{"id":37926,"date":"2020-07-21T11:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T16:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=37926"},"modified":"2024-12-03T11:46:07","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T16:46:07","slug":"what-are-keywords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/what-are-keywords\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Keywords? How to Use Them for&nbsp;SEO"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intro-txt\">Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into search engines&nbsp;to find what they\u2019re looking for.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p>For example, if you were looking to buy a new jacket, you might type something like \u201cmens leather jacket\u201d into Google. Even though that phrase consists of more than one word, it\u2019s still a keyword.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, nobody outside of the SEO industry tends to use this terminology. Most people would call them Google searches or queries. Just know that keywords are synonymous with both of these things.<\/p>\n<p>In this guide, you\u2019ll learn:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#why-keywords-are-important\">Why keywords are important<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-appear-in-google-for-keywords\">How to show up in Google for keywords<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-find-keywords\">How to find keywords<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-choose-keywords\">How to choose keywords<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-optimize-for-keywords\">How to optimize for keywords<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#what-are-long-tail-keywords\">What long-tail keywords are<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"hub-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Beginner's guide to keyword research\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/keyword.png\"><div class=\"hl-title\">New to keyword research? Check out&nbsp;our<\/div><div class=\"hl-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-research\/\" target=\"_blank\">Beginner\u2019s guide to keyword research<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Why are keywords important?\" data-section=\"why-keywords-are-important\">\n<h2>Why are keywords important?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Keywords are important because your website can show up when people type them into search engines.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you Google \u201chow to do SEO,\u201d we appear at the&nbsp;top:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1027\" class=\"wp-image-37911\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/1-how-to-do-seo-google-search.jpg\" alt=\"1 how to do seo google search\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/1-how-to-do-seo-google-search.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/1-how-to-do-seo-google-search-662x425.jpg 662w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/1-how-to-do-seo-google-search-260x166.jpg 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/1-how-to-do-seo-google-search-768x493.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/1-how-to-do-seo-google-search-1536x986.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>Because this keyword gets an estimated 1,700 monthly searches in the US, showing up at <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-get-on-top-of-google-search\/\">the top of Google<\/a> sends many visitors our way. In fact, we\u2019ve had over 900 visits from this keyword in the last&nbsp;month.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1172\" height=\"946\" class=\"wp-image-37897\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2-how-to-do-seo-keywords-explorer.png\" alt=\"2 how to do seo keywords explorer\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2-how-to-do-seo-keywords-explorer.png 1172w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2-how-to-do-seo-keywords-explorer-527x425.png 527w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2-how-to-do-seo-keywords-explorer-768x620.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1172px) 100vw, 1172px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"937\" class=\"wp-image-37893\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/3-how-to-do-seo-google-search-console.png\" alt=\"3 how to do seo google search console\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/3-how-to-do-seo-google-search-console.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/3-how-to-do-seo-google-search-console-680x398.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/3-how-to-do-seo-google-search-console-768x450.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/3-how-to-do-seo-google-search-console-1536x900.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to appear in Google for keywords\" data-section=\"how-to-appear-in-google-for-keywords\">\n<h2>How to appear in Google for keywords<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Showing up at the top of Google for a relevant keyword might send lots of traffic your way, but how do you do&nbsp;that?<\/p>\n<p>There are two&nbsp;ways.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#ppc\">PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#seo\">SEO (Search Engine Optimization)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3 id=\"ppc\">Pay-per-click (PPC)<\/h3>\n<p>PPC is where you pay Google to show your web page in the results for specific keywords. For example, if you sell email marketing software, you could bid on that term and appear at the top of Google\u2019s search results when people search for&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what Campaign Monitor does.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"888\" class=\"wp-image-37905\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4-ppc-campaign-monitor.jpg\" alt=\"4 ppc campaign monitor\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4-ppc-campaign-monitor.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4-ppc-campaign-monitor-680x377.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4-ppc-campaign-monitor-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4-ppc-campaign-monitor-1536x852.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>This is known as <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ppc-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising<\/a>. Google has a platform where you can choose keywords to bid on. Google then displays your ad in the search results. Every time someone clicks that ad and lands on your website, Google charges you&nbsp;money.<\/p>\n<p>You can tell paid results apart from organic (non-paid) results because they\u2019re marked as&nbsp;ads.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"seo\">Search Engine Optimization (SEO)<\/h3>\n<p>SEO is the process of optimizing your web pages to rank in Google\u2019s organic results. And Google\u2019s job is to rank the best, most relevant results for every search query.<\/p>\n<p>If Google deems your page the \u201cbest\u201d result for the right terms, you\u2019ll get a consistent stream of \u2018free\u2019 visits to your website.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the Ahrefs blog gets an estimated 383,000 organic visits from Google every&nbsp;month.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"325\" class=\"wp-image-37918\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/5-ahrefs-blog-traffic.png\" alt=\"5 ahrefs blog traffic\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/5-ahrefs-blog-traffic.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/5-ahrefs-blog-traffic-680x138.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/5-ahrefs-blog-traffic-768x156.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/5-ahrefs-blog-traffic-1536x312.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>We rank #1 for keywords like \u201cSEO&nbsp;audit\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"808\" class=\"wp-image-37914\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/6-seo-audit-ranking.jpg\" alt=\"6 seo audit ranking\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/6-seo-audit-ranking.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/6-seo-audit-ranking-680x343.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/6-seo-audit-ranking-768x388.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/6-seo-audit-ranking-1536x776.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeyword research tools\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"706\" class=\"wp-image-37920\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/7-keyword-research-tools-ranking.jpg\" alt=\"7 keyword research tools ranking\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/7-keyword-research-tools-ranking.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/7-keyword-research-tools-ranking-680x300.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/7-keyword-research-tools-ranking-768x339.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/7-keyword-research-tools-ranking-1536x678.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>And \u201clocal SEO\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"678\" class=\"wp-image-37925\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/8-local-seo-ranking.png\" alt=\"8 local seo ranking\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/8-local-seo-ranking.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/8-local-seo-ranking-680x288.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/8-local-seo-ranking-768x325.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/8-local-seo-ranking-1536x651.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>Given that we sell SEO tools, all of these keywords send potential customers our way and contribute to our bottom line.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to find keywords\" data-section=\"how-to-find-keywords\">\n<h2>How to find keywords<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Most people have some idea of the keywords they want to rank for in Google. But it\u2019s impossible to know everything people search for. That\u2019s why it pays to do some research to find more keyword ideas.<\/p>\n<p>There are many ways to do this, but the easiest method is to use a keyword research tool.<\/p>\n<p>Most of these tools work in the same way. You enter a few broad keywords related to your industry called seed keywords, and the tool kicks back some related keyword ideas.<\/p>\n<p>For example, say that you sell headphones online. Your seed keywords might be \u201cheadphones,\u201d \u201cearbuds,\u201d \u201cearphones,\u201d and \u201cbeats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s pop those into Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a>, then take a look at one of the keyword ideas reports.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"696\" class=\"wp-image-37916\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/9-keywords-explorer-ideas.jpg\" alt=\"9 keywords explorer ideas\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/9-keywords-explorer-ideas.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/9-keywords-explorer-ideas-680x296.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/9-keywords-explorer-ideas-768x334.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/9-keywords-explorer-ideas-1536x668.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>Right away, we see over two million&nbsp;related keyword ideas complete with monthly search volumes, the average cost per click (CPC) for paid ads,&nbsp;and tons of other SEO metrics.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to choose keywords\" data-section=\"how-to-choose-keywords\">\n<h2>How to choose keywords<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Nobody can rank for every keyword, and nobody can bid on every keyword. For that reason, it\u2019s important to choose your battles wisely. Let\u2019s look at a few keyword metrics and attributes to help you choose the best&nbsp;ones.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#search-volume\">Search volume<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#search-intent\">Search intent<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#value\">\u2018Value\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#keyword-difficulty\">Keyword Difficulty<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3 id=\"search-volume\">Search volume<\/h3>\n<p>Keywords vary in popularity. For example, there are an estimated 35,000 monthly searches for \u201chow to post on instagram.\u201d But only 1,200 for \u201chow to get backlinks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"718\" height=\"228\" class=\"wp-image-37899\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/10-keyword-popularity.png\" alt=\"10 keyword popularity\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/10-keyword-popularity.png 718w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/10-keyword-popularity-680x216.png 680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 718px) 100vw, 718px\"><\/p>\n<p>Does that mean it\u2019s better to rank for \u201chow to post on instagram\u201d than \u201chow to get backlinks?\u201d&nbsp;Not always. There\u2019s no point ranking for that first keyword if you sell SEO software like us. It might bring lots of visitors, but none of them are likely to buy what we&nbsp;sell.<\/p>\n<p>You need to find keywords that bear some relevance to what your business does, then judge them relatively.<\/p>\n<p>For example, there are 2,200 searches for \u201cSEO tips\u201d every month vs. 350 for \u201cimage seo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"580\" height=\"222\" class=\"wp-image-37906\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/11-two-keywords.png\" alt=\"11 two keywords\"><\/p>\n<p>As it would make sense for us to show up in Google for both of those keywords, we should probably prioritize the first one. Why? It has more searches. We\u2019d probably get more traffic from ranking #1 for that keyword than the other&nbsp;one.<\/p>\n<p>You can check the search volume for almost any keyword in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a>. Just type in your keyword, choose a country, and you\u2019ll see country-specific and global volumes:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"628\" class=\"wp-image-37917\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/12-seo-tips-search-volume.png\" alt=\"12 seo tips search volume\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/12-seo-tips-search-volume.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/12-seo-tips-search-volume-680x267.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/12-seo-tips-search-volume-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/12-seo-tips-search-volume-1536x603.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation\"><div class=\"recommendation-title\">IMPORTANT<\/div><div class=\"recommendation-content\">\n<p>Although search volume is a good predictor of traffic potential in general, it\u2019s not perfect.<\/p>\n<p>Just take a look at these two keywords:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"250\" class=\"wp-image-37915\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/13-two-kejywords.png\" alt=\"13 two kejywords\"><\/p>\n<p>Judging by their search volumes, you\u2019d guess that the top-ranking page for \u201cSEO tips\u201d would get the most organic traffic. But if we check the current top-ranking pages for each term in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a>, we see that the opposite is&nbsp;true.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"326\" class=\"wp-image-37910\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-seo-tips-top-ranking.png\" alt=\"15 seo tips top ranking\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-seo-tips-top-ranking.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-seo-tips-top-ranking-680x139.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-seo-tips-top-ranking-768x156.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-seo-tips-top-ranking-1536x313.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"326\" class=\"wp-image-37922\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-submit-to-search-engines-top-ranking.png\" alt=\"15 submit to search engines top ranking\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-submit-to-search-engines-top-ranking.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-submit-to-search-engines-top-ranking-680x139.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-submit-to-search-engines-top-ranking-768x156.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15-submit-to-search-engines-top-ranking-1536x313.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>Learn more about why search volume isn\u2019t always a good predictor of traffic potential in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-search-volume\/\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-traffic-estimation\/\">these<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-search-volume\/\">two<\/a>&nbsp;posts.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Read our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-keywords-for-seo\/\">how to determine keywords for SEO<\/a> for more tips like&nbsp;this.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"search-intent\">Search intent<\/h3>\n<p>Imagine that you sell robots vacuums online. Looking at the search volume for \u201crobot vacuum,\u201d it seems like a decent keyword to try to rank a product page&nbsp;for.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"671\" class=\"wp-image-37909\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/17-robot-vacuum-search-volume-keywords-explorer.png\" alt=\"17 robot vacuum search volume keywords explorer\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/17-robot-vacuum-search-volume-keywords-explorer.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/17-robot-vacuum-search-volume-keywords-explorer-680x285.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/17-robot-vacuum-search-volume-keywords-explorer-768x322.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/17-robot-vacuum-search-volume-keywords-explorer-1536x644.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>After all, people searching for \u201crobot vacuum\u201d are probably looking to buy one, and you sell them. So what\u2019s the problem?<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that most of the people searching for this keyword aren\u2019t ready to buy. They\u2019re just looking for reviews and insights into the best models available.<\/p>\n<p>How do we know? Look at the search results in Google.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1552\" class=\"wp-image-37923\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-robot-vacuum-results.png\" alt=\"18 robot vacuum results\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-robot-vacuum-results.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-robot-vacuum-results-438x425.png 438w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-robot-vacuum-results-768x745.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-robot-vacuum-results-1536x1490.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>You can see that almost all of them are curated lists of the best robot vacuums by consumer review websites. That matters because Google\u2019s job is to deliver the most relevant search results to&nbsp;users. If most of those are lists of the best robot vacuums, then we can assume that\u2019s what searchers want to&nbsp;see.<\/p>\n<p>In SEO, this is known as <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/search-intent\/\">search intent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to stand the best chance of ranking for your keywords in Google, you need to create content that aligns with intent. In other words, don\u2019t try to rank your homepage for a keyword where searchers are looking for blog posts, and vice&nbsp;versa.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"value\">\u2018Value\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>People often get hung up on search volume and intent without stopping to think about a keyword\u2019s value. That\u2019s a mistake.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s say that you sell pizza ovens online. You might see a keyword like \u201cpizza dough\u201d with its 43,000 monthly searches and think that trying to rank for it is a no-brainer.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"756\" class=\"wp-image-37900\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-pizza-dough-search-volume.png\" alt=\"18 pizza dough search volume\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-pizza-dough-search-volume.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-pizza-dough-search-volume-680x321.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-pizza-dough-search-volume-768x363.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/18-pizza-dough-search-volume-1536x726.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>But, you have to ask yourself how many of those people are likely to want to buy a pizza oven? The realistic answer is probably none. Most are almost certainly just looking for a quick recipe. It\u2019s unlikely that they\u2019ll want to drop a few hundred dollars on a pizza oven anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p>So how do you judge a keyword\u2019s value?<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re analyzing keywords in bulk in a keyword research tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a>, you can look to CPC for a very rough sense of \u2018value.\u2019 This shows how much advertisers are willing to pay for a click from the keyword, on average.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"670\" class=\"wp-image-37892\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19-pizza-cpc.png\" alt=\"19 pizza cpc\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19-pizza-cpc.png 1030w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19-pizza-cpc-653x425.png 653w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19-pizza-cpc-768x500.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"><\/p>\n<p>The idea here is that if people are willing to pay good money for clicks, there must be some value in the traffic from that keyword.<\/p>\n<p>However, things aren\u2019t quite this simple. Just because a keyword has value for one person doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it has value for&nbsp;you.<\/p>\n<p>Take \u201clink building service,\u201d for example:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"653\" class=\"wp-image-37894\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20-link-building-service-cpc.png\" alt=\"20 link building service cpc\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20-link-building-service-cpc.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20-link-building-service-cpc-680x278.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20-link-building-service-cpc-768x313.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20-link-building-service-cpc-1536x627.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>It has a high CPC, and it\u2019s easy to understand why. There\u2019s a lot of money to be made selling <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/link-building-services\/\">link building services<\/a>, and the companies that do so are willing to pay good money for this traffic.<\/p>\n<p>However, because we don\u2019t sell link building services, it doesn\u2019t hold much value for&nbsp;us.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"keyword-difficulty\">Keyword Difficulty<\/h3>\n<p>Let\u2019s say that you\u2019ve found the perfect keyword. There are lots of people searching for it, your page matches search intent, and it seems valuable. You should go after that keyword, right?<\/p>\n<p>Not necessarily. It depends on how difficult it will be to rank&nbsp;for.<\/p>\n<p>For example, look at \u201cmortgage payment calculator\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1522\" height=\"950\" class=\"wp-image-37907\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/21-mortgage-payment-calculator-keyword-difficulty.png\" alt=\"21 mortgage payment calculator keyword difficulty\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/21-mortgage-payment-calculator-keyword-difficulty.png 1522w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/21-mortgage-payment-calculator-keyword-difficulty-680x425.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/21-mortgage-payment-calculator-keyword-difficulty-768x479.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1522px) 100vw, 1522px\"><\/p>\n<p>It has a <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keyword-difficulty\">Keyword Difficulty<\/a>&nbsp;score of 84. Given that our scale runs from 0-100, that\u2019s pretty high. It means that many of the top-ranking pages have lots of links from other websites. Because backlinks are an important <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/google-ranking-factors\/\">ranking factor<\/a>, it would be hard&nbsp;to outrank the other pages without getting lots of high-quality links.<\/p>\n<p>That said, there\u2019s more to ranking in Google than getting backlinks. So while Keyword Difficulty is useful for getting a rough sense of ranking difficulty, there are other things you should take into account.<\/p>\n<p>Learn what they are in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-difficulty\/\">our full guide to assessing keyword difficulty<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to optimize for keywords\" data-section=\"how-to-optimize-for-keywords\">\n<h2>How to optimize for keywords<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Most guides say that you need to do these kinds of things to <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-optimization\/\">optimize for keywords<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Include the keyword in the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/title-tag-seo\/\">title tag<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Include the keyword in the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-friendly-urls\/\">URL<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Mention your keyword throughout your&nbsp;page<\/li>\n<li>Include long-tail keywords in your&nbsp;copy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although it does make sense to do many of those things, they\u2019re not the primary way you optimize for a keyword.<\/p>\n<p>The primary way to optimize for a keyword is to match search intent.<\/p>\n<p>We talked about this a little earlier, but it\u2019s important to stress just how important this is. If you\u2019re trying to rank for \u201ccast iron skillet\u201d with a blog post, it\u2019s probably not going to happen. Google knows searchers are in buying mode, not learning mode. That\u2019s why the top five results are all product and category pages from ecommerce sites.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1580\" height=\"1164\" class=\"wp-image-37895\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/22-search-intent-ecommerce.png\" alt=\"22 search intent ecommerce\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/22-search-intent-ecommerce.png 1580w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/22-search-intent-ecommerce-577x425.png 577w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/22-search-intent-ecommerce-768x566.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/22-search-intent-ecommerce-1536x1132.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1580px) 100vw, 1580px\"><\/p>\n<p>But matching search intent isn\u2019t just about creating the right type of content. You also need to talk about the things that searchers are expecting to&nbsp;see.<\/p>\n<p>For example, let\u2019s say you want to rank for \u201cbacklinks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You can see from the current top-ranking pages that searchers want a blog post, so you know that\u2019s the type of content you need to create. But what exactly should you write about? What should the angle of your post&nbsp;be?<\/p>\n<p>You can get a sense of this by looking at the top-ranking pages.<\/p>\n<p>In this case, almost all of the posts have the same angle: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/what-are-backlinks\/\">what are backlinks?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1576\" height=\"1044\" class=\"wp-image-37913\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/23-backlinks-search-intent.png\" alt=\"23 backlinks search intent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/23-backlinks-search-intent.png 1576w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/23-backlinks-search-intent-642x425.png 642w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/23-backlinks-search-intent-768x509.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/23-backlinks-search-intent-1536x1018.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1576px) 100vw, 1576px\"><\/p>\n<p>To stand the best chance of ranking for this query, you\u2019d want to follow suit.<\/p>\n<p>But don\u2019t stop there. You should also check what else the top-ranking pages cover. For example, nearly every page that ranks for \u201cbacklinks\u201d covers three subtopics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What are backlinks?<\/li>\n<li>Why are backlinks important?<\/li>\n<li>What types of backlinks are&nbsp;there?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That tells you that most searchers want to know the answers to those questions, so you should include them in your&nbsp;post.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recommended reading:<\/strong>&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/on-page-seo\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/on-page-seo\/\">On-Page SEO: An Actionable Guide<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"What are long-tail keywords?\" data-section=\"what-are-long-tail-keywords\">\n<h2>What are long-tail keywords?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>If you\u2019ve read anything about keyword research before, you might have come across the term <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/long-tail-keywords\/\">long-tail keywords<\/a>. Most guides define these as keywords that consist of lots of words, but that\u2019s not entirely accurate.<\/p>\n<p>Long-tail keywords are search queries with low individual search volume. While it\u2019s true that longer, more specific keywords tend to have lower search volumes, one and two-word phrases can be long-tail keywords.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, there are over 350 million one and two-word phrases in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/big-data\">our database<\/a>&nbsp;with fewer than ten monthly searches.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"854\" height=\"274\" class=\"wp-image-37908\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/24-long-tail-keywords.png\" alt=\"24 long tail keywords\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/24-long-tail-keywords.png 854w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/24-long-tail-keywords-680x218.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/24-long-tail-keywords-768x246.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px\"><\/p>\n<p>People also say that long-tail keywords are easier to rank for. That can be true, but not always. It\u2019s more accurate for what we like to call \u201ctopical long-tail keywords\u201d than \u201csupporting long-tail keywords.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Confused? Let\u2019s take a brief look at these two groups.<\/p>\n<h3>What are supporting long-tail keywords?<\/h3>\n<p>Supporting long-tail keywords are unpopular ways of searching for a popular topic.<\/p>\n<p>For example, look at these keywords:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"724\" height=\"576\" class=\"wp-image-37902\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/25-supporting-long-tail-keywords.png\" alt=\"25 supporting long tail keywords\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/25-supporting-long-tail-keywords.png 724w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/25-supporting-long-tail-keywords-534x425.png 534w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\"><\/p>\n<p>Each of them has fewer than 50 monthly searches, but they\u2019re all just less popular ways of searching for \u201chow to lose weight\u201d\u2014a keyword with 89,000 monthly searches in the&nbsp;US.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1164\" height=\"742\" class=\"wp-image-37912\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/26-head-keyword.png\" alt=\"26 head keyword\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/26-head-keyword.png 1164w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/26-head-keyword-667x425.png 667w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/26-head-keyword-260x166.png 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/26-head-keyword-768x490.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1164px) 100vw, 1164px\"><\/p>\n<p>Google knows this, which is why the same page ranks #1 for all of those queries.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"901\" class=\"wp-image-37901\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/27-supporting-keyword-rankings.png\" alt=\"27 supporting keyword rankings\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/27-supporting-keyword-rankings.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/27-supporting-keyword-rankings-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/27-supporting-keyword-rankings-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/27-supporting-keyword-rankings-1536x865.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t uncommon. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/also-rank-for-study\/\">research<\/a>&nbsp;shows that the average top-ranking page also ranks for around a thousand other keywords in the top&nbsp;10:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"857\" class=\"wp-image-37904\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/average-keyword-rankings-by-position-1.png\" alt=\"average keyword rankings by position 1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/average-keyword-rankings-by-position-1.png 900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/average-keyword-rankings-by-position-1-446x425.png 446w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/average-keyword-rankings-by-position-1-768x731.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><\/p>\n<p>There are two lessons to learn from&nbsp;this:<\/p>\n<p><strong>The first is that ranking for supporting long-tail keywords is usually no easier<\/strong>&nbsp;than ranking for the most popular way of searching for the topic (e.g., \u201chow to lose weight\u201d). You can see evidence of that if you compare the Keyword Difficulty score for \u201chow to lose weight\u201d to the other long-tail variations above. They\u2019re all&nbsp;high.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"716\" height=\"666\" class=\"wp-image-37903\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/28-supporting-long-tail-keywords-kd.png\" alt=\"28 supporting long tail keywords kd\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/28-supporting-long-tail-keywords-kd.png 716w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/28-supporting-long-tail-keywords-kd-457x425.png 457w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>The second is that you shouldn\u2019t optimize your page for a supporting long-tail keyword. <\/strong>You should optimize it for the most popular way of searching for the&nbsp;topic.<\/p>\n<h3>What are topical long-tail keywords?<\/h3>\n<p>Topical long-tail keywords are those with low individual search volumes that represent the most popular way of searching for a&nbsp;topic.<\/p>\n<p>A good example of a topical long-tail keyword is the query, \u201ckeyword cannibalization\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1052\" height=\"946\" class=\"wp-image-37921\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/29-topical-long-tail-keyword.png\" alt=\"29 topical long tail keyword\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/29-topical-long-tail-keyword.png 1052w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/29-topical-long-tail-keyword-473x425.png 473w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/29-topical-long-tail-keyword-768x691.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1052px) 100vw, 1052px\"><\/p>\n<p>It only gets 250 searches a month, but that\u2019s not because there\u2019s a more popular way of searching for the topic. It\u2019s because so few people care about the topic that it only gets a handful of monthly searches.<\/p>\n<p>There are two lessons to learn from&nbsp;this:<\/p>\n<p><strong>The first is that topical long-tail keywords are often easier to rank for <\/strong>because they\u2019re less competitive. People aren\u2019t willing to invest a lot of time and effort into ranking for topics with low traffic potential.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The second is that topical long-tail keywords can send tons of traffic to your site.<\/strong>&nbsp;You just need to rank for lots of&nbsp;them.<\/p>\n<p>You can find topical long-tail keywords in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a>&nbsp;by searching for a topic, then filtering for low volume and low-difficulty keywords. If the \u201cParent Topic\u201d matches the keyword itself, it will usually be a topical long-tail keyword.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"952\" class=\"wp-image-37924\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/30-find-topical-long-tails.jpg\" alt=\"30 find topical long tails\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/30-find-topical-long-tails.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/30-find-topical-long-tails-680x405.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/30-find-topical-long-tails-768x457.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/30-find-topical-long-tails-1536x914.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>For example, the Parent Topic for \u201cketo and migraines\u201d is the same as the keyword.<\/p>\n<p>If we look at the search results for this keyword, we see multiple pages getting a few hundred visits per month while having few backlinks.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"950\" class=\"wp-image-37919\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/31-keto-and-migraines-topical-long-tail.jpg\" alt=\"31 keto and migraines topical long tail\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/31-keto-and-migraines-topical-long-tail.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/31-keto-and-migraines-topical-long-tail-680x404.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/31-keto-and-migraines-topical-long-tail-768x456.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/31-keto-and-migraines-topical-long-tail-1536x912.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n<p>It would probably be quite easy to rank for this keyword even with a relatively new website, as long as your content was well-optimized.<\/p>\n<h2>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Keywords are the foundation of SEO. You can\u2019t possibly create or optimize content for search engines unless you know what people are searching for and what they want to&nbsp;see.<\/p>\n<p>Looking to learn more about keyword research? Read our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/keyword-research\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-research\/\">complete keyword research guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Looking for some quick keyword research tips? <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-research-tips\/\">Here are 6 of them<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Got questions? Ping me <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joshuachardwick?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For example, if you were looking to buy a new jacket, you might type something like \u201cmens leather jacket\u201d into Google. Even though that phrase consists of more than one word, it\u2019s still a keyword. Of course, nobody outside of<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":37927,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"coauthors":[336],"class_list":["post-37926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-keyword-research","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Are Keywords? How to Use Them for SEO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into search engines\u00a0to find what they&#039;re looking for.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/what-are-keywords\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Are Keywords? 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