Keywords are what tie people searches to your content. You could have the best website in the world, but if it’s not optimised for a specific keyword, you aren’t going to get a lot of organic traffic. In this way, keywords are as much about your audience as they are your content.

Your aim is to drive as much traffic as possible to your site from search results, so it’s imperative to get your keywords right. For example, if you were a dog breeder and trying to rank for the keyword “Boxer” you might end up getting people who are looking for information on the sport. This will mean your conversions are down, and you’re not utilising your keywords effectively. You could instead try to rank for the term “Boxer Puppies” which would bring a much more targeted audience to your site.

Understanding the language of your customers and clients is essential when determining your keywords. For example, if you were a computer dealership, and had a new laptop to advertise, you need to decide who to target. If you’re going to be aiming for an audience that is well versed in computer language, you could use “Lenovo IdeaPad S340 15.6in Ryzen3 4GB” as your keyword. This is very specific, but will be perfect for those who know what they’re looking for. However, if you want to target a wider audience, it might be wise to simplify the language used in your keyword, for example “Lenovo Laptop”. This item will have a much higher search rate, and so the prospect for getting traffic is better.