When a keyword or phrase appears repeatedly throughout a page \u2014 in its title, main heading, and body text \u2014 it helps the search engine crawlers<\/a> determine what the page is about, and increases the chance the page will rank when someone searches using that word or phrase. These are keywords. Keywords define what a piece of content is about. They help search engines understand the purpose of a page and decide where and when it should show up in the search engine results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a page contains relevant keywords, and its content reflects what people are looking for when they search for that keyword, its ranking will increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keywords also help human visitors (as opposed to Google\u2019s crawlers) understand what a page is about. Think back to the above example. People often scan a page for keywords to decide if it\u2019s worth their time. Relevant keywords improve a page\u2019s readability, increasing the chance users will stick around and scoring more points for SEO. In the realm of SEO, we typically think about keywords in terms of specificity (how broad or specific a keyword is) and competition (how difficult it is to rank for a keyword).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Search volume refers to the number of people who search for a specific keyword over a period of time. The more people searching, the higher the search volume, and the more potential traffic the keyword can draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Highly specific keywords tend to have a lower search volume, but less competition; broad keywords with a very high search volume are much more competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on these criteria, we can fit keywords into one of three categories: Although head and body keywords have a higher search volume, their competitiveness makes it extremely difficult (and expensive) to rank for them. That\u2019s why long tail keywords are important for SEO, especially when it comes to new or unoptimized sites yet to earn a solid place in the rankings. Long tail keywords are great for building a strong SEO foundation and driving traffic to new and smaller websites. They yield greater returns on investment in the short term while building the power to rank for more competitive keywords in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shorter head and body keywords encompass a broad range of search queries, while long tail keywords capture users with a specific intent. Long tail keywords bring in targeted traffic at a later stage in buyer\u2019s journey<\/a> \u2014 users who are more likely to make a purchase or inquiry. Using long tail keywords can result in more conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over time, ranking for long tail keywords can help a page rank for the head keyword contained within. For example, a page drawing traffic for \u201cbest family photography in Waterloo\u201d can start to build power for \u201cfamily photography\u201d and \u201cphotography in Waterloo\u201d as well.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy Keywords are Important for SEO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nTypes of Keywords: Head, Body, and Long Tail<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Example of head keywords:
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Example of body keywords:
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Example of long tail keywords:
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<\/p>\n\n\n![\"keywords\"](\"https:\/\/trafficsoda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/SEO-match-types.png\")
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Why Target Long Tail Keywords?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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