20 Tips For Finding And Using Keyword Opportunities In Your Content

Keywords are an integral part of getting your content to rank on Google, but finding and using keywords can be complex.

And more often than not, when researching ways to use keywords, you may get trapped in information overload.

Unfortunately, keyword strategies are challenging to understand, but we've made things simple and compiled a list of the best ways you can use keywords in your content.

• Prioritize keywords that you can rank for
• Take advantage of “related searches”
• Use research tools
• Understand your target audience
• Keywords in your meta description
• Take advantage of “people also ask”
• Keywords in the first paragraph
• Carry out a content gap analysis
• And more…

1. Prioritize Keywords That You Can Rank For

When looking for keywords, there's one very crucial thing you need to bear in mind: the more valuable a keyword is, the more competition there is for that keyword.

Everyone wants to be on the first page of Google and rank high on the search results list.

Therefore, when searching for keywords, people often choose the one most people are competing for but forget about the

Prioritize only the keywords your content will rank for, and avoid highly competitive ones. You can do this by considering these factors:

• Evaluate the keyword relevance. Your keywords need to be relevant to your content. When choosing keywords, check that it is something your audience cares about, that your business offers this product/service and that you can create helpful content around the keyword.
• Check the monthly search volume. If you think you've found an excellent keyword and when researching the search volume, you find that only 40 users are searching for this per month, it would be a waste to use it.
• Analyze the difficulty in ranking. Use an SEO tool like Moz or Keywords Everywhere to analyze your list of keywords and get insight into how difficult it will be to rank for those. A higher difficulty score will mean it will be harder to rank.

2. Take Advantage Of “Related Searches.”

Google-related searches appear at the bottom of a webpage when a search term is entered. Many people are unaware that the related searches can be integrated and used as keywords in your content. Related searches will not appear for every query, and some keywords do not have related searches.

Related searches can help you with keyword research and help you integrate keywords into your content. Here’s how you can use related searches to optimize your content:

• Modify your meta title and meta description based on the related searches
• Use keywords in the related searches as long tail keywords (keywordtool.io is an excellent tool for this)
• Related searches help you understand what your target audience is asking

3. Use Research Tools

If you're looking to reduce the time you spend looking for keywords, it's a great idea to use a few keyword research tools to help you find the best keywords to integrate into your content. Keyword tools also provide the data you need to rank for those keywords.

Keyword research tools also help you carry out an analysis based on competitive web pages. These research tools have benefits such as:

• Providing keyword recommendations
• Identifying keywords that drive traffic
• SEO optimizing your content by recommending suggested terms
• Providing feedback on keywords to run ads

The most user-friendly keyword tools are Moz Keyword Explorer, Semrush, and Google Keyword Planner.

Using keyword tools also has other benefits, including boosting traffic to your website, allowing you to discover personalized keywords, will enable you to find keywords to rank higher in search engines, and increasing your conversion rates.

4. Understand Your Target Audience

One of the critical aspects of using keywords in your content is understanding your target audience. So it's no use having a list of keywords that tick all the boxes but don't apply to your target audience.

When you understand your target audience, you can determine what they're searching for, what they are most interested in. The most searched phrases related to their queries, which you can use in your content.

The ideal way to understand your target audience is to conduct a keyword analysis. A keyword analysis will help you increase organic traffic, help you create helpful content for your audience, form a targeted SEO marketing plan, and improve your existing content to suit your target audience.

5. Keywords In Your Meta Description

The keywords you want to use must be relevant to your optimizing page. Meta keywords are inserted in the meta description to provide search engines with additional information about the content on a webpage.

These are not visible to visitors and are strategically placed in the code of a website. Can’t code? No problem! Many site builders and plugins have options to add meta keywords into the code of your website.

There should be at most ten meta keywords inserted for a webpage.

Meta keywords should always comply with the following guidelines:

• Meta keywords need to be separated with commas
• Meta keywords need to be the same as the tags used in your content
• Use synonyms of your keywords in your meta description

6. Take Advantage Of “People Also Ask”

A free and handy tool to find keywords for your content is the “People Also Ask” SERP feature by Google. When searching for something online, in between the search results, you'll often see a section titled “People Also Ask.” Underneath will be questions relating to the search term and a snippet of the answer.

This tool can be used to source keywords and get more ideas on content topics. The “People Also Ask” appears in more than 85% of Google searches and provides you with more insight into what people are searching for relating to your keywords.

“People Also Ask” boxes can drive traffic to your site and help you understand the journey of how people ask questions related to your content. It tells you stuff you can include in your content to optimize it for ranking better in search results.

7. Keywords In The First Paragraph

Your keywords or key phrase should not only be mentioned throughout your content, but should be used in the very first paragraph. By doing this, visitors to your website and search engines can easily find your content and determine what your website is all about.

Positioning keywords is crucial when it comes to formulating content. Therefore, keywords should always be placed in the first paragraph but should also be included in the following places:

• H1 heading
• Meta title tag
• H2 subheadings
• Conclusion
• Meta description
• Introduction/first paragraph

8. Carry Out A Content Gap Analysis

If you're stuck with old, outdated content, it may be more challenging to rank on Google. Content gaps are topics that aren't on your website, but topics that people are searching for.

Conducting a content gap analysis can help you rank higher, help improve the way you communicate with your target audience and reduce bounce rates.

One of the most significant types of content gaps is keyword gaps. Most people focus on short popular keywords but forget about long-chain keywords. Long tail keywords are less competitive and have a better chance of helping you rank on Google.

Long tail keywords should be integrated across all your content. Long tail keywords are an excellent opportunity to use keywords that aren't competitive and that can quickly improve your content.

9. Use Target Keywords Near You

If your business or website predominantly focuses on selling products near you, you’ll also want to include keywords that reflect this. To do this is very simple. Type in the phrases “close to me,” “in my location,” or “near me” along with your keyword.

Google will pick up that you are targeting results close by and provide you with search results based on local queries. You can then get an indication of what people are looking for and how to use it as a keyword strategy.

10. What Is The User’s Search Intent?

A user's search intent is the goal of the user when searching for something online. But why is this important for using keywords? Google's number 1 priority is answering the user's search intent. If your content does not satisfy the user's search intent, it will not rank.

You can figure out a user's search intent based on the keyword they're using. There are four search intent types: informational, transactional, commercial, and navigational.

1. Informational intent. They are learning more about a topic. With informational intent, you need to analyze the information that users are looking for. These include how, where, what, why, and who.
2. Transactional intent. Completing a specific action. To use transactional keywords, you need to provide the most relevant information, make the conversion process easy and know what you want to get out of the conversion (make the customer join a subscription list, make a purchase, etc.)
3. Commercial intent. Customers are trying to learn about a product before purchasing it.
4. Navigational intent. Users are trying to find something like a restaurant. Users already know what they are looking for, so if you're targeting this type of keyword, you won't need to use many new ones.

11. Use Keywords In Image Alt Tags

Just as keywords are essential in your content, they are also important in your image alt tags. Search engines cannot determine what an image is, but can read the text to determine what an image is. If no keywords are in your image alt tags, it will prevent your pictures from ranking and, ultimately, your web pages from ranking too.

When using keywords in the alt tags, you want to keep it short and avoid long descriptions and keyword stuffing.

12. Use Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a simple tool that can help you find relevant keywords. With the Google Search Console, you can find keywords for which your website is already ranking and new keywords to use in your content. Google Search Console provides data from organic searches to help people improve their website’s ranking in searches.

You can search for keywords in Google Search Console using the queries section. To begin a search, type in the URL of the content you want to find related keywords for. You'll want to avoid competitive keywords and focus on those your content can rank for.

13. Avoid Keyword Stuffing

When using keywords, you want to have a nice balance of key phrases and synonyms related to your keywords and the keywords themselves. Unfortunately, many people use the exact keywords over and over again throughout their content; this not only makes it hard to read, but is also known as keyword stuffing.

Google identifies this as a way to manipulate search rankings and will, in turn, not rank your content highly. We are all susceptible to keyword stuffing, but there are a few ways to avoid this.

• Use synonyms
• Lengthen your content (1800-2000 words or more seems to rank better)
• Use research tools to find related keywords
• Add long tail keywords
• Avoid overusing the same keywords
• Focus your content on people rather than search engines
• Scope out your competitors; how many keywords are they using?

14. Keywords In Your SEO Title Tag

An SEO title tag needs to contain your keyword. If it doesn't, Google and users won't know what your content is about. If your keyword is in your SEO title tag, Google can determine that your content is relevant to the query users are searching for.

Some web pages have a couple of keywords integrated into the SEO title tag. These are usually long-tail keywords.

Your keyword should be placed near the beginning of your title tag. When the keyword is placed near the front, it captures attention and makes your site more visible.

If you can't place it near the front, and it doesn't compliment the rest of the SEO title tag, you can always put it somewhere else in the title tag; this won't yield the best results but will still work towards your search ranking.

15. Look For Organic Keywords

Do you have any web pages that rank for organic traffic? How are these written? Do any of the competitor sites rank with organic traffic? Organic keywords are one of the most cost-effective methods to optimize your content.

Organic search can be used to find organic keywords. Google Analytics can help you find organic keywords that will send traffic to your website and improve the quality of your content.

Besides using organic keywords in your content, you can also improve your rankings by creating well content, avoiding keyword stuffing, optimizing page titles, keeping content up to date, and increasing the amount of internal and external links.

16. Add Keywords To Headings

Adding keywords to headings is one of the best opportunities to optimize your content. Adding keywords to your headings is an essential SEO practice. The main reason it's crucial to include keywords in your headings is so that users and Google can determine what your content is about.

Most websites that rank on the first page of Google have a h1 heading and the main keywords in their headings. Google bots also expect your keyword to be placed in your h1 heading.

Keywords should be placed in headings naturally and not overused. Your keywords should fall between 0,5 and 3% coverage in your content, and while this is only a guideline, it's a good number to consider when using keywords on your website.

17. Find Keywords In Ranking Forums

Keywords that rank in forums are usually keywords that have not been used yet, and that people are searching for. Keywords found in forums are unlikely to be competitive, and there is a good chance that if you include these in your content, it will improve your search ranking.

To find keywords in ranking forums, you'll first need to find relevant forums for your content. Then, you can compile a list of forums, visit them and look for keyword opportunities. To find these, simply google your niche forums.

Once you've found a few forums with keywords, you can use a keyword research tool, enter the URL of the forum page and look for keyword ideas.

Avoid using keyword suggestions displayed in the first few positions and go for those further down in the search results. This gives you a better chance to rank for these keywords and use them freely throughout your content.

The keyword research tool will also provide suggestions on long-tail keywords that you can use in your content.

18. Keywords Should Be Included In Your Conclusion

Keywords need to be included in many places throughout your content. One of these sections is your conclusion. All headings should have some keywords when it makes sense to use them. Most conclusions also have headers or are titled conclusion, but have keywords dispersed throughout the content in the conclusion.

You can use multiple keywords in your content and spread them across different paragraphs and sections.

19. Write For Your Readers

Keywords are essential throughout your content, but what's often forgotten is to write helpful and valuable content for the reader.

When using SEO tools like keywords, many people add them to the content in places where it doesn't make sense to add them. This disrupts the natural flow of writing and can even make the content unhelpful, and readers will likely move on to another site that is better written.

Keywords can be extremely helpful in getting visitors to your website to read your content, but if your content is not valuable, you'll likely drop down the rankings on Google.

Write for your readers and then add keywords naturally. If you have a short list of keywords and are unsure where to add them stick to a few of the headings, the intro paragraph, and the conclusion. Ensure you always answer the reader's query and provide helpful information and well-written content.

Here are a few simple ways to keep the reader in mind when formulating content:

• Understand your audience and directly address their query
• Check out competitor blogs, and see what performs well
• Choose topics wisely; your readers need to be interested in them
• Look for a unique take or perspective on the topic, one that isn’t already covered
• Keep headlines short and catchy

20. Find Affiliate Keywords That Can Boost Traffic

If you're a blog owner, you're probably also interested in affiliate marketing or already have affiliate ads on your website. But did you know that affiliate keywords can boost your website's traffic and be a great keyword opportunity for your content?

There are numerous ways you can find affiliate keywords. These include determining the exact niche, choosing a keyword tool, looking for long and short-tail keywords, and keeping the user intent in mind.

Niche down on what your website offers. Many websites focus on a range of things like food, travel, lifestyle, and not just a single topic like recipes. Look at your niche and pick low-volume keywords that correlate to your niche.

Use a keyword tool to help you identify possible affiliate keywords that you can use on your website.

Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and KW finder are good tools to use.

Consider the user's intent when choosing affiliate keywords. You want to send website traffic to your site and use appropriate keywords to make customers find your site and purchase affiliate products.

Long and short-tail keywords provide search engines with specific terms, are more engaging, and produce higher conversion rates. These should be used to help with affiliate keywords.

Conclusion

There are many opportunities to use keywords in your content and many strategies to optimize your content and help you rank higher in search engine results.

Using multiple keywords without keyword stuffing can be tricky and often requires a creative writing approach. There are many helpful keyword research tools to find related keywords that you can use to create engaging content.