A keyword is a short word or phrase with special significance assigned to a particular subject matter or idea. Keywords are used in search engine results to assist web users in determining what the search engine will present when they do an internet search. For example, a keyword like “acoustic guitar” could return hits about “guitar”. The term “acoustic guitar” encompasses an enormous array of subtopics and ideas that are related to acoustic guitars.
In information retrieval, an index term, topic label, subject name, or descriptive phrase, in information extraction, is a keyword that captures the essence of an idea. Keywords make up a carefully controlled vocabulary which is then used in bibliographic documents. The words in the topic/subject names and the phrases in the title, author names, and the opening and closing tags on the pages of any website can constitute the contents of the keyword(s) used in the search results. Backlinks, the URLs of websites visited by the user who has performed the search, are also considered keywords.
There are many software programs and techniques available to help an SEO analyst determine the most useful keywords to use in SEO content. An SEO analyst needs to know how to read and analyze keyword lists and complete site audits for increasing ranking. He needs to know how to optimize images and other multimedia; maximize backlinks; and determine how to achieve higher search engine rankings. Content writing, link building and blog posting are also areas of SEO that an SEO analyst will need to understand. These skills are taught in depth at SEO conferences and workshops.
There are a number of ways to increase a website’s search volume, but one way that is not widely used is to increase the frequency of keyword usage. The more times a keyword appears in a text or HTML document, the more times that keyword appears as the first or second text on a web page. This means that search engines are counting on the spiders that check for new links to index new pages. Search engines have a special algorithm for determining where to place a page when a new link is introduced. That algorithm is based on a keyword’s popularity among search volume and competitors. That means if there are only a few people searching for a given keyword, the site doesn’t have to compete with millions of others for the very top spot in search results.
The second major component of keyword analysis is to know what people searching for are really looking for. For example, the people searching for a particular keyword may be interested in learning more about the topic, so they will likely include the keyword as part of their search phrase. If the subject matter is highly specialized, then the people searching for the term may be looking for only that specific topic, so the site’s content will need to be focused on that topic. When SEO professionals combine SEO copywriting and link building, they make sure that the two primary elements of keyword difficulty and search intent are in play.
Keyword analysis is not an easy task. It takes a special kind of mind to pull it off, and many people don’t have the expertise to pull it off well. That’s why it is essential to hire a company or person with SEO experience to do the job. A good SEO company will provide you with a complete analysis and help you find the keywords that are too difficult to compete for.