Keyword

• Definition
• Types of keywords
• The task of a keyword
• Dos & Don'ts
• Keyword vs. Tag
• Choosing the right keywords for my Searchmetrics project
• Keyword analysis in the Searchmetrics Suite
  

 

Definition

A keyword, meaning "search term" is an important expression in online marketing. In search queries, the keyword is a key word for the content that is being searched for, that is, what users enter into the search bar of a search engine. For line items, keywords are key words for which your ad is displayed.

Keywords can also be characterized as the main content of the text, more precisely, as the shortest possible summary of a piece of content. Keyword synonyms are also such words as: search term, search notion, or clue word. A keyword can also consist of several parts (words). Then we can talk about a combination of keywords or long tail keywords. Searchmetrics Suite displays ogranic keywords in almost all areas (except for paid search). This means that the domain is ranked for these keywords only because of its content and not because of paid advertising expenses.

 

Keywords in the Research Cloud: As soon as a domain is entered, all keywords associated with the domain are analysed in the research cloud.

 

Keywords in the Search Experience: All keywords displayed in the Search Experience are part of the project keywords. So they were added to the project before the evaluation. Please have a look at the Project Management to learn how to add keywords to your project.

 

Keywords in the Content Experience: To measure the success of a written piece of content, used keywords can be tracked in the penultimate step of the brief creation (analytics). They are then also added to the project. 

 

Types of keywords

Brand Keywords: A brand keyword is a term used when an user searches for a specific brand. For example, if you search for "adidas shoes", you use "adidas" as a brand keyword,

 

Transactional / Do Keywords: Search terms that are entered into a search engine with the intention of a purchase, a download or also a registration for the newsletter etc. are called transactional keywords.

Navigational / Go Keywords: If search terms are used to reach a specific destination (specific domain/ specific location), these are referred to as navigational keywords.

Informational / Know Keywords: If a user is looking for information on a specific topic, he or she will most likely use informational keywords.

Find out more about the search intentions behind keywords in this article: Search Intent

 

The task of a keyword

Even if search engines can understand increasingly complex search queries, the keyword remains central. Because a central term of a document is always an important reference for defining its content. In addition, the keyword in the paid area (PPC) offers the ability to contextually align advertisements. Thus, the keyword is the key to the content according to its title. No wonder the passwords are often called keywords. Who does not remember the most famous combination of keywords in the history of literature from the fairy tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves": Sesame, open!

 

Dos und Don'ts

Dos

• Keyword Proximity (Keyword closeness): the closer the keywords are to each other in a combination of search terms, the more relevant a piece of text is displayed for a specific search query. Note: The impact of this concept is (by right) discussed more critically. See also "Stop Words" below.
• Keyword Density (Keyword thickness): it indicates how often the keyword is used in a text or on a website. If a certain limit is exceeded when using keywords, the text will be interpreted by search engines as spam.
• Keywords in the meta title: due to their high relevance, it is recommended to use the main keyword of a website in the title of the meta page. However, this is not mandatory.
• Alt tags: Images should contain the main keyword in the alt tag.
• Title tags: the referring anchor texts should also contain the main keyword of the landing page in the internal link.
• Optimization based on term relevance criteria (and their weights) such as WDF*IDF and others: This form of keyword optimization focuses on the semantics and integrity of the text, or on using other relevant keywords to improve the relevance of the main keyword.

 

Don'ts

• Keyword stuffing: a keyword is overused on the website. In this case, search engines may interpret it as spam.
• Incorrect spelling: today, search engines usually recognize the misspelled keywords and, in extreme cases, even deliberately interpret misspelled words as spam.
• Skipping stop words: Skipping stop words (for example, a, an, the) can increase the proximity of keywords. However, these words are part of natural language.
• Excessive stemming: Search engines usually recognize derivative keywords as well. Similar to keyword stuffing, overuse can be considered as spam.

First of all, it is important to optimize the content for the user, not for the search engines. Because ideally the second case happens automatically as a result of the first one. Therefore, it is important to make optimal use of existing (spam free) measures and to focus not only on keywords, but also on topics, target groups, and search intent.

 

Keyword vs. Tag

A keyword is usually a key term or combination of words to search for, which also appears in the text. This is how the term "keyword" differs from the term "tag". Tags are rather keywords that describe text or content and also categorize and classify it. This term does not have to appear in the text.

Example: a keyword in the text about dogs might be “dog". While the headword, i.e., a tag "mammal", is not used in the content.

 

Choosing the right keywords for my Searchmetrics project

When choosing a set of keywords, make sure that you not only keep track of your goals, but also clearly focus on the goals and search intent of users. Ideally, what you offer covers exactly what the client is looking for. Search for relevant keywords is supported by our Research Cloud.

The Organic Rankings show important keywords based on multiple KPIs for the entered domain. The keywords for which you rank in the first positions should definitely be included in the project in order to better follow them.

Keyword Research is also helpful when looking for the new keywords. Here you have the opportunity to analyze in detail a specific keyword and related keyword suggestions according to clusters and different KPIs.

 

 

It is often helpful to analyze your competitors and their keywords. The Suite allows you to compare the performance of different URLs with each other. To do this, first go to the Content Performance and click on Compare Domain (top right corner). This is where you get information about shared and unique keywords, that is, the keywords that you share with the competitor and those for which only your domain (or the competitor's domain) ranks.

Keyword analysis in the Searchmetrics Suite

The Searchmetrics Suite offers many possibilities for keyword analysis. Various KPIs help you to assess the relevance of a keyword. Check the following articles for more information: Keyword Rankings, Traffic Index, SERP Integration, Search Intention, Search Volume, CPC, and Seasonality.

 

Advice: Keyword Details

The Search Experience offers the possibility to view in detail each keyword in the project. When you click on a keyword in the keyword list, a pop-up window appears with the detailed information about the position history, search volume, CPC, search intent, and keyword rankings.