If you're not doing keyword research for your website, you're missing out on a lot of potential traffic.
Keywords are the words and phrases that people use to find information online. If you include the right keywords on your website, you can attract more visitors who are interested in what you have to offer. It can be hard for beginners to know exactly where to find keywords and how to use them, but by the end of this article, you will be on your way to becoming a pro.
You can use a tool like Google Ads Keyword Planner to find popular keywords that people are searching for. Once you have a list of keywords, you need to use them on your website in the right places. This includes putting them in the title, in the meta tags, in the header, and in the content. They should be used in a natural and not forced way. We have got all of that plus more covered in this post.
If you're not sure how to do keyword research or where to use keywords on your website, contact a Wix Expert. They can help you optimize your website for the best results.
Contents of this article:
What is keyword research and why is it important
Keyword research is the process of finding the right keywords to target for your website. It's important because it helps you attract more visitors who are interested in what you have to offer.
Think about this.
The only thing Google knows how to do is read words.
I'll let that sink in for a minute.
Google can't understand what is in images or videos. So, when you're trying to rank for a certain keyword, it is only looking at the words on your website to determine if you are relevant or not. This includes the words you put into your page title, meta tags, header, alt text and content.
If you want to rank for a certain keyword, you need to make sure it's included on your website in all the right places. That's where keyword research comes in.
When you're doing keyword research, you're trying to find the right words to describe your website, that people would use when they are searching on Google. This includes finding popular keywords that are trending in search queries and long-tail keywords that are more specific and signal intent. We will talk about the different types of keywords a bit later on, but first, let's have a look at how to do keyword research.
How to do keyword research
Now that you know the importance of keyword research, let's take a look at how you can do it yourself.
You can use a tool like this one by Seobility to find popular keywords that people are searching for. We talk about Seobility and using it for keyword research in this article.
The first step is to come up with a list of seed keywords that describe your business. Brainstorm the best words that you can think of that relate to your business or website. When you have a good list, it's time to start using some tools to help you find popular searches that relate to your list of seed keywords.
One of the best tools out there is Google Ads Keyword Planner. This tool allows you to enter a few of your words and then it generates a list of related keywords. You can filter the list to narrow down the choices. To use the Google Ads Keyword planner you have to have a Google Ads account, but it's free to sign up and you don't need to be running ads to use the tool.
The best keywords to choose are those with high search volume and low competition, as this indicates that many people are searching using these keywords, but not a lot of websites are targeting them.
Another great tool is Answer the Public. You input your seed keyword and the site generates a bunch of questions that people are searching for, related to that keyword. It's a great way to find long-tail keywords with high intent, more on this in the next section.
It's free to use, but you can only make 2 searches a day for free, so use your searches wisely! In saying that, one seed keyword search on Answer the Public can give you a list of hundreds of search queries related to your topic, they visualise the data as these cool-looking idea wheels, that in all honesty can be quite difficult to read, but you can download the data as a CSV file, making it easier to work with.
Different types of keywords
So a keyword is a keyword, right? Well, no, it gets a little bit more complicated than that.
There are different types of keywords that you can target on your website:
Short-tail keywords
These are one or two words that are general and tend to have high search volume. They are also usually quite competitive.
For example, a short-tail keyword in this blog post would be something like 'Keyword' or 'Keyword Research'.
Long-tail keywords
These are 3 or more word phrases that are more specific and tend to have less search volume, but they are typically less competitive.
For example, a long-tail keyword in this article would be 'Keywords for SEO' or 'using keywords on my Wix website'.
LSI keywords
These are semantically related words or phrases that help Google understand the context of your content. They are often included in long-tail keywords.
For example, an LSI Keyword in this post would be something like 'the best SEO Tool' or 'Google keyword planner'. They are words that are related to keyword research. Google is very sophisticated and knows that these terms are all related and are often used together.
Question keywords
These are queries that people are typing into search engines when they are looking for information on a certain topic. starting their search with who, what, where, when, how etc.
For example, a question keyword in this blog post could be 'How to do Keyword Research for SEO'. These are also long-tail keywords as they are very specific.
Why you should target long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords tend to be much less competitive than short-tail keywords and they also show that the person searching is further down the purchasing funnel and is, therefore, more likely to convert.
For example, someone who searches for 'Wix SEO' is probably just looking for general information about Wix and SEO. They might not even have a website yet. Whereas, someone who searches for 'How to add keywords to my Wix website' is much further down the funnel and is probably looking for an article like this one.
This doesn't mean that you should never target short-tail keywords, but you should also focus on long-tail keywords. A good mix is always the best approach.
How to use keywords on your website
Now that you have a list of keywords that you want to target, it's time to start using them on your website. Here are some places where you should include your keywords:
Meta tags
Meta tags are snippets of text that describe a page's content. They are used by search engines to help them understand what a page is about. The important meta tags are the meta title and meta description.
The meta title appears as the title of the page in search results on Google, so it's vital to include keywords here. Make sure to keep the meta title under 60 characters so it doesn't get cut off in search results. Include your keywords at the start and your business/website name at the end.
The meta description is the short piece of text that appears under the title in the search results. This is your chance to convince people to click on your result, so make sure to include a call-to-action and some persuasive language. You're not limited to a character count here, but only the first 156 characters will appear in search results, so make them count.
To edit your meta tags on Wix
Go to the page you want to work on in the Wix editor, click on 'Menus & Pages' in the left-hand main menu, and then click the 3 little dots next to the page that you want to work on. From here you will select SEO Basics, and this will open up the window where you can edit the meta title and meta description.
Page URL
While you are on your Wix editor's SEO basics page, you will want to edit the URL for the page to include your keyword.
The URL is the web address for your page and it should be short, RELEVANT and include your keyword.
For example, the URL for this blog post is:
www.nxsa.co.uk/post/keywords-for-seo-on-wix-websites
Google read hyphens in URLs as spaces so always use a hyphen where a space would normally be.
If you wanted to include the keyword 'Wix SEO' in your URL, it would look like this yoursite.com/wix-seo.
The keyword you use in your page URL should be the same keyword you have used in your meta title and meta description.
Headings
Headings are used to structure content and make it easy to read. There are different levels of headings, with level <h1> being the most important and level <h6> the least.
Headings should always be relevant to the content that follows and, you guessed it, they should also include your keyword.
A good rule of thumb is to use your keyword in the H1 heading (the most important heading) and then use variations of your keyword in the lower headings. For example, if your keyword is 'Wix SEO', you could use 'Wix SEO tips' or 'How to improve your Wix SEO' in an <h2> heading.
Learn more about how to use headings to improve your Wix SEO in this article.
Content
After you have optimized all of the technical elements of your page, it's time to start writing content. This is where you get to show off your keyword research skills.
To write SEO-friendly content, you need to include your keywords in a way that sounds natural and makes sense. This can be difficult to do, but there are a few things you can keep in mind:
Use variations of your keyword throughout the content
Include your main keyword in the first 120 words
Use your keyword in headings and subheadings
Use LSI keywords (these are related keywords that help Google understand the context of your content)
Don't stuff your content with keywords – this will make it sound unnatural and could get you penalized by Google
If you're not sure how to include your keywords in your content, take a look at some of your competitor's websites and see how they do it.
Image ALT descriptions
Another opportunity to include your keywords is in the ALT text for images. The ALT text is the text that appears when an image doesn't load, and it's also used by screen readers for people who are visually impaired.
To add or edit the ALT text for an image on Wix, go to the page you want to work on, click on the image, select the small settings 'gear' icon and scroll down to where it says "Tell Google what's in this image".
Make sure to include your keyword in the ALT text, but don't stuff it with keywords – a few relevant keywords should be enough.
Beware! Keyword stuffing can harm your site
Keyword stuffing is when you include too many keywords on your website in an attempt to manipulate Google's ranking algorithm.
This used to be a common SEO tactic, but it doesn't work anymore and it can actually harm your website. If you stuff your content with too many keywords, Google will penalize you and your site could be removed from their search results entirely. So, make sure to use keywords sparingly and only include them when they make sense.
Find out how to use your new keywords to create some FAQs that will boost your SEO in this article.
Keyword research mistakes to avoid
Now that you know how to do keyword research, there are a few mistakes you should avoid:
Not using enough keywords
If you don't include enough keywords on your website, Google won't be able to figure out what your website is about and it could hurt your ranking.
Using the wrong keywords
If you use keywords that are not relevant to your business or website, you could attract the wrong type of traffic.
For example, if you sell shoes but you use the keyword 'Wix SEO' because you think it will help you rank higher on Google, you'll only attract visitors who are looking for information about Wix SEO – not people who are interested in buying shoes.
Not doing any keyword research
If you don't do any keyword research, you won't know which keywords to use on your website. This could hurt your ranking and make it harder for people to find you online.
Performing keyword research is an important part of SEO, and it's something you should do before you start writing content for your website. By doing keyword research, you can figure out which keywords are most popular and relevant to your business. You can then use those keywords throughout your website, in the title, in the meta tags, in the header and the content.
The future of keyword research
Keyword research is always changing, and it's important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends. Google is constantly changing their algorithms, which means that the keywords that are popular today might not be popular tomorrow.
To make sure you're using the right keywords, you should regularly check your website's analytics to see which keywords people are using to find your site. You can then adjust your content accordingly.
There's no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to keyword research, but by following the tips in this article, you can get started on the right track.
Doing keyword research is an important part of optimizing your website for SEO. By including the right keywords on your site, you can attract more visitors who are interested in what you have to offer. Take the time to do keyword research and use the keywords in the right places on your website to get the most benefit from them.
If you're looking for help with your website's SEO, our team at NX Digital can assist you. We have experience in the field and know how to optimise a website for search engines. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you improve your website's ranking on Google and other search engines.
What's your favourite keyword research tool? Let us know in the comments below.