Ever thought of writing a blog post without a target keyword?
Nothing’s impossible, but ranking a post without a target keyword is. That’s how important keywords are to content.
Around 68% of all online interactions start with a search engine. Imagine trying to get organic traffic without getting ranked in searches. That’s not great, given that organic searches account for 53% of all website traffic.
If you didn’t know, now you know the importance of keywords.
Not having a target keyword might never get you ranked. But remember, an overuse will also hurt your SEO.
It’s a double-edged sword. You need to be careful with how you use keywords and where you place them. The positive and negative aspects of it are a topic of much discussion. That’s why I’m going to explain how to use keywords in content writing properly.
In this article, you’ll get:
- Tips about the placement of keywords
- Types of keywords and how to research them
- Keywords and intent for content writing
Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links to products that help me run this blog. If you decide to use the products, it won’t cost you anything extra. I only recommend products and services I’ve tried myself and liked.
What Type Of Keywords Should You Target?
What types of keywords you’re dealing with sets everything else straight. Knowing the keyword type determines the blog’s purpose, without which you can’t start writing.
Imagine you’re optimizing your blog and don’t know the primary keyword used in the posts. How would you deduce the steps to optimizing the blog? It’d be a total chaos.
You wouldn’t want that, especially when keyword research can boost your ranking by 36%.
It all starts with the type of the keyword you use. I prefer dividing keywords into three categories:
According to Their Length: Long-tail and short-tail
Long-tail keywords are usually phrases of a minimum of 3 words. These keywords mostly have low search volume and keyword difficulty.
Since these keywords are 3-5 words long, they are highly specific, making them less likely to be searched.
For example: The keyword “Yoga poses for back and knee pain” instead of “Yoga poses.”
Most blogs target long-tail keywords more than their contemporary, as ranking them is easier.
As opposed to long-tail keywords, Short-tail keywords are one or two words long. They are hard to rank and have a large volume of searches. Because these keywords usually target broad terms, they have a high search number and a varied audience.
Consider the keyword “Audience analysis.”
It has a monthly search volume of 1000. But equally mixed are its audiences.
Scrolling through the search results shows that the ranking articles target literature, script/speech writing, and marketing.
That’s because Google gets audiences from all these niches searching the keyword. This increases its ranking difficulty.
It’s better to target short-tail keywords after you have substantial authority or resources to pursue them.
According to Their Importance: Primary, Secondary, LSI
“How many keywords can I target in a blog post?” I’m not sure if you have asked this question, but this was one of the first questions I asked when I started SEO writing.
To answer the question, you can have one article rank for multiple keywords, but the target keyword is only one. It’s also called the primary keyword.
In other words, this keyword represents the user’s main query, and the entire article revolves around solving that query.
In that quest, you may also mention other related keywords and get ranked for them, but the main keyword is just one. Though it’s the primary keyword, you can’t use it as often as you want. Your article needs variety and maintaining keyword density.
And honestly, you can’t practically use the same keyword repeatedly. You need synonyms, which brings us to the secondary keywords.
Secondary keywords, also known as synonym keywords, are related terms that support and reinforce your primary keyword. They assist search engines in comprehending the context and applicability of your information.
Strategically incorporating these into your writing can improve your chances of ranking for semantic variations of your target phrase.
For example: For the primary keyword, “Best hiking boots,” the secondary keywords can be “top hiking boots, hiking boot reviews, waterproof hiking boots, lightweight hiking boots, and men’s/women’s hiking boots.”
Finally, the Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords. These conceptually related terms sometimes have different words than your primary keyword. They tell search engines that the content you provide is really relevant and delves deeply into a subject.
LSI keywords are especially valuable for providing context around broad, ambiguous, or multi-faceted topics. Naturally, integrating LSI keywords into your writing demonstrates your command of the subject matter.
For the same hiking boots example, LSI keywords include “trail shoes, outdoor footwear, backpacking gear, trekking equipment, and blister prevention.”
According to Their Intent: Informational, Navigational, Commercial, Transactional
Have you ever written or published an article that targeted the right keyword yet failed to rank?
Spending hours and days creating one content piece and hearing crickets after publishing it is any writer’s worst nightmare.
Why do you think that happens?
Because while you do target the keyword, you get the intent behind it all wrong.
Keywords are all cool, but search intent is the demigod of SEO. You can’t get results without pleasing the demigod.
There are four search intents:
Informational intent: This type of search is when the readers are looking for information to get answers to their questions. These searches are often broad or open-ended, and readers seek educational or explanatory content. The purpose of the blog post is to educate.
Examples of blog posts with informational intent are “What is SEO?” and “How to earn backlinks for a website?“
Navigational intent: Navigational searches occur when readers seek a specific website or online destination. These queries typically involve brand names, company names, or website URLs. Readers already know the website they want to visit and simply use the search engine as a shortcut.
An example of a blog post with navigational intent is “Ahrefs keyword research tool pricing?”
Commercial intent: Commercial searches are performed when readers research products or services before making a purchase decision. These queries indicate a potential buying intent, but readers are still in the research or consideration phase.
An example of a blog post with commercial intent is “Best SEO keyword research tools”
Transactional intent: Transactional searches are queries where readers clearly intend to complete a specific action or transaction, such as purchasing, downloading software, or signing up for a service. These searches are highly focused, and readers are ready to take the next step toward conversion.
An example of a blog post with transactional intent is “Ahrefs Pro Plan pricing”
All your readers will have either of these intents. Now that you know what keywords to focus on, let’s see where exactly you can find them.
| Suggested reading: What is topical authority
Keyword Research for Content
Start with the seed keywords for your niche.
Let’s consider a niche: baby products. There will be many subtopics under the main niche. Let’s consider four: Clothes, toys, prevention accessories, and food.
Under each subtopic, think of the keywords that come to your mind. Note them down.
There’s an easier way to approach it. Go to ChatGPT and type in this prompt:
“Generate a list of long-tailed keywords for the subtopic clothes under the niche baby products.”
Here’s what Chat gave us. Not bad, huh?
Now plug these keywords into a keyword research tool like Ahrefs or Semrush.
Set the keyword difficulty and search volume filters according to your needs. The tools will generate a detailed list of keywords, which you can store in a sheet.
I’ve linked the guides on how to use Semrush and Ahrefs.
You can also use tools like Moz and Ubersuggest. If you don’t want to spend much money, there’s AnswerThePublic, Google Search Console, and Google Keyword Planner (GKP).
Here’s how I use GKP for free keyword research:
After you’ve shortlisted keywords from ChatGPT, take them to the GKP. It shows which are important to rank and have a ranking potential. Decide your keyword difficulty and intent to separate at least 10 keywords as the second batch.
Note: GKP gives you an estimate, not the exact numbers. Let’s go to the next step to find the exact values.
Next, analyze the search volume, monthly traffic, and DA. Google one keyword at a time. Use the Ubersuggest extension to find the search volume, monthly traffic, and domain authority of the ranking website.
Go for Volume > 100 and Traffic > 100. If your website (or the one you’re writing for) is fairly new, aim for DA < 30.
Use Ubersuggest, Google Autocomplete, Questions, and Suggested Topics suggestions to find more potential keywords or variations with a better combination of traffic, volume, and DA. It helps you find the keywords which have a higher probability of ranking.
Check the top 10 results to find content gaps, intent, format, etc., to find if you can create content that can get ranked. If it passes all the tests, add the keyword to the final list. Repeat the process for other keywords.
Use GKP to find what keywords your competitors are ranking for. Use them if they fall under your criteria of keyword difficulty.
Repeat the process for the remaining subtopics. They’ll serve as topic clusters for your blog.
| Suggested reading: How to write the first blog post
Effective Keyword Placement Techniques For Blog Posts
Using keywords at certain places inside a blog post serves better than randomly scattering them all over the place.
Here’s every place you should place keywords for effective SEO results in blogging.
Title
The title is the identity of the blog post. It is the first item that appears in the blog post search results. Additionally, it’s among the most crucial on-page components for SEO.
Search engines value titles when identifying a post’s target keyword. The title signals what the page is about and becomes the headline viewers see in search results. Using your primary keyword in the title increases relevance.
For the readers, seeing the keyword they searched for in a title makes the blog post more clickable.
Try including the keyword with a positive sentiment in the title, increasing the click-through rate by 4%.
URL
The second important place to add the keyword is the meta URL. Search engine crawlers weigh keywords in the URL string. Having the keyword in the URL path further reinforces relevance to that term for crawlers.
Backlinko found that blog posts with URLs containing the primary keyword or a matching term have a 45% high click-through rate.
That’s enough reason to include the meta url as an effective place to use the keyword.
Meta description
I’ll be honest: Meta descriptions no longer matter. Google changes meta descriptions to fit its SEO rules more often than you think.
I’ve had both experiences. Google changed my meta description many times, and once, it kept the same as I wrote.
It’s not a direct ranking factor, but I still prefer writing a meta description.
Since they are displayed below page titles in search results as a short preview snippet, having your primary keyword in the meta description increases its visibility to searchers and indicates relevance for that query.
An enticing, keyword-optimized description can improve click-through rates.
First Paragraph
Search engine crawlers place extra weight on the initial sentences and content at the top of a page when determining relevance. They’re looking for clear topical connections and subject matter relevance indicators right up front.
There are a few key reasons why including your primary keyword naturally in that opening paragraph is so crucial:
- It Establishes Focus Immediately
- It Reinforces That Topic’s Importance
- It Hooks The Reader’s Interest
For human readers, an enticing first paragraph incorporating the keyword promise can grab their attention and encourage them to keep reading about it. It sets content expectations.
From an SEO perspective, premium keyword real estate is “above the fold” before readers need to scroll. Strategically inserting the focus keyword within the first 100 words optimally kicks things off.
Of course, the key is to include the term naturally and readable within the opening paragraph’s narrative. Awkward overuse or keyword stuffing can detract from the experience.
Headers
Headers are a great place to use the secondary keywords and LSI keywords. Use headers strategically to divide the content into distinct and connecting sections.
Though you can use the primary keyword in H2s, don’t overdo it. Keep the H2s to mix it up with the different related terms and synonyms to prevent the content from becoming monotonous and going beyond the keyword density.
You already have a list of the LSI and secondary keywords through keyword research tools. If not, use AI tools like Claude AI or ChatGPT to generate a list of these keywords. A simple prompt would do.
Prompt: “Generate a list of LSI keywords for the primary keyword [insert your keyword]”
And SEO tools like Frase.io give you a list of secondary keywords in a single click.
Naturally In The Article
Don’t write the article thinking about where you can insert the keywords. Write naturally to answer the search intent and you’ll have naturally inserted keywords.
That’s how it should be done.
Write for humans first and edit for the algorithm later.
Though I mentioned keyword density a few times earlier, it doesn’t matter if you don’t hit the specific count for keywords within the content.
Google and other search engines have gotten smarter since the 2000s. The content’s quality is not judged by the number of times a keyword appears. If your article matches the search intent, you’ve already done 80% of the keyword optimization. It’ll have enough synonyms and related terms for Google to understand the article. 75% of the top-ranking pages in Google don’t mention the exact keyword even once.
Instead of focusing on adding keywords, focus on making the article comprehensive.
- Add unique POV
- Cover complete topics
- Create in-depth content
- Try to explain the topics better
- Say something that hasn’t been said
Instead of only focusing on the primary keyword, use keyword clustering to add semantic keywords in the article. They naturally make the content comprehensive without repeating the same term again.
Make your content rich in information, not stuffed with keywords.
In the Conclusion
The conclusion holds equal weight as the introduction. From a scan perspective, most readers skim the intro and conclusion even if they don’t read every word. Hitting your target keyword again in that closing reinforces topic associations.
Circle back to your primary keyword in the conclusion section. Recapping and reiterating the focus keyword helps reinforce the main topic covered by search engines. Search engines put extra weight on the content towards the top and bottom of pages.
The conclusion then gives you one final opportunity to drive home the main subject and keyword focus at the end. By naturally circling back to your primary keyword phrasing in the conclusion section, you can:
- Summarize Key Points
- Reiterate Relevance
- Suggest Next Steps
Alt Text
Search engines can’t see images, so they rely on alternative text. You’re missing an opportunity if you’re not adding the keywords in the alt text.
Since images are tied to the sections and help further your content, adding a keyword related to the topic to which the image belongs is ideal.
I like to keep it simple and use the header under which the image falls as the alt text—covering the keyword without overthinking it.
Social Media Posts
Social media content is different than the actual blog posts, but when used correctly, the keywords in social media posts increase traffic to the blog. It’s an excellent practice to promote newly published blog posts on social media channels. Since you already have an established following there, getting the initial impressions on blog posts becomes easier. It also contributes to the organic social traffic.
When creating a social media post to promote the blog, put the keywords in the first few sentences since they are easily visible.
The target keywords work as hashtags on platforms like Twitter and Instagram, and on LinkedIn, you can incorporate them into the content.
Traffic from social media is also a contributing factor to getting your blog ranked in the SERPs. Below is an example of how I use LinkedIn to promote my blog posts.
Tips On Balancing Keywords And Readability
Though keywords are critical for search engine ranking, they shouldn’t comprise content readability. Your priority should be the reader, followed by the search engine.
If you think about it, SEO is only a way to get your content in front of your audience. But if it fails to retain the audience, the rankability is useless. In turn, search engines reduce your rankings.
It’s a losing game.
That’s why target a keyword and write naturally to answer the search intent. While you do so, you automatically optimize for all keywords without hindering readability.
Think of these factors before you think about keywords:
- Are you explaining the topic thoroughly?
- Does the article flow well to convey all important sections?
- Does the article read well grammatically?
- Does anything feel forced inside the article just to meet the keyword count?
- Can your audience walk away satisfied after reading your article?
The answers to these questions matter more than getting certain keywords in the content.
| Suggested reading: How to create SEO content strategy
Keyword Placement Practices To Avoid
Stuffing Keywords
This refers to shoehorning keywords into content excessively and unnaturally. Whether it’s awkwardly repeating the same keyword multiple times or cramming too many variations, it leads to very poor readability for users. This spammy black hat tactic can get your site demoted or penalized.
Not Thinking About Search Intent
Focusing too narrowly on just keywords without understanding the searcher’s actual intent behind the query can lead to missing the mark with your content. You may be able to cram in the target keyword plenty of times, but if the content fails to answer the question properly or needs that prompted the search, it will struggle to satisfy users – which impacts rankings.
Using Only Primary Keywords
While your target primary keyword is important, using only that single keyword variant makes your content look robotic and repetitive. You need to incorporate semantic keyword variations, synonyms, and related conceptually matched terms throughout to create more natural, comprehensive coverage of the topic.
Not Using Rankable Keywords
Some keywords may have high search volume but are extremely difficult due to intense competition. No amount of perfect keyword placement can overcome a lack of authority or link equity for those brutally competitive terms. Focusing too much time on unrankable keywords is a wasted effort – it’s better to go after more achievable terms.
By focusing on a natural, user-friendly experience first while properly covering search Intent, you’ll avoid any penalties while still effectively incorporating keywords in key areas. As search algorithms get more advanced, deceptive keyword tactics will only hurt you compared to providing quality, relevance, and comprehensiveness.
Final Thoughts
Keywords alone cannot do much without great content and search intent. When writing content, the goal should be to use keywords to elevate already helpful content. Don’t use keywords as a shortcut to get ranked because it no longer works that way.
Make content that solves your readers’ problems first.
Have any questions? Ping me on LinkedIn.
