For anyone looking to drive organic traffic from search engines, understanding the role of keywords is essential. There are thousands of ways users might search for products or services like yours, so how do you identify and use the right ones?
🔎 What Are Keywords in SEO?
Keywords are the words and phrases that people enter into search engines.
Searchers use them to find information, and search engines use them to understand user intent and deliver relevant results.
Keywords communicate search intent, indicating whether users want to buy, compare, research, or navigate to a specific destination.
🧭 The Different Types of Keywords
There are four primary types of search intent every business should address:
1️⃣ Informational – Users looking for answers or general information.
2️⃣ Navigational – Users trying to find a specific website or page.
3️⃣ Commercial – Users researching and comparing products or services before buying.
4️⃣ Transactional – Users ready to complete a purchase or take a specific action.
Within these, there are two main keyword formats:
- Head Terms: Short, 1–2 word phrases (e.g., "SEO"). High volume, high competition, broad intent.
- Long-Tail Keywords: Longer, more specific phrases (e.g., "best SEO services for small business"). Lower volume but typically higher conversion rates and easier to rank for.
👉 Long-tail keywords make up the majority of all search queries — publishing content targeting them is a cost-effective way to capture more market share, especially for newer or smaller sites.
💡 Using Keywords
When users search for topics related to your business, your goal is to appear in those results.
There are two primary ways to do this:
Method 1: Buying Search Ads
You can show ads for selected keywords using platforms like Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads). You bid on keywords and pay each time a user clicks your ad (Pay-Per-Click, or PPC).
Pro tip 💡
Start with a focused set of high-intent, high-value keywords rather than casting a wide net with broad match terms. This helps control spend and improve ad relevance.
Method 2: Optimizing for Organic Search
To rank organically, your site needs:
- Relevant, high-quality content that clearly addresses the keyword's search intent.
- Strong on-page SEO (title tags, headers, internal linking, page speed, etc.).
- Authoritative backlinks from credible external sites pointing to that content.
- Paid Ads = fast visibility but requires ongoing budget; traffic stops when spend stops.
- Organic SEO = slower to build but generates compounding, long-term traffic and credibility without a per-click cost.
📊 Keyword Metrics
To choose the right keywords, analyze these core metrics in the Keyword Researcher Tool:
1️⃣ Keyword Difficulty (KD)
Measures how hard it is to rank on the first page of organic results, typically scored on a scale of 1–100. Higher scores indicate stronger competition, usually from authoritative sites with many backlinks.
- ≤ 35: Easier to rank with solid on-page SEO and moderate link building.
- 36–59: Moderate competition; requires consistent content and link-building efforts.
- ≥ 60: Highly competitive; requires significant authority and investment to rank.
📈 Tip: If KD is high but the keyword has strong commercial value, paid ads may deliver faster ROI while you build organic authority over time.
Example:
- "Enterprise SEO" – KD 81 (very competitive, dominated by established brands)
- "Enterprise SEO services" – KD 54 (more achievable target for a growing site)
2️⃣ Cost Per Click (CPC)
Shows the average amount advertisers pay per click for a keyword in Google Ads. CPC is a useful proxy for the commercial value of a keyword — the more advertisers are willing to pay, the more valuable that traffic tends to be.
- Low CPC: Common with informational or navigational keywords → lower direct conversion potential but valuable for awareness and content strategies.
- High CPC: Common with transactional or commercial investigation keywords → higher conversion potential and revenue per visitor.
Combine CPC + KD to find keywords that are both realistic to rank for organically and commercially valuable to your business.
Example:
"Enterprise SEO services" has a lower KD than "Enterprise SEO" but a higher CPC — making it a strong candidate for organic content targeting.
3️⃣ Search Volume
Shows the estimated average number of times a keyword is searched per month. Higher volume means more potential traffic, but also typically more competition.
If two keywords have similar KD and CPC, prioritize the one with higher search volume for greater potential reach.
📈 Note: Raw search volume doesn't guarantee results. The real value of a keyword depends on how well it matches your audience's intent and how many converting visitors it attracts — not just total clicks.
⚙️ 4 Rules for Choosing Keywords
- Match search intent: Choose keywords that align with what your target audience actually wants — information, comparison, or a purchase. Mismatched intent leads to high bounce rates even with good rankings.
- Balance volume and difficulty: High-volume keywords are tempting, but if KD is too high for your current domain authority, you won't rank. Target a mix of attainable and aspirational keywords.
- Consider commercial value: Use CPC as a signal of how valuable a keyword is to advertisers — and likely to your business. Prioritize keywords where traffic is likely to convert.
- Think about the full funnel: Build content for all stages — informational keywords attract early-stage researchers; transactional keywords capture ready-to-buy users. Both matter for long-term growth.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.