What Are Keywords in Search Engines? Quick Guide

What are keywords in search engines? Let’s get into it.

So now you’re ready to start writing. As tempting as it is, you don’t want to write for search engines, you want to write for people. But you want to be found in the search engines, by people. In order to be found, you need to find words that people are searching for, related to your topic. These are keywords. There is a little data mining involved but it’s still about people.

As you write, you’ll include the keywords you find in your new article. You don’t need to ‘stuff’ them in. In fact, search engines don’t like that and you won’t get ‘ranked’ (on the first page of search results, if at all). You just need them in the title of your article and again in the first or second paragraph. Other than that, write naturally. Write for your visitors.

Each article or page you write should be based on the idea of its own individual keywords. The content should be relevant to the keywords you find. Each page will be ranked individually in the search engines, whether you focus on keywords or not. But you’ll have a lot better results and more visitors if you use targeted keywords in your title and the beginning of your content.

So this will be a process for each article you write. However, if you have a topic that doesn’t seem to fit keywords and it seems important for your readers, you don’t always have to focus on keywords. Include it anyway if it seems important. Sometimes it’s okay to deviate to keep things interesting for your readers. As long as some of your articles are keyword relevant, you’ll be okay.

Later we’ll talk about search engine optimization (SEO) but for now, we’ll stick with the basics. Just keep in mind that keywords are a big part of SEO.

The Big G

google and keywords

Google is probably the hardest search engine to rank in since it’s so huge and it’s a bit picky. There are a lot of competing websites there also. 

So it’s good to focus on Google because if you are in the search results in Google, you usually have an even better ranking in Bing and Yahoo!, the next two biggest search engines. They are a lot easier to rank your website in.

 Keyword Tools

 Actually, there are a lot of tools out there for researching keywords. One I like is Jaaxy.com. It’s included in the Wealthy Affiliate (WA) program with a bit of an upgraded version, allowing for more searches. But you can use it outside of WA if you are using a different hosting company as well.

10 thoughts on “What Are Keywords in Search Engines? Quick Guide”

  1. Wow! I just learned some news ways on keyword hunting. I will have to give Jaaxy a try, as well the alphabet soup seems like an old concept with many new ways to you use it. 

    How have you found your post to rank with low fruit keywords? 

    The reason I ask is that I am now trying to target longer than 4 words, as it seems many words are now getting taken up more than ever. 

    Reply
    • It’s a lot easier to rank with low-hanging fruit keywords, especially for a newer site. I use the long-tailed keyword technique sometimes. It’s pretty effective too. Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Reply
  2. I had the doubt that in fact we had to put the keywords every few words or paragraphs. I see that is not so really not?. It’s as if Google were “smart enough” to “realize” the subject of the article. Is that what you mean when you say you don’t have to write the keywords so many times?

    I also wonder if putting related words (even if they aren’t your keywords) also help. For example synonyms and similar ideas.I really like this Jaaxy tool that you have shown, I will take a look. I see in another article that you talk about this WA page, is the Jaaxy program included?

    I will continue browsing your blog to learn more about this ranking issue.

    Thanks a lot
    Pablo

    Reply
    • Google’s ‘algorithm’ or AI actually is smart enough to see if you’re just trying to fool the search engines. That’s why you want to be careful to not spam your keyword throughout your articles. It will even penalize your site by ranking it really low where you will never be found. Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Pablo.

      Reply
  3. This article addresses a cause for major misconception and confusing in the internet world. It can be really difficult to find the right balance between writing primarily for your audience and optimizing your content for search engines. To this point, I still consider a grey area. But I must say, this article does clarify the keyword research process. Thanks.

    Reply
  4. Hi! I enjoyed reading your post from start to finish. It served as a refresher course for me. I personally find the Alphabet soup technique to be immensely helpful. It could churn out more post ideas than I could write on. Thank you for writing and sharing this article! Your other articles are great too!

    Sunny

    Reply
  5. Learning about keywords is something that I keep coming back to, time and time again. Then, when I think I’ve cracked it, I lose my way and it’s back to the learning stage. Maybe I struggle with the part you summed up in the opening paragraph. I don’t want to write for search engines and maybe that’s what’s holding me back or giving me that mental block.

    I like coming up with original titles that speak for the article but at the same time, I know I have to lose some of that originality. That pains me, I just don’t seem to be able to find the right balance.

    Your article has refreshed some areas I know I need to revisit. I need to work on this because, as you rightly point out, this will help getting the posts to rank better, hopefully on page one of Google. Jaxxy is an excellent tool and one that I should utilise more than I currently do. Just need to get on and do it.

    Reply
    • I love the originality idea too. But no one gets to share in it if they can’t find it, right? You can always add those original words later. That way, the important keywords are in the page address but people will see the additional words in the search results. Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Twack. 

      Reply

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