In this #serpstat discussion episode, we’ll discuss Keyword Difficulty. A tremendous “firehose of information” and “Tweet discussions” can be found on Twitter.
A1. #serpstat_chat As many as your topic deserves. If it’s a very niche topic “Should you include a thank you page in your sitemap” then it’s a small set of keywords. If it’s larger “All about Sitemaps” then you’re much higher in
Jeremy Rivera
There’s no specific number, and you can’t really control it (SEs may decide to rank you for hundreds of variants). But … each piece of content should target 1 Primary, and ideally 1 Secondary term (the main target KW + Intent/Type)
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
A1 – as many as needed to make your content easily understood by Google and ‘helpful for readers.
Saheed Hassan
Google tends to give you a bunch (autosuggest, People also Ask, FAQs etc.) Community and Q&A sites also tend to have a bunch. There’s also complaints/reviews. And you can also ask the business/staff (Sales, Services and Support) too.
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
A2: SERPs, PAA, Related Searches. There are tools that surface these more easily than just surfing but getting a feel for the SERP you’re working in/against is always my top rec.
Taylor Murchison
A2. You can use tools for that: Serpstat, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, and of course Google. I like to also check out Google trends to see if anything different is trending or is projected to be trending.
Lisa Sicard
A3: Yikes… This really shouldn’t be a question honestly
@serpstat … It implies Soooooo many wrong things. You should include the keyword phrase, at the least but using “density” is such a loaded phrasing
Jeremy Rivera
I’m not aware of any specific “value” that gets a better ranking, (It’s not like G prefers 3.2% specifically). Ranking is 1) Relative (depends on what the others have) 2) Multifaceted (it’s not just KWs that pages rank by) You can rank with KWD 0%
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
A3.1 My view: take into account TOP-10 competitors’ parameters and seek to get the same keyword stuffing score
Olena Prokhoda
#SERPStat_Chat A4. Define : “meta tag”. The Meta Keyword tag has no direct influence on positive ranking in Google (but may be used for other things, and by other SEs). Meta Description doesn’t alter rankings in G, but can influence CTR etc.
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
A4. Having your meta tags contain the keywords may help, but it won’t hurt. However, a good meta description informs searchers about what your page covers and has to be engaging enough to generate good click-through ratios. #serpstat_chat
Lisa Sicard
Of course they do. If they are not present here then the page fails.
Jaroslaw Pidburskyj – SEO
A5. Long tail keywords contain 3 or more words for the term to be a keyword – more like a phrase. They are also more specific and allow your website to attract targeted traffic that can enhance conversions.
Lisa Sicard
A5: Also known as keyword phrases. Hints because they are made of multiple words
Joey Trend
LTKW are queries that include the primary term, and additional words/phrases, that act as qualifiers/distinguishers, modifiers/constrainers, or supply intent. Things like “womens” or “kids”, “red” or “small” or “in London”, “who” and “when” etc.
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
Going by the concept of “competition”, competition has 2 main dimensions: 1) Quantity 2) Quality Some terms have lots of “competition” (pages that are relevant), but much of it may be “weak” – due to the term not being the primary target.
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA
A6. If we mean less competition with the term “easier” then I think it is not true always. There are instances when the tools show less competition but it takes a lot of effort to rank them& sometimes when the tools suggest higher competition we get rank easily
Amal Ghosh
A6. By easier, we mean less competitive keywords. If you write enough about a topic and sprinkle the easier keywords (1-2% of the total post) you should be able to rank in a shorter time span. It also depends if other websites are doing the same in your niche.
Lisa Sicard
People have certain needs, use language in set ways. So you can handle a % of content ideation with simple “fill-in the blank” patterns. How do clean {x} Is {x} better than {y} How long does it take to {N} with {x}
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
A7: Use Serpstat keyword planner and spend some time looking at the data it shows you in order to determine a trend of searches to target.
Joey Trend
Research! Use Google to do a search and scroll to the bottom to see the questions asked. Those are keywords you can research and use to reach that audience. You can also use Google Trends for research. Along with fab SEO tools like Serpstat #serpstat_chat
Lisa Sicard
They tend to make it easier to rank. Not just due to specificity of matching, but clarity of intent. The additional words can tell you what stage of the journey/funnel they are at, what type/format of content they expect, even the medium etc.
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
A8: Help you identify the “average keyword intent” of certain searches. Do most people search the long tail variations bc they are looking to buy or another reason?
Sweepsify
A8. They offer more clearly defined intent with less competition making it easier for you to rank for. For example, instead of “dog food” it could be “inexpensive dog food” or “weight loss dog food” – both would have a different audience with different needs.
Lisa Sicard
A9. Keywords should be in the title and subtitles of your post. Not only there but as alt text on your images and in meta descriptions as well.
Lisa Sicard
A9 – Naturally in your title, first paragraph within the first 200 words, and body of the content.
Saheed Hassan
URL* Title Meta Description* Meta Keywords* Headings (H1, H2 etc.) In <p> elements In <a> elements on that page In <a> elements to that page In image alt attributes on that page (* may not aid G-SEO, but may still influence users etc.)
Darth Autocrat (Lyndon NA)
