Want to direct more traffic toward your website? Are you interested in connecting your content with people who can benefit from your information?
It’s not just luck that helps you choose keywords that rank highly on Google. Choosing the right keywords that help you rank higher on Google’s search results is an excellent way to accomplish both goals.
In this article, we answer some of the most common questions associated with keyword research and ranking for keywords in organic searches.
How to Choose Keywords That Rank Well on Google
Google’s algorithm has become more complex and sophisticated over the years, meaning you need to regularly update your strategy to improve your Google keyword ranking.
Before, content creators stuffed keywords everywhere on their websites in hopes of ranking on Google’s search engine results page (SERP). Modern businesses need to consider the search intent of those seeking information from online articles and blog posts.
This requires you to research the types of questions your readers are typing in search engines and select keywords related to these queries. Note that the key phrase here is your readers.
Using a generic keyword like “best software” multiple times in your content probably won’t drive the leads you want to your website.
However, the long-tail keyword phrase “best software for party planning businesses” helps narrow down the type of clients you’re trying to attract — and will help those clients find your online content.
How Do You Find Popular Keywords?
Content creators now have many keyword tools to help them select popular keywords.
Some popular free keyword tools that will help you choose keywords that rank well include:
When researching potential keywords to target, you want to consider each keyword’s search volume and competition.
- Keyword search volume refers to how many searches a given keyword receives in a selected time frame. In general, you want to choose keywords with high search volume since this means the keyword is popular and will get you more traffic from Google if you rank for it.
That said, you also want to ensure the keywords are relevant to your business niche and attract searches in your desired location. Both of these factors lower the keyword’s number of searches and attract more relevant traffic to your website.
- Keyword competition looks at the number of advertisers bidding on a given keyword relative to all keywords across Google. A keyword tool will show whether the competition for a keyword idea is low, medium, or high.
A highly competitive keyword usually means the advertiser has to bid against other advertisers to win a good ad position.
Rather than go after these high-competition keywords, choose keywords with good monthly search volume and low competition.
You can even use Google’s search engine in your keyword research. Type a possible keyword into the Google search bar, and Google’s autocompleting function will reveal a list of suggestions based on what others have been searching for when they entered the same term.
This can help you develop more specific keywords and even phrase your keywords in sentences similar to common online searches.
By focusing on the topics your audience wants to know about, you’ll be able to create more compelling and useful content.
Where Should You Place SEO Keywords?
If you want to choose keywords that rank well on Google, you must do more than just select popular keywords. You also need to know where to place those keywords to optimize your content.
This means placing keywords within your page titles, headlines, and subheadings. Putting keywords in the meta descriptions of your online content can also motivate searchers to click on your page.
When using keywords in your body text, think strategically. Simply repeating keywords constantly in your copy can negatively impact your ranking.
It would be best to make your keyword usage sound natural within the text, so limiting yourself to two or five keywords per content piece helps. Include your primary keyword in your first paragraph (ideally near the beginning). Fitting keywords into bulleted lists is also a natural place to work them into your copy.
Keep in mind that there are several “invisible” places to include keywords in your content that can help your Google keyword ranking.
For instance, placing keywords in your image file names is a good way to optimize your keywords since Google’s bots will pick up on these keywords even if most readers won’t.
How Long Does Ranking For Keywords Take?
Okay, so once you put in the work to come up with popular, relevant keywords and insert them strategically into your copy, how long does it take for your website to rank well on Google?
Generally speaking, getting to the front of Google’s search engine results takes between 90 to 180 days or three to six months.
New websites with web domains that are less than six months old are considered less trustworthy than older websites that get verified over time. Thus, your Google ranking will most likely improve as your site ages past six months.
Want to check your current Google keyword ranking? Use the Google Keyword Rank Checker. This online tool helps you determine your website’s position for a certain keyword by just typing in that keyword.
You can also insert your competitors’ domain names and keywords to see how well they rank in relation to you, enabling you to see where you need to adjust in your SEO strategy.
It can be tough to choose keywords that rank well if you’re only going after high-competition terms. You may need to start with low-hanging fruit if you have a site with low authority.
Can You Pay Google to Rank Higher?
All right, but if you don’t feel like waiting months for your Google ranking to improve — or if you want to gain an immediate edge over your competitors — can you simply pay Google to rank higher?
Short answer: no. Google search rankings are based largely on how well you incorporate good SEO practices in your online content and how favorably Google’s bots view your content based on its age, keyword usage, and relevance to online searches.
And if you’re creating content in a popular niche with a lot of competition, it may take even longer for you to achieve a high ranking.
That said, you can pay for Google Search ads. By successfully bidding on search terms with Google, your ad could appear at the top of a search engine results page and attract potential clients.
However, this does not affect your organic search rankings. To appear naturally on the first page of search engine results, you still need to concentrate on developing a winning SEO strategy that lets you place popular keywords in the most relevant positions of your online content.
Moving Forward
Getting your online articles to appear on the first page of search engine results is challenging, it is not impossible.
Do you need help producing high-quality content that boosts SEO? Our SEO content writing services and expert SEO strategists can help ensure your brand catapults up the search rankings. Talk to a specialist today to learn how.
