Keywords? Sounds familiar

Like a lot of internet jargon, the terms “keywords” and “phrases” are thrown around a lot. But what do they actually mean? And how do they work?

Keywords or phrases are what search engine spiders look for when they crawl around the web, looking to match up answers to a person’s search. For example, someone jumps on Google and types in “web design in Adelaide” – “web design Adelaide” are the keywords that Google is going to look for. And if you’re an Adelaide-based web designer (that’s us) you’d want to have those words on your webpage so that Google recommends you as a response.

If you’re not sure which keywords to use or if the ones you’ve picked are hitting the mark, there are plenty of plugins that can monitor this for you. We recommend Rank Math and Yoast SEO.

Should I cram my page full of keywords?

Once upon a time, keywords and phrases were packed into every square inch of a webpage the hopes that Google would push a website up in its search list. Thankfully, the internet has evolved, and so have our SEO techniques.

Google knows that humans are using their search engine, so they skip over filler words that we use when asking a question. If you are asking, “Who are the best web designers in Adelaide?” Google is going to pick out the keywords for you and match results based on the words “best web designers Adelaide” – the search that undoubtedly led you to us, right?

In fact, Google wants you to think like a person and not a robot when thinking about SEO. Their developer’s guidelines put a focus on “people-first content” and writing for specific audiences to be able to answer their questions and satisfy their needs.

This means that you can break up your keywords and phrases with additional words so that your content makes sense.

Where Should I Put My Keywords and Phrases?

Where it makes sense! Keywords and phrases work by flagging matching results with searches, so use your keywords effectively.

You can use them:

– In your H1 heading
– Throughout your copy – don’t overdo it! Remember, reader experience is important
– In your metadata – take advantage of things like ALT tags on images. Not only do they help vision-impaired people understand what is in an image, they also provide a place for website owners to match with potential searches.