can be digital or analog and does not necessarily have to cost anything. With this kind of search intention it is thus only a matter of making an action. Therefore, search queries often have a similar schema and contain verbs like “buy”, “order”, “download” or even targeted queries for specific products or product names.

3. Navigational search query

This type of search query is about finding a specific website. The user thus has a clear goal in mind. There is therefore neither a clear intention to buy nor the intention to obtain information or knowledge.

Long-tail vs. short-tail keywords

In the meantime, keywords can also be differentiated into long-tail and short-tail keywords. The exact differentiation depends on the length of the corresponding keyword phrases. Short phrases usually consist of a few words, and often have a high monthly search volume –these are short-tail keywords.

Longer phrases are more complex and string several words together. They are often whole sentences or questions. As a result, they are searched for less frequently, which is why the monthly search volume of long-tail keywords is also lower. This can be an advantage at the same time, because you can give more specific answers to long search queries, and therefore better fulfill the search intention. This in turn can lead to a higher conversion rate through higher user satisfaction.

Why is keyword research important for search engine optimization?

Now that you know what types of keywords there are, you can probably guess why you should use them. Keyword research or analysis, is important because you should know which keywords are relevant to your website. When users submit a specific search query that answers your site, search engines will play it back as a result or answer if the algorithm finds the relevant keywords in the content of your site.

Therefore you should include all keywords for which you want to be found. If you don’t have any keywords here that show the bots and crawlers that you have relevant content, you will be much harder to find on the net or maybe not found at all. You should take this to heart because the internet has become one of the largest marketing platforms of all. If you are not visible here, you will miss out on a huge audience.

Once you have defined the search queries that are important for you through your keyword analysis, you can offer users targeted answers to their queries. In addition to your usual users, you can also address potential customers and win them over. Keywords can also increase traffic on your site. They also have a great influence on your ranking position in the search results.

It is definitely worthwhile to find out what users are interested in in connection with your website, and then use these keywords in the text. This way you can also positively influence your ranking at the same time, because your site becomes more relevant.