What you need to know about keyword placement for SEO
What you need to know about keyword placement for SEO
If you know a little bit about SEO, you probably know how important a good keyword strategy is for getting your content to rank and be seen.
But where exactly do you put these keywords to give your content its best chance to reach more people?
Well, my friend, we’re going to be going over everything you need to know about keyword placement for SEO in this article. Keep reading!
So, why does keyword placement matter?
Keyword placement matters because it helps search engines (that have to crawl through billions of pages on the Internet) see how well your content matches what people are searching for, boosting your chances of ranking higher in results. By including keywords in key spots, you make it clear what your page is about.
This not only helps search engines but also improves the user experience. When readers easily find the information they're looking for, they're more likely to stay on your site and read your content.
Primary vs secondary keywords
Before we go over where you should place your keywords throughout your content, it’s important to understand the difference between two types of keywords, primary and secondary keywords, since they have different placement requirements.
Primary keywords are the main keywords you want to target with your content. They are the most important words or phrases that you want to rank for in search engines. These keywords usually have higher search volume (meaning more people are looking for them) but are more difficult to rank for. For example, if you’re writing a blog post on home workouts, your primary keyword might be “home workout routines.”
Secondary keywords, on the other hand, are variations of your primary keyword and are usually less frequently searched and less competitive, but may not be worth using as a primary keyword for their own page. So, for that blog post on home workouts, secondary keywords may be terms like “simple home workout routines” or “good home workout routines.”
Primary keyword placement for SEO
Alright, so where the heck do you place your keywords throughout your content to improve your chances of ranking for them? Let’s start with your primary keyword.
In the title (H1)
Placing your primary keyword in your title, or H1 tag, is crucial for SEO because it tells search engines what your page is about. For example, if your primary keyword is "home workout routines," your H1 might be something like "Effective Home Workout Routines for All Fitness Levels." This immediately signals to both readers and search engines that your content is focused on providing information about home workouts.
In a subheading (H2)
Subheadings break up your content and make it easier to read, but they're also important for SEO. While there are multiple types of subheading (H2, H3, H4), the most important one to place your primary keyword in is in an H2 heading.
In the first 100 words
Next, is to include your primary keyword in the first 100 words of your article. There are plenty of ways to do this. For example, for the home workout article, maybe you’ll simply start the article with, "Are you looking for effective home workout routines?" This not only effectively and naturally places your keyword in your content, but it also helps establish the topic immediately and grab your reader’s attention.
In the URL
You’ll also want to include your primary keyword in your URL. Because the ideal length of a URL is around 60 to 70 characters, if your blog title is long, it may be a good idea to keep the URL to just your keyword, for example,“www.yoursite.com/home-workout-routines.”
In the meta title
Don’t forget to include your primary keyword in your meta title. The meta title appears in search engine results, unlike the H1, which is the main heading on your page. And because the meta title is what appears in search engine results, making sure your meta title both includes the primary keyword AND is engaging enough to attract clicks is important in getting people to see and check out your content.
In the meta description
Next up is to put your primary keyword in your meta description, which is usually the snippet of text that is shown below your meta title in Google search results.
Google describes a meta description as "a tag that generally informs and interests users with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about. They are like a pitch that convinces the user that the page is exactly what they're looking for."
For example, a meta description like "Learn effective home workout routines for all fitness levels. This guide provides easy-to-follow exercises you can do at home" includes the keyword and provides a compelling pitch. This helps attract clicks by showing searchers that your page offers what they need.
In the image alt text
Including the primary keyword in the image alt text can be helpful for SEO, but it needs to be done correctly. According to Google, it “uses alt text along with computer vision algorithms and the contents of the page to understand the subject matter of the image.”
So, only include your primary keyword if it truly describes the image. If not, it’s better to just not use it as Google might view it as keyword stuffing, which you can be penalized for.
Where to put your secondary keywords
Using secondary keywords can help your content rank for similar queries searched on Google. And keyword placement for secondary keywords is pretty straightforward. Simply place it at least once within your text. You can also use secondary keywords in subheadings, image alt text, or the meta description if they fit naturally.
Two keyword placement mistakes to avoid
Before you move forward and use these keyword placement tips, I want to warn you about two common (and often harmful) keyword placement mistakes I see on the Internet.
Beware of keyword stuffing
One of the reasons to keep your keyword placement strategy as simple as possible is to avoid keyword stuffing.
This is when you cram your primary keyword into your content too many times, making it sound unnatural. Search engines like Google are smart and can spot this tactic, which can actually hurt your rankings. For example, if you have a paragraph like this, “Our home workout routines are the best. These home workout routines will help you get fit. Try our home workout routines now," Google can pretty easily figure out what you’re trying to do.
So, don’t do it!
Instead of saying "home workout routines" over and over, focus on writing naturally and providing valuable information, and just keeping your primary keyword to the places talked about in this article. Natural placement of keywords keeps your content easy to read and helps maintain your SEO integrity.
Avoid keyword cannibalization
One of the biggest keyword mistakes you can make is targeting the same keywords for different pages on your website (keyword cannibalization). When multiple pages on your site are optimized for the same keyword, they end up competing against each other in search results, confusing search engines about which page to push out, often leading to both of them suffering in rankings.
To avoid this, choose just one primary keyword to target for each page and create some sort of tracking system (Google Sheets will do) to avoid accidentally using the same keyword for multiple pages.
Final thoughts
Now that you know the ins and outs of primary keyword placement for SEO, you're well on your way to creating content that ranks higher and reaches more people. Remember, the key is to use your keywords naturally and strategically throughout your content. This makes it easy for search engines to understand and rank your pages. And when in doubt, you should always be prioritizing making your content useful and engaging, which will naturally attract more visitors and improve your search engine ranking.
If you have more questions about blogging, SEO, or copywriting, check out my other blogs for more tips!
‘Till next time!
