Keywords Basics: Targeting, On-Site, Paid & Intent Keywords, Keywords by Length Explained

Hello everyone, welcome back to CybercityHelp. So in our today’s article, we are going to discuss about our fifth module of SEO that is known as Keywords.

However, this keyword research consists of two modules which are (module 5 and 6) because both modules are interrelated to each other. So we would suggest you to please read both the modules carefully. If you have completed module 5, you can now begin with module 6 from this link: Keyword Research Basics: Defination, Benefits, Strategies and Implementation Explained

So in our fifth module, we are going to cover everything about keyword concepts, such as what are keywords, what are its types, how to choose the right keyword and finally its factors to pick the right keyword and many more concepts. So let’s get started.

What are Keywords?

So let’s start by understanding what exactly is this keyword? So basically, keywords are the words or phrases that defines your content and tells the audience what your content is about. The keywords are something that is relevant to what people are searching for, so they have a better chance of finding your content along with the result.

So basically, what’s the meaning of keyword here? It’s just a phrase or word which users search on search engines to find any information relevant to that keyword. Search engines like google, yahoo, bing etc. For example, let’s say on google search engine, in the search search bar, if you write “running shoes” so this particular term is known as keyword. These keywords are the search terms that a website owner or SEO professional generally use to optimize their website in the hope of google search engine top rankings.

What are the types of Keywords?

Now let’s discuss how many types of keywords are there. So if we talk about keyword, so it depends on the type of website actually and for different websites, we have different types of keywords. So in simple words, we can say, there are total of five types of keywords based on the website types which are targeting keywords, keyword by length, on-site keywords, paid keywords, intent keywords etc.

Now let’s start discussing these all keyword types one by one based on their website categories:

1. Targeting Keywords

So the first type is targeting keyword here. But what this targeting keyword actually means? So here targeting keyword means those particular keywords which we use to target some specific segments of people such as customers, products, marketing, competitors or any geo locations. So these specific segments of keywords are known as targeting keywords.

So let’s understand this by taking any one segment as an example. Let’s say, we are targeting “marketing segment” so in case of marketing segment, we can find the keywords that are generic and are associated with any industry or any brand. So here, according to targeting keyword, we can target marketing audience because these targeted people uses these “marketing keywords” to search them for general purposes. For example, these are the most commonly used marketing segment keywords such as running shoes, sunglasses, jeens, t-shirts etc.

Just like marketing segment, we have further sub-types in targeting keywords such as customer defining keyword in which we can define our customer requirement. Then we have a product keyword where we mostly search the products directly. Then we have branded keywords in which we add brand name with the generic keyword to search any product. Then we have competitors keyword means whatever keyword our competitor is using. Next we have geo targeted keywords. Here geo targeted is just like when you mention your keyword like “Nike running shoes” in Delhi. So Delhi is a geographical location here.

2. Keywords by Length

Now after targeting keywords, we have our second type that is keywords by length. So here keyword by length means those keywords which are judged by the length of keywords. Here these keyword belongs to some certain tails and according to that it can be determined or judged. So based on the length of keyword, we have further three sub-types which are short-tail, mid-tail, and long-tail keywords. Let’s discuss these sub-types one by one.

Short-Tail Keywords

Alright, so short-tail keywords are also known as generic or broad keywords because these are the keywords which are very popular search terms with very high search volumes because they are too small and very common words. These are usually consisting of one or two words. For example, running shoes, formal t-shirts, sports jacket etc and since these keywords are too small and common, so hence the competition is also very high to rank these generic keywords.

Mid-Tail Keywords

Now we have mid-tail keywords which comes between short-tail and long-tail keywords. These mid-tail keywords usually contain two or three words and have small volume of traffic but with less competition and higher conversion rate because of less competition. For example, these are the mid-tail keywords such as best running shoes, running shoes for men, sports shoes for men etc and here since competition is low, so chances of getting rank is better than short-tail keywords.

Long-Tail Keywords

Okay, so now we have our last sub-type that is long-tail keywords. So these long-tail keywords are the longest search terms keywords because it doesn’t contain one or two words but rather a sentance or we can say very specific to audience. And they have low search volume because of it’s length, and since search volume is low, so the competition is also low but have high conversion rate. For example, these are the long-tail keywords such as, best sports running shoes for mens, best addidas running shoes for men etc.

3. On-Site Keywords

Now after keywords by length, we have on-site keywords. So on-site keywords are those keywords which are used to rank any website organically on google search engine. These on-site keywords are also known as organic keywords because these keywords are responsible for the ranking of any website organically on google.

However, this on-site keywords also have two sub-types which are primary keywords and related keywords. Let’s understand these keywords one by one below:

Primary Keywords

Primary keywords are those keywords which are the main terms of the content that we want to target on our website. This is the keyword we include in your title, meta description, and alt images to tell search engines and users what the content is about. For example, best sports running shoes, best cheapest running shoes etc.

Related or LSI Keywords

So the next sub-type is related keywords. This related keywords are also known as LSI keywords. Here LSI stands for Latent Semantic Index which are those keywords that semantically related to the primary keyword. For example, if your primary keyword is men’s running shoes, then your related keywords would be men running shoes reviews, men cheapest running shoes and best men’s running shoes etc. These keywords are called as related keywords or LSI keywords.

4. Paid Keywords

Now after on-site keywords, we have paid keywords which are also known as google ads keywords. So paid keywords are those keywords which we create using google ads software to promote or rank that keyword for our businesses or website promotion through paid advertisement. Let’s say, we want to promote any new website for our brand like “Oreo biscuits” so we can do it using google ads to promote our keyword through paid advertisement.

Here in paid keywords, we have further four sub-types of keywords such as broad match keywords, phrase match keywords, exact match keywords, and negative keywords. Let’s discuss each sub-types one by one below:

Broad Match Keywords

So broad match keywords are those keywords which appears on google for any search related terms with variations, synonyms, misspellings, etc. For example, if any user is searching any keyword on google, so irrespective of that keyboard, your paid keyword will start appearing on the search engine because of google ads promotion policy. For example, if you search running shoes, so the first result page would be my “oreo biscuits” keywords then other pages related to running shoes. So this is called as broad match keywords.

Phrase Match Keywords

These are those keywords which appears on exact phrases but without considering its word order. For example, let’s say, if you are searching running shoes, so running shoes is your phrase match keyword but if you write mens running shoes or running shoes mens, so it doesn’t bother the search engine with the word order, it will still show your paid keyword in the search engine results. This is called as phrase match keywords.

Exact Match Keywords

Now we have exact match keywords. So these are those type of keywords which appears only with exact keywords. It means, it won’t be appearing in case of spelling mistakes or other keywords. Because you have opted for exact match keywords from google ads, so google ads will not try to show ads on different or wrong spelling keywords.

Negative Keywords

Now next we have last sub-type that is negative keywords. So negative keywords are those keywords which google ads doesn’t appear on those keywords or we can say blocked for some specific keywords. Let’s say, if you don’t want your ads to showcase for womens. For example, when somebody searches men’s shoes, so ads will show only when somebody searches men’s shoes not on women’s shoes keywords. So basically, this men’s shoes advertisement is blocked for women shoes keywords, only women’s shoes will come when someday searches women shoes.

5. Intent Keywords

Finally the last type of keyword is intent keywords. So intent keywords are those keywords which reflect the intention behind the search. For example, in case of intent keyword, we can detect user’s intention behind the keyword search. However, here also three sub-types of intent search keywords are there which are informational keywords, navigational keywords and transactional keywords, let’s understand every sub-types in little detail:

Informational Keywords

So informational keywords are those keywords which any user searches when they want to get awareness, knowledge or for general information purposes. For example “what are the running shoes?” So here the user wants to learn about the running shoes, so here the intent of the user is informational. This is what we call as informational keywords.

Navigational Keywords

Now navigational keywords are those keywords which any user searches when they are not satisfied with the information, they already know some sources but still wants to explore other options. For example, if somebody searches “Nike running shoes” so here the user still wants to purchase this shoes, but is still exploring other options. This is what we call as navigational keywords. Same applies for any other field like education, finance, healthcare etc.

Transactional Keywords

And now transactional keywords are those keywords which any user searches when the user is ready to make purchases because they already know a brand and want to buy, because of considerations or experience. For example “Best deal on Nike running shoes” so here Nike is that brand and shoes is the product which the user wants to buy. It’s not only about products, it can be about anything, like a website, finance, education, healthcare etc. This same concept is applicable for every keywords.

How to Choose the Right Keyword for Search Engine Ranking?

Next we have to know how to choose a right keyword for ranking. But you might be thinking, why I am saying to choose? Because here in this field, If you don’t know how to pick the right keyword, then you can’t get ranking. The game is only about keyword. Because keywords are everything, they are your strategy. They are the battle you choose to fight in the hope of outdoing your competitors and directing the people using search engines in your site instead of others.

When you look at the keywords that a website is ranking for, so you can see the website’s strength and the area where they want to ace over their competitor. By looking at keyword positions, we can understand what their website is and how they are serving since a long time. So let’s understand which factors to consider while choosing the right keyword for your website:

1. Search Volume

The first factor which we have is search volume. If you are searching for any keyword, then you must make sure that this keyword has the highest search volumes so that your keyword can start ranking.

2. Competition

Next we have competition. You don’t have to choose a keyword which has very high competition, and also you don’t have to choose a keyword which has zero search volume either. Here you have to strategic, you have to smartly pick that keyword which should have balance.

3. Cost Per Click (CPC)

Next we have cost per click. So you have to see, how much an advertiser is willing to pay for that specific keyword, so that when you start working on your keyword, so that you can get maximum best possible return out of your keyword hard work. You have to decide your keyword that satisfies the search volume, competition and cost per click rate.

4. Target and Intent Keywords

Next you have to use target and intent keyword techniques to pick the right keyword. When exploring your keyword, you also have to target the intent of the users. For example, whether their intent is informational, transactional, or commercial etc.

5. Competitiveness

Finally we have competitiveness of a keyword. Competitiveness means how difficult is it to rank for a keyword. For example, inside this, we have two more types such as the first one is keyword difficulty and second one is competitive density. Keyword difficulty is used for organic ranking and competitive density is used for ads and paid search.

Finally, our fifth module is completed. We have explained each concept thoroughly and did not skip important terms. This article is the first part about keywords and the next (module six) will cover keyword research. Both modules are very important.

In the next article, we will complete module six: the practical and strategic aspects of keyword research. If you have any doubts or questions about any term or concept, feel free to ask in the comment section. Thank you so much for reading this article till the end!

“So keep learning, keep growing!”