SEO is an essential component of any website but there is much more to it than most people realise. Keywords are an important part of SEO however those keywords can be sorted into many different categories.
If you want your SEO strategy to succeed, then you will need to implement many different kinds of keywords. Let’s look at 9 of the most important types of keywords and see how they work. When you know the main categories to look at building a successful SEO strategy will be much easier.
Market Segment Keywords
Market segment keywords are your basic/ general keywords that will usually make up a lot of your website’s content. They are quite varied and are best though off as your generic business/ industry-based keywords.
For example, if you have a web design business then your market segment keywords could be things like “web design” or “website design”. You could even make them a little longer by adding a location like “web design London”. These keywords are usually always mandatory and come in many different forms, so you’ll likely be seeing a lot of them.
Branded Keywords
Websites are commonly eCommerce marketplaces and as such branded keywords play an essential part in any SEO strategy. A branded keyword will include a brand name somewhere in it typically right at the start of the keyword. For example, “Apple laptop” or “Samsung smartphone” are both branded keywords. They feature the brand name along with the product title.
Head Keywords
Head keywords (also known as short-tail keywords) are similar in many respects to market segment keywords and the two are sometimes confused. A head keyword is a generic keyword but it’s not industry or market-specific like market segment keywords are. These keywords are usually quite broad but do have a high search rate which makes them a valuable component of any SEO strategy.
Customer-Defining Keywords
These can be quite lengthy but whether you class them as keywords or search terms they are still essential to your SEO strategy. These keywords are designed to target specific audiences and are commonly used in the clothing and fashion markets.
For example, “business suits for men” is a customer-defining keyword because you are actively seeking a male audience. While these often need to be used sparingly they are a great way to attract your desired target audience to your website.
Geo/ Location-Targeted Keywords
These are keywords designed to attract audiences in a specific location and they are a great way to improve your local customer base. They play an important part of your SEO strategy and are usually quite easy to implement as well.
A good example of a location-targeted keyword is something like “Italian restaurant London” or you can combine it with a brand or product as well like “Apple iPhone shop Manchester”. They are versatile keywords that when used well can provide a big boost to your number of visitors/ customers.
Mid-Tail Keywords
These keywords are similar to head keywords but are a little longer. A head keyword like “web design” could become a mid-tail keyword with the addition of a few extra words like “mobile web design” or “web design services”. They are still quite generic, but they do have a high search rate which makes them a valuable part of your website’s SEO strategy.
Long-Tail Keywords
Long-Tail Keywords are the reverse of head keywords in many ways. They are much longer and more niche and are designed to help attract your target audience. They will have quite low search rates but will often lead to higher conversion rates.
For example, someone searching for “mobile web design for Android” is much more likely to see your website than someone just searching for “web design”. Long-tail keywords have much less competition and are more specific which is exactly why they can be so valuable when building your SEO strategy.
Short-term Fresh Keywords
This type of keyword has a short shelf life and you will need to be quick if you want to use them effectively. They can be almost anything and are usually difficult to implement but if you find a keyword that you can use it could easily increase your number of hits/ visitors.
A short-term fresh keyword is something that is being searched for a lot. It could be a viral video title, popular meme, movie or practically anything else and if you can find a way to organically include the term in your website’s content you could easily drive more traffic to your website although the effects are only short-term.
LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) Keywords
These keywords might sound complicated, but they are actually quite easy to understand. An LSI keyword is a word or phrase designed to link to your page’s main keyword. Let’s say it’s for a page detailing a service you’re selling like window cleaning then LSI keywords could be things like “London window cleaning”, or “mobile window cleaning” or “home/ office window cleaning” to give just some ideas.
They come in many different forms and will help you achieve greater reach as well as developing your pre-existing main keyword further. Therefore, increasing the number of hits/visitors you get while they might sound complicated LSI keywords are actually quite easy to implement and use effectively in your SEO strategy.
So, that completes our look at 9 types of keywords you need to know about when developing your SEO strategy. Many SEO keywords fall into multiple categories as well so just ensure you have a good balance to help ensure your website thrives online.