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Why keyword research is important to position your...

Keyword research drives rankings. Learn how to uncover high-intent terms that attract the right traffic and help you outpace competitors.

Avi CohenAvi Cohen
··6 min read
A magnifying glass resting over printed pages of text
Key takeaways
  • Almost nobody types an exact URL, people arrive through search terms, so your keywords decide who finds your site.
  • Match keywords to intent: navigational, informational, and transactional searches each call for different content.
  • Long-tail phrases have lower search volume but convert better because they capture very specific needs.
  • The sweet spot is keywords with moderate search volume and low competition, not the terms everyone fights over.

Keywords are the primary way for users to find your web page or blog, they define the topic or ideas of the content. These terms will be the ones that the user enters into the search engine. With this definition, we can already gather the importance of using the proper keywords.

Most website visits can be attributed to keywords, as it’s rare that someone enters an exact URL. Keyword research should be one of your first steps when crafting your digital marketing strategy, and it feeds everything downstream, from a single page written against our content checklist to a whole programmatic set since the results will help you optimize the content.

You can use your chosen keywords in your website, landing pages, Ads, social media, blogs, and more! Here we will tell you more about them and how to select the right keywords for your business.

What are keywords?

Let’s start with the basics, keywords refer to the terms users enter on search engines to find content. Keywords can be composed of a single word or a set, i.e., a phrase, which is known as a long tail keyword.

Keywords help users find the most relevant results for their query, and they allow them to classify the content to help them get the best information. Therefore, everything queried on a search engine (usually Google) is considered a keyword, whether a single term or a phrase.

In SEO, keywords are also the search terms that the web page owner uses to optimize it to be better positioned in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Generally, when we talk about a search engine, we refer to Google since it is the most used worldwide.

Why is keyword research important for your online business?

Keywords are essential in SEO positioning because Google needs to know the content to classify it. The keywords you choose to include in your SEO content will influence the traffic you receive since these keywords refer to your content and the audience.

In addition, using the right ones will allow you to position your content in the top search positions, leading to increased website visits.SEO is not the only reason keywords are essential; knowing what users search for is even more critical.

For this reason, you must get into the head of your users and use the words they would when they are looking for something. Simply put, the keywords must reflect what the audience is looking for. To do this, you should use them at least in the following areas, so search engines will know what your content is about:

  • In the title and some subtitles.
  • In the meta description.
  • Within the text, especially in the first paragraph.
  • In the alternative text or alt text of the images.

Types of SEO keywords

There are different keywords, and here we explain them:

1. Navigational

When the user searches for the site or page in particular to access the official site. Instead of typing the complete URL, the user types the brand name.

2. Informative

The user is looking for information on a topic; that is, they are looking for an answer to a question or general information.

3. Commercial or transactional

The user’s search intention is to buy or acquire a product or service.

1. Short tail

Formed by a single word, generally with a large search volume, are usually very generic terms, such as “marketing” or “sneaker”.

2. Medium tail

Composed of 2-3 words, they are more specific searches and are the most common in SEO strategy. For example, “Inbound marketing” or “women’s sneakers”

3. Long tail

These keywords are very specific, usually composed of more than three words, and have a lower search volume. Well-considered, they work perfectly for SEO; an example would be: “how to apply inbound marketing in my company” or “women’s mountain sports shoes”

How to know which keywords to choose?

Knowing that keywords are the method by which people typically perform their searches on the internet, we have enough reasons to prioritize them, dedicate time to study them, and always use them in your digital content strategy.

The correct use of keywords translates into more visits to your page, which means more conversions for you. That is why it is vital to define what kind of keywords you are going to work with before starting to create content. To do so, it is advisable always to have your Buyer Persona at hand and work based on that.

Choosing the best keywords is always challenging, but everything you work on must always have one goal in mind: get customers. That is why, to obtain better results, you must select topics that will help your target audience to find your website.

To achieve this, it is essential to use various tools available on the market to help you achieve your goals.

How to perform keyword research for your website

Don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as it seems. Many tools can help you in your task and are very useful for finding the keywords that best suit your needs.

Google Keyword Planner

In addition, it gives us a series of graphs and data that can be of great help when it comes to understanding the evolution of a keyword over time. In this post, we tell you in detail everything you need to know about this tool.

SEMrush

When looking for keywords for your website, knowing what the competition is doing and how is essential, these are just some of the most used tools by SEO professionals, but there are many others you can use to search for keywords that you can also use.

The best approach is usually to choose keywords with a medium level of searches, i.e., neither words that everyone searches for nor words that nobody is interested in and that have a low level of competition.

SEO strategy should be part of building your brand

There is nothing worse than having a website with an excellent product that you want to launch to the market, but nobody ever finds it when searching online. Integrating your SEO strategy into your website must always be part of building your brand.

Google increasingly prioritizes quality content that is a contribution and helps people in all areas: from informative to friendly with accessibility concepts (such as screen readers, visual difficulty, and even hearing).Are you using keywords correctly?

If you want to build a top-notch SEO strategy for your business, we can help you. Let’s talk!

Prompt

Turn a keyword list into a plan

Bring your own list from a keyword tool. The assistant cannot see search volume, so paste it in with the numbers.

Here is a keyword list with monthly search volumes:
[PASTE LIST]

1. Group these into topics, where one page could reasonably serve every term in a group.
2. For each group, name the single term the page should target and say why.
3. Label each group by intent: someone learning, someone comparing, or someone ready to buy.
4. Flag any two groups that would compete with each other if both were published.
5. Put the groups in the order I should write them, and explain the ordering.

Ignore volume alone. A smaller term with buying intent beats a large one without it.

Paste into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any assistant. Check the output against your own data before acting on it.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of keywords should a small site target first?

Terms with a medium level of searches and low competition. The head terms everyone fights over are out of reach at first, and zero-volume terms bring nobody. The middle ground, often long-tail phrases that describe a specific need, is where a new site can realistically win rankings and conversions.

Where exactly do keywords need to appear on the page?

Four places at minimum: the title and some subtitles, the meta description, the body text with emphasis on the first paragraph, and the alt text of your images. That coverage tells search engines clearly what the content is about without forcing the phrasing.

Why do long-tail keywords convert better despite lower volume?

Because they capture a very specific need. Someone searching a phrase like women's mountain sports shoes knows what they want, so fewer visitors arrive but more of them act. Match those phrases to the searcher's intent, informational or transactional, and the traffic you do get is the right traffic.

Avi Cohen
About the author
Avi Cohen · SEO & Digital Analytics

Runs SEO and analytics across Pacific54’s client roster: the audits, the clusters, and the dashboards that keep everyone honest.