How To Rank With Keywords
Every website owner’s goal and dream are to get ranked at the top or as high as possible for their site’s visibility to the target audience. Every search engine aims to make sure that the most important and relevant websites are ranked high. But how is that relevancy and built and interpreted? Does it have anything to do with the content on the website? Does it have anything to do with the words used on the website name? That is what this article will explore.
Keywords are paramount when deciding the pertinence and the link between the search locution and the results. Unless a page is pertinent to the search term, it will not rank at all. Keywords play a role in website ranking but not as much as people would expect as it depends on other significant factors for the scale.
Keywords are topics and ideas that what the content is all about. Search Engine Optimization (SEO), keywords are phrases and words that searchers enter into search queries. Keywords on your page are relevant and what other people search. It makes it easier for them as they have a better opportunity of finding your content among the remarkably diverse results. The right and correct words in the website content make it very possible for people to find the page while searching.
Do Keywords Still Matter?
Back in the 2000s, many millionaires were popping up like daisies. Fortunes were made overnight because of how Google SEO worked back then, and the search algorithm formula was done by building a microsite with a very high keyword density. Keywords back in the day might be all the website owners were after, but they knew that aiming for the keywords set them up for great success.
Conversely, in recent times, if you have no specific focus and try to appeal to anyone with no particular target audience using keywords, you will likely lose the target audience and come out empty-handed. It is like a beautiful paradox the diversity of your target audience is often directly connected to the size of the existing audience and vice versa. A quick view into Google Search Console’s search query data shows that it’s never just about one keyword but how clear and specific the keywords used in the content are. But having a standard keyword target for each page gives one the right direction and perspective to capture the right audience from many related searches.
Different search engines use diverse and distinct methods and algorithms to determine the importance of documents and information to list them in the order of relevance when a person performs a search. Using the PageRank approach, Google managed to secure many users to the extent that other search engines try to copy the algorithm.
There are many debates on SEO and the value of using keywords in URLs. Research on SEO strategies of university journal websites according to a Google 2011 Webmaster video from Trends Analyst John Muller. Mr. Muller confirmed that having keywords in the URL does help a little in the ranking and that keywords are a minimal ranking factor from a clarified ranking standpoint. He further stated that the small percentage can still make a significant difference in the grand scheme of things. There are also enthralling reasons from a usability viewpoint to include keywords where they are suitable. Another research by HigherVisibility.com set out to investigate the connection between the top scaled websites in various companies and the inclusion of keywords in their URLs.
The study found that almost all top-ranking websites use keywords in their search and URLs, which is very outstanding from company to company. The above findings looked at the top 10 keywords across ten significant industries: business, email software, credit cards, government and trade, hotel, and food and beverage. The overall results show that 65% of the highest-ranking sites for each industry included keywords in their domain.
Keywords do impact website ranking; however, the website still needs more than just keywords to rank at the top. It also needs backlinks, inbound links, site visits, bounce rate, premium quality content, and time-on-site to boost the search ranking. Keyword usage on the website name is one of the most popular SEO techniques. Still, its presence in Meta description, titles, and body of the content proves to be primarily less influential than other factors.
Using Keywords Constructively
For a website name to rank at the top using keywords, the keywords need to be used the right way to create a significant effect. According to Google, the goal should always focus on creating beneficially rich content that uses the keywords correctly and in context.
Google is getting better at quickly understanding user’s intentions and measuring content importance. It means that it can easily see beyond what a certain user types in a search box to know what they are searching for and to deliver the best results that fulfill that need. Just looking at that factor proves that the content should be written for the user's benefit and not for the keyword. However, there is still a big connection between keyword-rich content and rank, as over 75% of the top 20 pages have keywords in the body content, and over 60% have them on the website names and title.
So, the keywords are supposed to be used constructively in the content, and they must appear in a natural context that provides accurate and real value to the site users. Instead of only using the keyword on the website names, use the keywords in the valuable content that will generate traffic, which will make Google reward the website with a higher ranking.
It is important to note that the Keywords in the website names are vital because they act as the linchpin between the content and what people are searching for. The best way to dazzle Google is to impress its users. If the users perceive the website as credible by use of keywords, so will Google. The words mostly placed before and after the dot greatly impact user perception because they rightly communicate what a person can expect from the website. A short, clean, and crisp web address provides information, credibility, and relevance and encourages people to click on it; the more the clicks, the higher the traffic, the better the ranking.
How Can URL Keywords Help in Ranking Higher?
There is a clear link between websites that rank higher for a specific keyword and whether or not the keyword appears in the URL. However, as we have seen, this is unlikely to be the only factor determining whether or not a website ranks first. From a usability and readability perspective, having relevant and applicable keywords in the URL lets site visitors know exactly what they are getting.
Google’s SEO Starter Guide also states that if the URL covers appropriate words, it offers users and search engines lots of data about the page than an oddly named parameter. Including clear and direct relevant keywords in the URL, in other words, is a practice that may help with ranking. When no anchor text is used in a link, the URL can act as anchor text, which is usually regarded as a compelling ranking factor.
The Guide further demonstrates that URL is one of the most eminent elements searchers considered when people decide which site to click on. Having stimulated and relevant content in the URL helps to generate traffic and earn clicks. However, over copying and pasting could lead to keyword-stuffing or keyword repetition, which would hurt the chances of earning a click. While click-through rate is still as highly debated as possible, keeping the website very active and up to date is essential.
The Exact Match Domains, which content creators frequently use, could also help in high ranking if used well. When the sphere of a website entirely contests the keyword that is being targeted, it can be a great means of ranking higher for the website. Most brands and companies derive their domain name from their brand name, which might contain a keyword.
In recent research, Google stated that most brands would use the Exact Match Domains to rank higher. They are usually a sign of spammed and stuffed websites. On the other hand, the Exact Match Domains are typically seen as memorable by many users, which is excellent from a usability and readability standpoint. A user would easily click on the link. The use of EMD is a good idea, but one should be careful not to spam the URL.
Takeaway
The bottom line is to consider user readability, usability, and experience using keywords in URLs and website titles. A clear, crisp, and straight URL is the best way to ensure that website visitors know exactly what they are getting from the website without wasting too much of their time. Great content is also a great determinant in ranking at the top, and it generates lots of traffic to the page through clicks. Many top websites in various organizations use keywords in their URLs and website names, but others still rank highly. After all, is said and done, it’s important to note that writing quality content is better than filling it with keywords, and the same relates to generating quality website names.
