Keywords

The way it works is the words you send give the search engine the clues to find what you need. For example, when you type “funny cat videos” on the web, it shows sites that have funny cat videos. The computer eliminates other possibilities, like dog pictures or fish videos. This way, it can increase user experience, making keywords one of the most important tools for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

What are keywords in SEO?

They are the words or phrases that people type when they are looking for information, products, or services in the search engine. What makes this tool important is that it bridges between what you are searching for and the content you provide to fill that need. Moreover, here are some reasons why it matters:

• Search engine understanding: Keywords help the search engine to understand what a web page is about. It reads and analyses the content to make sure it is relevant to the search query.
• Target audience alignment: It allows you to find a specific target audience. For example, you are using English words or phrases in your search. The chances of content that uses other languages, like Spain or France, drops. This improves user experience and increases the likelihood of engaging with content or products.
• Organic traffic growth: If you want your website to become more visible, you are going to need organic traffic. The correct choice of keywords can increase the possibility of targeted traffic to visit your site. 
• Conversion potential: When you are choosing the right keywords, the chance of people buying your products or services increases. For instance, when you are selling a “chocolate bar”, you have to include those words. If not, potential customers will not find your product because the engine thinks it is not relevant to the search, although you are actually selling it.

To make it easy to use, keywords are split into different types. It helps the engines have a better understanding of target user behaviour, search intent, and competition levels. You don’t want it when you are looking for a “pool table”, and suddenly the search engine shows “swimming pool”. With this in your mind, here are the types:

Short-tail

Also called “Head Keywords”, it usually consists of one to two words. It is often broad and generic, like the words “shoes”, “apple”, or “shirt”, making it often unclear. Using a short tail means the search volume is high. As a result, the competition among websites is very high because there are many platforms already using this word.

Long-tail

This type of keyword contains three or more words, making it very specific. People are using this if they are looking for specific and clear information, products, or services. For example, “the weather prediction in London”, “the tallest building in the world”, and “best cheap laptop”. Since it has a niche target audience, it has low to moderate search volume, but so does the competition.

LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing)

Although using keywords repetitively can improve the visibility of SEO, it can be otherwise if you are overstuffing them. This is where LSI comes to help. They are not synonyms but semantically related words. The search engine uses this tool for understanding the context of the content. For example, you are using “football” as your main keyword. The LSI that fits would be “ball”, “striker”, “defender”, “midfield”, and more. 

Search intent-based

For search engines to provide accurate results, sometimes you are going to need to use this method. It is because they are actually trying to understand why someone is searching the topic. With this, the keywords can be grouped into several intentions, such as:

1. Informational: This is for someone who wants to learn or understand something, like “how to use a printer,” “what is a construction,” or “why do people use social media.”
2. Navigational: Users search this when they are looking for a specific website or brand, such as “The CCM course,” “LinkedIn login,” and “GOV UK careers.”
3. Transactional: These keywords are for making a purchase or taking an action. As an example, “cheap CPD course”, “plane ticket to Madrid,” and “buy cat food.”
4. Commercial investigative: The purpose of this type is for people to do research before making a purchase. They usually use sentences like “best restaurant in London,” “top TV shows in 2025,” and “nearest hotel to me.”