Keywords are an essential part of content writing. If you want your article or website to rank on search engine results, you have to focus on keyword usage. Without using keywords in the right manner, it is impossible to rank a website or content in search results.
So, it is essential and important to know how to use keywords in content writing. Let’s begin with:
Types of Keywords in Content Writing
There are basically two kinds of keywords:
- Long-tailed keywords
- Short-tailed keywords
Understanding Short Tailed Keywords
These are the keywords that are short. The main characteristics of short-tailed keywords are:
- Such keywords are usually of 1 or 2 words
- These are usually generic, like ‘coffee’, ‘long dress’, ‘online dress’.
- They are usually a bit unclear and the user is not aware of what they want
- For example, there is no information about what brand of coffee, or what type of coffee, or what kind of dress.
Thus, with short-tailed keywords:
- It is difficult to get a top spot on SERP.
- The keyword is generic and is tough to rank.
- Their conversion rates are low since the competition is high.
Understanding Long Tailed Keywords
These keywords are not generic and are longer than short-tailed keywords. The main characteristics of long-tailed keywords are:
- These keywords are usually more than 3 words
- They are more detailed than short-tailed keywords. These are like ‘red shoes for babies’ best coffee shops in east Chicago.
- They are easy to rank since they have low organic competition.
- The search volume for these keywords is small.
Thus, according to experts, short-tail keywords are difficult to rank but long-tail keywords are easy because they have low organic completion. Thus, any content writer should first recognize if the keyword is the short-tail or long tail.
Besides these there are some other kinds of keywords, which will be explained in another blog – so keep tuned for more on keywords.
Read: Content writing courses
How do I understand keywords?
In SEO and content writing there are two main categories of keywords that are essential for a content writer to understand before the writer gets started with work. Primary keywords and Secondary keywords are the terms that are used by content creators and webmasters.
These help in creating target specific search queries which help in ranking the content high in the search results.
What are Primary Keywords?
Primary keywords are those terms that you want to rank up. Such terms have high search volume and help in bringing traffic to a website. Thus, primary keywords are targeted to a broad audience. These keywords are spread through the site.
Primary keywords are generally included in
- The title of the blog or article
- The heading of the blog or article
- Anchor link
- And in the first and last sentences
Any content writer should include 2-3 primary keywords and every webpage must have at least one keyword.
Examples of primary keywords:
- buy online laptops Kolkata
- Affordable laptops for women in India
What are Secondary Keywords?
These keywords are not that important and offer a supporting role. Their function is to support the primary keyword. They provide additional information. These keywords can be used throughout the content naturally.
These keywords usually do not have SEO value like primary keywords.
Examples of secondary keywords:
- buy dell laptops
- Dell laptop stores near me
- buy laptop battery
Okay, so these were the basics of keywords that any content writer needs to know as one starts working.
How to put keywords in an article?
You have o be creative in using keywords in your article. The keyword should not appear like it has been stuffed or forcibly put. It should ideally flow in the article, while doing its work for SEO.
Let us consider an example –
Suppose my keyword is ‘buy red sandals online for babies‘. My task is to write an article using the keyword and optimize it.
So, my first task is to create a title – it should be SEO friendly.
So, some of my title options can be:
- Tips to buy red sandals online for babies
- How to buy red sandals online for babies
- Is it easy to buy red sandals online for babies – Tips and Tricks
- Facts to consider when you buy red sandals online for babies
Now, you will notice that all titles have the keyword. All titles are phrases that are searched by parents or something which parents would probably search before buying red sandals online.
So, we are done with the title.
Now, we need to write the first paragraph where we should use the keyword and it should flow naturally.
Tips to Buy red Sandals online for Babies
In 2020, I did all my shopping online as I did not want to take the risk of exposing myself to the virus. It was a part, where red was the theme and I decided to buy red sandals for my baby. I went ahead and searched buy red sandals online for babies. The results were many and it was really challenging to pick the right one for my little girl. Now I am experienced enough to help others and provide them tips on how to buy red sandals online for babies.
Isn’t that well-written?
So, the trick is to be patient and take time to write the first paragraph because it is the essence of the article. Thus, go slow with your choice of title and first paragraph.
But yes, it is all about experience and it might take you time to write the first article with ease. Content writers usually have a lot of patience.
How to Use Keywords in Blog
When you choose to write a blog and you have the task to use keywords in the blog, you have to use it throughout the blog.
Here are some tips:
- Use the keyword in the title of the blog
- Write it in the first few sentences or the last sentence of the blog.
- Ideally, any blog should not start with a keyword.
- Use it generously throughout the blog.
- Do not forcibly use the keywords because it can make them look unnatural
The need is to use keywords so that they help in search engine rankings. But, this does not mean that the writer will write for search engines.
Whenever any blog or any article is written, it should be written for the audience and never for search engines. If this is maintained, the quality of the article will improve and it will ensure that the article is engaging.