New Ways to Use Keywords

Keywords are one of the cornerstones of effective SEO. No matter what content you’re creating, you want to weave keywords throughout the text. While you’re probably already doing this to some extent, we’ve got some useful tips you might not know about. These keyword strategies will be a great addition to your SEO toolkit. 

Keywords Use on Your Site

Let’s quickly review the basics. Your main keywords are going to involve a combination of your industry and your location. In the past, Google focused primarily on the specific keywords you used. But these days they’re more interested in intent. You can use a little variety in your keywords in order to create more user-friendly content.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you run a bowling alley in Dallas, Texas. You’ll want to mix and match keywords related to both your business and your location. This means you’ll use phrases such as:

·         “bowling alley in Dallas, Texas”

·         “league bowling in the Lone Star State”

·         “family bowling in the Metroplex”

Google will understand what your business is. Even better, Google will also understand where you’re located. Local SEO is vital to your online visibility. When you use a variety of location names, Google will strongly identify you with one area (in this case, that area is Dallas).

These types of keyword phrases should be sprinkled throughout your main content. Try to hit the following spots:

·         Title tag of home page

·         Meta description. Keywords used here will appear in bold in search results

·         Filename and ALT text of an image

You’ll also want to use them throughout your content. The trick here is to insert these various keyword phrases as naturally as possible. Don’t overuse keywords, either. Google now penalizes sites which attempt to spam keywords. Quality is better than quantity.

Beyond your website, there are a few other places you can also use these keyword phrases. Let’s take a look:

Proper keyword use in social media helps your entire brand rank higher in search engine results.

You want to use keywords in as many social media posts as possible. Ideally, you want to place the most important keyword phrase within the first few words of the first sentence of the post. Keywords in the comments or “below the fold” of the status aren’t going to be as effective.

Keywords in social media:

·         Increase search result positioning for social media posts

·         Boost brand awareness among social media users

·         Increase your site’s ability to be found by a social media platform’s search engines

Twitter Tip: Tweets which relate your brand to current events are usually the most effective way to increase your SERP. Just be careful when associating your company with any popular hashtags. Remember when DiGiorno’s Pizza inadvertently mocked domestic violence? You (obviously) don’t want to do anything like that.  

Social Media Profiles

One often overlooked part of social media is the social media profile. You can add keywords throughout your various social media profiles. Here’s how:

·         Facebook

Under the About tab you’ll find three areas where you can insert keywords: Category, Short Description and Long Description.

·         Instagram

You can put keywords into your bio. You also want the pictures you post to be related to your brand.

·         Pinterest

Place keywords into the “About You” section.

·         LinkedIn

This platform has a few places you can insert keywords. When appropriate, insert keywords into the Professional Headline, Current Job Title, Summary and Skills sections.

·         Twitter

Insert keywords into your Twitter biography.

·         Google+

It’s too bad this isn’t a more active social platform, because there are a lot of opportunities to add keyword phrases throughout both your Google+ profile and your Google+ pages. Try adding keywords to these areas:

·         Introduction

·         Tagline

·         Occupation

·         Skills

·         Category

Email

This one is vastly underutilized. You want to insert your most important keyword phrase into every email you send. This can be something as simple as adding a phrase like “The best bowling lanes in Dallas” as part of your signature.

Why do you want to do this? Because you want customers to find your emails if they search their inbox. Suppose a person is planning a birthday party and they contact a bunch of different bowling alleys to research prices. When they decide to make a purchase, they’re not going to remember the name of every bowling alley. They’re just going to search their inbox for a phrase like “bowling + Dallas.” You want to make sure the email from your business is one they’re able to find.

New Content

You always want to be on the lookout for new places to insert your keyword phrases. Regularly adding new content to your site is a great way to attract Google spiders. This, in turn, leads to better SERP. 

One of the easiest ways to add new content is to regularly update your blog with new posts. But you want to insert keywords a little differently here. You’re not really promoting your business here (after all, your blog is already on your site). Instead, you’re promoting yourself as an authority on your business. This means you want to use keywords related to your industry.

For instance, you could write a blog post about “The Top Five Best Bowling Shoes” or “Ten Tips on How to Bowl the Perfect Game.” Here, you’re targeting people searching for phrases like “best bowling shoes” and “how to bowl the perfect game.” If the content is particularly well done, you might even be able to publish it on sites besides your own. This can help build links.

Conclusion

There are all sorts of effective ways to use keywords beyond the core content on your site. Social media, email and more are all great places to naturally include keyword phrases. At the end of the day, keyword phrases help you build your brand. When you have a simple, direct brand both your customers and the search engines will have an easier time finding you.