Every article, blog post and page should have a keyword to focus on. This is the keyword you want to rank for, so that when people search for that word or phrase on Google, they find your content. The focus keyword should serve as a focal point of your content. And in this article, we provide actionable tips on how to find focus keywords for your blog posts, articles and pages.
Talking about focus keywords reminds me of a key SEO rule that underpins our content creation strategy here at Astute Copy Blogging.
It’s very simple: Never write an article or blog post on a keyword that you don’t think you can rank for!
We don’t just write articles and blog posts. We like to create ultra-useful content that’s fresh. The type our target audience really want.
Here’s the reality.
If there’s no focus or purpose to your content, as part of your overall SEO strategy, you will not rank in Google.
It is estimated that 92.41% of all searches are conducted on Google. According to Internet Live Stats, on average Google processes over 40,000 search queries every second worldwide.
This equates to well over 3.4 billion searches every single day.
Let that sink in… 3.4 billion!
Those colossal numbers mean Google offers a powerful tool for you to promote your content and drive organic traffic to your website or blog.
And there’s more search related stats:
- 39% of all global ecommerce traffic comes from searches.
- 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine.
- Nearly 80% of users ignore paid ads in search results.
Answer The Public says 20% of search queries are new keywords which have never been seen before. What an opportunity to rank for keywords that your target audience are actually interested in!
In order to rank in Google searches, you need an effective SEO strategy that includes several actionable strategies including the use of a focus keyword in your content. And in just a moment, we will consider how to find focus keywords for your articles and blog posts.
But first, what is a focus keyword?
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Understanding Focus Keywords
According to Yoast, “The focus keyword or keyphrase is the search term that you want a page or post to rank for most. When people search for that phrase, they should find you.”
In the Rank Math SEO plugin, which we use on this blog, the ‘focus keyword’ refers to the keyword or keywords that you want to rank for in Google and the other search engines.
In other words, the focus keyword should be the focal point of the article or blog post you’re writing.
And in this article we would show you how to find focus keywords, and where to use the focus keyword for maximum effect.
How To Find Focus Keywords
Are the focus keywords you’re using in your marketing campaigns up to snuff? If you don’t know how to utilize focus keywords in your copy, you’re missing out on an important part of digital marketing.
Finding the right word to target can improve your lead pipeline, expose more people to your brand, and meet plenty of other marketing goals.
If you need to know how to find focus keywords, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s everything you need to do to ensure you find the right keywords for your marketing work.
#1. Branch Out
It isn’t too hard to think about different keywords that could work for your product or business. The main issue with this is that your competitors are likely on the same wavelength as you.
There’s going to be plenty of competition for the keyword you’re focused on. That’s why it’s always a good idea to think about equally relevant but different keywords you can focus on.
Let’s say you’re determined to focus on the term “ladies shoes in Chicago” because that’s the most relevant term for your audience. You could try adding different words to target equally relevant but different terms for your brand.
“Formal ladies shoes,” “Ladies shoes for special; occasional,” and even “Women’s dress shoes” can get you the same results. Think about different ways to say the same thing when you’re coming up with different focus keywords.
#2. Be Specific
Aside from not having the right tools, one of the worst mistakes marketers can make when they’re doing SEO is to be generic with their copy. You’re going to want to appeal to the right audience, but you don’t make things too generic or hyper-specific.
When you’re thinking about work in terms of focus keywords, there’s never anything wrong with being very specific. The more specific you are, the more able you are to focus on the right demographic and needs.
If you want to make, your keywords more targeted, think about ways you can make them more specific to people. Thinking about things in terms of location, size, or even color can do a lot to help people refine their searches.
#3. Branch Out From Standard Copy
It’s always a good idea to think about ways to include your focus keywords into your main website copy. Keywords can do a lot on your website, but they aren’t the only place they can help.
When you’re thinking about the best places to include your focus keyword in website copy, think strategically. Focus keywords in headers and meta descriptions can be even more helpful than keywords strategically placed in the copy.
Remember, the focus keywords you find for your website and other areas of copy can fit into other places too. The focus keywords you find can work in PPC copy, e-mail campaigns, and other important ads.
#4. Consider the Competition
Do you want to know the best way to engage your customers? When you take a look at what your clients are doing, you’ll learn a lot about the right keywords to use in your copy.
Make sure to take an in-depth look at the copy your competitor is using. Take a look at meta tags to get a good idea of what they’re targeting.
Competitor research is important for any kind of marketing work you’re doing. If you want to ensure you’re getting the most out of your keywords, run constant reports to see what your competitors are doing.
#5. Experiment with Long Tails
We just talked about the importance of branching out from your usual chosen keywords. If you want to take things a step further, you need to look into longtail keywords.
In its strictest definition, longtail keywords are a combination of at least three or more words or phrases. These longtail keywords are designed to help people be more specific with their searches. If you want to know how to optimize for your focus keywords the right way, branch out into longtails!
Longtail keywords are ideal for people that are seriously invested in SEO. Since longtail keywords usually have lower search volumes, they have lower competition. This can make it easier to rank for relevant keywords.
#6. Consider Topic Clusters
Sometimes the best way to get the right focus keywords is to think about the kind of content you want to include them in. Thinking about organizing your topics around clusters can make it easier to plan content and target the right customers at the same time.
Let’s go back to the ladies’ shoes comment. If you were to think like a search engine, what questions would you have around the topic?
“Ladies shoes for special occasions” could be a term you come up with. “How to find ladies shoes” or even “Why I should invest in ladies luxury shoes” can be great topics to cluster around the keyword of ladies shoes.
#7. Iterate Constantly
It’s important to remember that SEO strategy is in a constant state of flux. What helps you rank today may not be the best technique for tomorrow. That’s why you should always be thinking of ways to improve your current strategy,
Don’t be afraid to experiment with new focus keywords. Consider playing around with a different topic cluster to get ideas.
How To Optimize For Your Focus Keyword
How to choose a focus keyword or focus keyphrase.
In our view, there are at least three things you should do to determine the focus keywords you should seek to optimize your articles and blog posts for:
- Find a focus keyword people search for
- Research the search volume
- Google your keyphrase
Where To Use Keywords For SEO
To have the most effect for SEO purposes, your keywords or keyphrases should be strategically placed in your article, page or blog post.
Here are some places where you should definitely placed them:
- At the beginning of the article, ideally in the first 10%. However, I would go further to say use the keyphrase in the first paragraph of your copy, so it’s clear from the outset what you’re writing about.
- In the SEO title. The SEO title is the HTML title tag. It is also sometimes called the page title. It is usually displayed by Google in its search engine results pages (SERPs) usually with the URL and the SEO meta description.
- In the URL of the article or page.
- In the SEO meta description. This is the is basically the blurb that is displayed by Google below your website in the search engine results pages (SERPs) with information on your article or blog post. It gives readers a useful summary of your article to help them decide if it meets their requirements.
- In the sub headings.
- In the content.
- In the image ALT attributes
As Easy as ABC – How to Get Google to Index Your New Article or Blog Post
Once you publish your blog post or article, you can request Google to index it. To do this, simply go to Google Search Console and click on URL inspection.
Next, copy and paste the URL of the new blog post or article into the box at the top of the page, as indicated in the image below:
As you can see from the image below, Google will inform you that the URL is not on Google.
To confirm that the URL is actually available to Google, click “Test Live URL”.
Google should now confirm that the URL is available to Google (Box 1), and that the URL can be indexed (Box 2).
To complete the process, simply click on “Request Indexing” (Box 3).
After requesting the indexing, your new article or blog post should appear in the search results and be live on Google and the other search engines usually within 24 hours.
As you will notice from the image below, once the article is live, Google Search Console will show that the article’s “URL is on Google” and that it has been “submitted and indexed”.
FAQ on Focus Keyword in WordPress
Now to the Q&A session on focus keywords.
Here we answer the frequently asked questions on how to find focus keywords and where and how to use them for SEO purposes.
#1. How do I add focus keywords in WordPress?
Here’s how to add your focus keyword in WordPress.
Step #1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
Step #2. Navigate to either the post or page you want to add your focus keyword.
Step #3. Go to the focus keyword or target keyword section of your SEO plugin. Start typing in the focus keyword into the Focus key phrase field. The SEO plugin should bring up similar keywords.
Step #4. Choose your focus keyword and click ‘Save’ or ‘Update’ as the case may may be.
#2. How do I choose the right focus keywords?
The right focus keyword is one that works for your audience.
Here’s what I mean…
Your goal should be words or phrases that are actually typed into Google and the other search engines. And as much as possible, have 3 things in mind:
* Think of the keyword difficulty. Go for keywords that you can actually rank for.
* Think numbers. Go Aim for keywords that have a relatively high traffic volume.
* Think audience. Consider your readers and go for keywords that actually suit your audience.
#3. What is focus keyword in SEO?
In SEO, the focus keyword field is a field in your article provided by the SEO plugin where you can insert the focus keyword or keyphrase. Once you’ve inserted the keyword, the SEO plugin evaluates the article, to let you know how well the article is optimized for for the particular keyword or phrase.
#4. Where should SEO keywords be used?
To have the most effect for SEO purposes, your keywords or keyphrases should be used in the following parts of your article, page or blog post:
* At the beginning of the article, ideally in the first 10%.
* In the SEO title
* In the URL of the article or page
* In the SEO meta description
* In the sub headings
* In the content
* In the image ALT attributes
#5. What is keyword cannibalism?
In an ideal world, you should only use a focus keyword just once on your blog or website. In other words, you should have only one article ranking for each search query.
Keyword cannibalization is where you have various articles on your blog or website ranking for the same search query in the search engines. If this happens, then your articles are basically fighting each other to rank for the same keywords or search queries, hence the phrase “cannibalization”!
#6. Why is keyword stuffing bad?
Keyword stuffing is the practice of using too many keywords in an article or blog post. Keyword stuffing is widely condemned by Google and the other search engines widely disapprove of keyword stuffing. In reality, keyword stuffing can lead to a Google penalty. So avoid it like a plague!
#7. What is keyword frequency?
Keyword frequency or keyword density is the percentage of times a keyword or key phrase is used in an article or any piece of written content.
#8. What is the ideal keyword density?
There is no ideal keyword density of keyword frequency. The important thing is to keep the copy as natural as possible.
However, a lot of SEO experts believe that a keyword density of 1-2% is ideal. This keyword frequency is high enough to show Google what the article is about without undertaking any form of keyword stuffing.
How To Find Focus Keywords – Your Turn
Focus keywords are a very important and integral part of any SEO strategy. However, it is crucial to note that although very important, they’re far from the only part of what’s required for forming a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Want to know how we can help you target the right keywords and develop the best strategy? Be sure to contact us today to learn how.
Also, please feel free to leave a comment and join our conversation.
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This is extremely helpful, thank you so so much…I need to work on my SEO for sure…
Hi Pedro,
It was a very insightful read! I think finding the right keywords is very important. Targeting the best keywords can be a game-changer for campaigns, and your guide will help a lot of people target the best keywords. I learned a lot from this article, and your tips on focusing on the best keywords will be very helpful in my process. I will definitely implement the things you shared in my routine, and I hope to gain some benefits from them.
This is so helpful, especially for those just starting out. Definitely pinning!
SUPER interesting. I’ve been looking for more ways to get creative with my key words and SEO
This is such an informative article. Very helpful for us, bloggers! Thanks for sharing the tips.
Interesting article – I didn’t know you could use too much keywords 🙂
Great tips. I’ve been studying keywords and SEO a ton and this is super helpful! Nice write up!