Tips for selecting the right keywords for SEO?

To improve SEO, it is vital to select the right search terms. These form the basis for improved visibility and ensure that targeted traffic is drawn to the website.

Identifying keywords that contribute to achieving organizational goals requires a strategic approach. Consider factors such as search volume, competition level, traffic potential and search intent. Analyze this data carefully to determine the most relevant keywords for the organization’s content and target audience.

Tools to determine search terms

Always use a keyword research tool to identify terms and phrases that are potentially generating a lot of traffic for the website. These tools provide detailed data on search volumes. This makes it possible to estimate how often certain keywords are used in search engines.

Compile a list of keywords, which will help increase website visibility and reach. I select these terms based on a thorough analysis of search volumes and relevance to the content and target audience.

Ahrefs for keyword research

Ahrefs is an example of a good tool for discovering new keywords. See the example below.

The keyword SEO specialist is entered in the Keywords Explore, which also includes “Terms Agreement” and “Questions.” This is what Ahrefs says about this by section:

Term match: This search term match list shows all search terms with words from a focus search term (in any order).

Queries: This list contains search term ideas containing queries formulated as questions.

Click “View all 1049” on the bottom left to see a full list of all related search terms for SEO expert. These are more than 1,000. Make a selection from this list. Choose the search terms that are most interesting. At the image below more information on how I select it

Selecting the search terms

Consider a number of factors when selecting search terms. Analyze the level of competition, volume, traffic potential and search intent. It is important to select keywords with a realistic level of competition. In addition, a keyword must have sufficient search volume to attract traffic and high traffic potential is needed to attract qualified visitors.

Finally, the keywords must match the intent behind the target audience’s searches. Using the above tips, it is possible to find effective search terms for a good SEO strategy.(2)

Search volumes for SEO optimization

Search volumes show how often a specific keyword is searched for per month. This directly reflects the potential traffic.(3) Not only the volume is important, but also the relevance of the keyword to the specific content and offerings.

A keyword with high relevance means that the visitors who land on the website through these keywords are actually interested in the offer. For an optimal SEO roadmap, it is important to strike a good balance between high search volume and high relevance.

Understanding search intent

Search intent is the reason a user performs a search. A search can be for informational, navigational, transactional or investigative reasons. Understand the intent behind search queries to create content that fits the needs and questions of the target audience. Thus, visitors will not only be more satisfied, but the ranking in search engines results will also be higher.

Keywords to achieve goals

Keywords with business potential drive specific traffic to a website and increase the likelihood of converting. These keywords are directly linked to the actions expected from visitors – think purchases, subscriptions or inquiries. Integrate these keywords into the content strategy to achieve commercial goals.

Matching content to search intent

After identifying search intent, content can be tailored to this intent. Create content that accurately answers the searcher’s questions and needs. For search, content should always be relevant, valuable and clear. Be it a detailed blog post, a product page or an informative guide. This has a positive effect on engagement and causes a website to rank higher in Google.

Ranking for the keyword

Optimize ranking opportunities. This requires a thorough analysis of the difficulty of the keyword. It is also vital to understand factors that influence ranking and integrate strategies to optimize content and website. Choose the right keywords to realistically compete with. This increases the chances of ranking high in search results, bringing more traffic to the website.

Estimating the difficulty of the keyword

It is critical to assess the difficulty of a keyword. This gives an indication of how much effort it takes to rank high in search engine results. This depends on the competition and authority of the websites already ranking for this keyword. Ahrefs is a suitable tool for this.

See image below.

The image shows the level of competition for the keyword “SEO specialist. Ahrefs itself says about this, “Keyword Difficulty gives an indication of the difficulty of ranking in the top 10 organic search results for a search term, on a scale of 0-100.”

Analyze traffic potential

Traffic potential from Ahrefs helps determine the potential number of visitors a website can attract by ranking for specific keywords. This measure is of great importance within SEO strategies. It not only reflects the popularity of search terms, but also offers insight into the feasibility of competing for these terms.

Marketers and content creators analyze traffic potential. This gives them a better idea of the keywords that have the greatest impact on traffic growth and SEO results.

Ahrefs itself says of traffic potential: “Traffic potential is the sum of organic traffic that the #1 ranking page for the focus search term receives from all the search terms it ranks for. Values are cacheted. They differ slightly in various reports.

Traffic potential is indicated for each search term.

Making combination

When selecting the right keywords, I combine several factors such as search volume, competition level, traffic potential and search intent. It is important to choose keywords for which the website can realistically rank. While in addition, there is still enough search volume to attract a meaningful amount of traffic.

In addition, I focus on keywords with high traffic potential because they bring in visitors who are actually interested in what the organization has to offer. By choosing keywords that match the intent of the target audience, I increase the likelihood of conversions and achieving SEO goals. With this approach, I help organizations select the right keywords for optimal online visibility and growth.

Summary

Choosing the right search terms requires in-depth analysis. In doing so, it is important to weigh several factors. Use a methodical approach, taking into account both the potential for traffic generation and alignment with the search intent of the target audience. In this way, it is possible to lay a solid foundation to improve SEO.

This process has positive effects on online visibility. And can also help achieve specific business outcomes.

Resources

  1. Ahrefs. (s.d.). Ahrefs – SEO Tools & Resources to Grow Your Search Traffic. https://ahrefs.com/
  2. What creators should know about Google’s August 2022 helpful content update | Google Search Central Blog | Google for Developers. (s.d.). Google For Developers. https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update
  3. Silva, C. (2023, May 15). Keyword Search Volume: A Beginner’s Guide. Semrush Blog. https://www.semrush.com/blog/keyword-search-volume/
  4. Pavlik, V. (2022, Dec. 20). What is search intent? A complete guide. Semrush Blog. https://www.semrush.com/blog/search-intent/
Senior SEO-specialist

Ralf van Veen

Senior SEO-specialist
Five stars
My clients give me a 5.0 on Google out of 78 reviews

I have been working for 12 years as an independent SEO specialist for companies (in the Netherlands and abroad) that want to rank higher in Google in a sustainable manner. During this period I have consulted A-brands, set up large-scale international SEO campaigns and coached global development teams in the field of search engine optimization.

With this broad experience within SEO, I have developed the SEO course and helped hundreds of companies with improved findability in Google in a sustainable and transparent way. For this you can consult my portfolio, references and collaborations.

This article was originally published on 25 April 2024. The last update of this article was on 14 January 2025. The content of this page was written and approved by Ralf van Veen. Learn more about the creation of my articles in my editorial guidelines.