When you start learning about SEO and SEO content writing, you’ll hear the phrase “SEO keywords” over and over again. But what does it actually mean? What are keywords? How many types of keywords are there in SEO? And how do you go about compiling a list of SEO keywords that are relevant and helpful to your business?
We’ve got the answers in this simple introduction, featuring insights from ‘Everything you need to know about SEO keywords’, an episode of our Setup for Lifetime Value podcast.
What is a keyword in SEO?
The simple answer to this question is that an SEO keyword is a term that people search for on search engines like Google in order to find information. However, it’s a lot more than that.
An SEO keyword is a gateway to a whole world of information. By searching just one term, you can gain access to a wealth of information, products and services, which is something we sometimes take for granted nowadays.
For businesses, using keywords for SEO and curating relevant content around them can completely transform your online presence, allowing you to tap into a market of active users searching for the products or services you offer.
SEO keywords are used by SEO professionals and content producers to create content strategies and write helpful articles that inform their consumers and navigate them towards a particular site.
Using keywords for SEO within relevant and valuable content helps you become an authority on search engines.
How many types of keywords in SEO?
So, we know what SEO keywords are, but how many types of keywords are there in SEO?
There are 3 main types of keywords in SEO: Informational, Transactional and Navigational. Each type is defined by a user’s intent: the reason why they’re searching for something. These categories are defined as follows:
Informational keywords
These are keywords users search for when they’re seeking information. Whether they’re looking for a how-to guide, a service or a specific product, their aim is to learn more about the topic they’re searching for.
An example of an informational keyword is “how to tie a tie” or “what’s the weather like in New York today?”.
When people search for terms like this, it’s important to note that they’re looking for information, and they’re probably not looking to buy a product or service. These are the types of SEO keywords you’ll want to target in blog posts and upper-funnel content.
Transactional keywords
Transactional keywords, on the other hand, are keywords that users search for when they are in the market for a product or service. These keywords express their commercial intent by including words like “buy” or “cheap”.
An example of a transactional keyword might be “buy summer dresses” or “cheap phone cases”.
Transactional keywords make it clear that a user is ready to make a purchase, so these are the types of SEO keywords you’ll want to target on your product or collection pages.
Navigational keywords
Lastly, navigational keywords are keywords that users search for when they’re looking for a specific website. For example, if they search “facebook” on Google, they’re almost certainly looking for Facebook’s site.
A term like “iPad amazon” could also be defined as a navigational keyword as the user is almost certainly looking for Amazon’s site too.
How do you compile a list of SEO keywords for your business?
There are lots of different tools and techniques you can use to create a list of SEO keywords that are relevant and useful for your business. We asked Senior SEO Manager at New Look Sam Pennington and SEO Specialist here at Underwaterpistol Peter Lee how they recommend you go about it.
Peter Lee, SEO Specialist at Underwaterpistol
My main piece of advice here is to start with common sense. This might sound obvious, but before you even start trying to pull a list of SEO keywords together, you need to consider what you already know about your industry, your product or service, and your customers.
You’ll probably already have an idea of what your customers are searching for, so use that as the basis for more in-depth research.
You should also determine what you need your keywords for and how you intend to use them. Are you looking to attract users with a transactional intent, or those seeking information?
Once you’ve established this, dive a little deeper and explore the keywords and questions people are asking related to your topic. One key thing to remember here is that keywords with a high search volume aren’t necessarily the only ones you should be targeting. Other terms with just 10 searches a month might still be a big earner for your business - SEO tools can’t tell us about the value of a consumer search, after all.
Once you’ve compiled a list of SEO keywords, keep in mind that those keywords don’t have to be utilised in written content. Instead, they can inform part of a wider strategy within your business.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, relevancy should be your predominant focus when you carry out keyword research. Your users - and Google - will reward you if you write for people first. This is especially true since Google’s ‘helpful content’ update.
Sam Pennington, Senior SEO Manager at New Look
Before you start compiling a list of SEO keywords for your business, you need to think about your company objectives. What are you trying to achieve? Are you looking to drive more purchases? Are you providing information? Are you directing traffic to a specific item or page? It might even be all three.
Once you’ve got your objectives nailed down, I would suggest exploring the SERP (search engine results page) for some key terms to get some inspiration. If your goal is to sell more dresses, you need to understand what customers do when they look to purchase a dress, and what influences their decisions. Start your research from there and assess the competition too.
For the actual keyword research side, utilise data mining tools to gather prospective keywords. Some of the tools I recommend are:
- SEO Minion
- Semrush
- Keyword Insights
- AnswerThePublic
- Your own Google Search Console
- Google Ad Search query reports
Then, get to work collating, categorising and pruning the lists to get a solid, cohesive list of keywords that are relevant and useful to your business. Next comes the task of working out how to best use them!
This blog post features insights from "Everything you need to know about SEO keywords", an episode from our Setup for Lifetime Value podcast series featuring Senior SEO Manager at New Look Sam Pennington and SEO Specialist at Underwaterpistol Peter Lee. You can watch the full episode here.
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