Think of your favorite novel, movie or sports team. Are there specific words that can sum up what those things are all about? Does mentioning a star player’s name, for example, spark memories of a game winning play? Will hearing a certain phrase from a popular movie start making you think about plot and characters from that movie?
Keywords can create a powerful association with just about anything. There’s no question they should form the key part of a content marketing strategy for any business. The thing to remember is that keywords are not just about improving your search engine rankings. Each keyword should offer a snapshot of the story told by your content.
What is the best way to define content through keywords?
Identify your storylines
You need to have a firm grasp on what story you are telling with your content. Are you informing customers about a new service or product? Are you discussing a topic related to your industry? Knowing your content storylines can help you decide what keywords are most effective in representing that content. If you run a pest control service, for example, and create a blog post on common summer pests, your keywords should mirror the topic of the post.
Relate keywords to people
Your customers always want to know how they will benefit from your content. Much like content should be tailored to the needs of your audience, keywords need to follow the same path. That is the guiding principle behind SEO. It is all about anticipating how your audience thinks and what they feel. Design keywords to craft headlines and meta descriptions that will spark a person’s natural curiosity and compel them to click on your webpage or blog
Break down keywords with questions
Content exists to provide answers to questions. Keywords should preview those answers. You can generate natural answers easier using questions to break down keywords. If you own a sporting goods store and want to write about football helmets, you can break down the keyword by asking why helmets are important and what purpose they serve. This can lead to writing about a topic naturally related to the keyword like player safety and concussions.
Give keywords an informational purpose
Keyword stuffing has no place in legitimate content creation. You need to limit keywords to ones that serve an informational purpose. If you own a pizzeria, for example, and write a blog post on the world’s most unique pizza toppings, listing every topping you can think of among your keywords will turn your content into an annoying mess. Focus on educating and entertaining your audience instead of trying to reach an artificial keyword limit in a desperate bid to fool search engines.
John C is a professional writer and editor who has written articles and blog posts dozens of websites and publications for more than a decade. His current goal this summer is to branch out into the exciting world of fiction writing.
