Types Of Keywords in SEO

Keywords are crucial in SEO because they help search engines to understand:

What your content is about.

How well it covers a topic and matches the intent of people searching for it.

Which search queries your content should rank for

The better you understand the different types of keywords and how to use them, the stronger your SEO strategy will be. By knowing how to target the right keywords, you can ensure your content reaches the right audience and ranks higher in search results. On the basis of audience quires these are the keywords that user search for -

• Short Tail Keywords
• Long-Tail Keywords
• Short-Term Fresh Keywords.
• Product Defining Keywords.
• Customer-Defining Keywords.
• Geo-Targeting Keywords.
• LSI Keywords.

On the Basis of User intent, the types of Keywords are

• Informational
• Navigational
• Commercial
• Transactional

Let us discuss one by one

1. Short Tail Keywords – A keyword that made up of one to three words are called as short tail keywords. Short-tail keywords are important for keyword research because they work as pillar of keywords to generate thousands of other keyword ideas. Short tail keywords are used to describe a broad topic. Short-tail keywords are very popular and have a high search volume, which means they attract more visitors to website on ranking SERPs. Short-tail keywords are very competitive, making it difficult to rank for them. Short-tail keywords are usually expensive and competitive in PPC ads. In Search Engine Optimization short tail keywords are very difficult to rank on SERPs due to high competitiveness.

Examples - Shoes, Phones, Shampoo, Marketing, SEO etc..

2. Long Tail Keywords – Long tail keywords are longer and more specific keyword phrase that 70% user are likely to use during quires. Basically long tail keywords are less competitive than short tail keywords. It helps to attract high – quality traffic for our website.

Example - buy shoes for men, puma shoes for men, coffee shops in Delhi

3. Short Term Fresh Keywords – Keywords that are trending or recently in news or on social media are known as Short Term Fresh Keywords. Short Term Fresh keywords can have very high search volume and potential to attract large number of visitors with high conversation rate but they are only relevant for a short time.

Example – Upcoming Movies in November 2024, Ukraine Russia war Update

4. Product Defining Keywords - keywords that describe your product best known as Product defining keywords. These are the keywords your average searcher will type in search engine if they are looking for a specific product, service or idea that they want to acquire or get information about. Product defining keywords have the best capability to put the searcher into the closest possible situation of purchasing from what you have to offer. It is a very powerful choice of keywords for your business.

Example -  Baleno Car in India, Suzuki Car price in India, Suzuki Ertiga XL7

5. Customer Defining Keywords - Customer-defining keywords are keywords that target a specific customer persona or market. It helps you realize who you want to direct your search results to. It also helps you realize the effectiveness of your keywords on this specific field. These keywords reflect the demography, ecological, psychographic, and epochal characteristics of the perfect customer, which include age, geographic location, interests, needs, and behavior patterns when purchasing.

Example – Men’s Leather jacket, Female shoes, formal shirt for women’s

6. Geo-Targeting Keywords - keywords that include a specific geographic location, such as a city, state, or country. They are also known as geographic keywords or local keywords. Geo-targeted, or geographically targeted, keywords help identify your business based on its location and the location of your desired customer base. Using geo-targeted keywords correctly is one of the best marketing strategies around for any small business that relies on local customers, such as a beauty salon, restaurant, retail store, dental office or auto repair shop.

Example - seafood restaurants in Mumbai, Auto Repair shop in Delhi, Family restaurants in Goa

7. LSI Keywords - LSI (latent semantic indexing) keywords are words and phrases that Google sees as semantically-related to a topic. In SEO LSI keywords are search terms related to the main keyword you are targeting. They help to support your content and add more context to make it easier for both users and search engines to know what your content is about.

Example - If your main keyword is Laddu The LSI keywords will be How to make Laddu, Laddu Recipe

If you are looking for Suzuki car than LSI keyword will be Suzuki car price, Suzuki car Models

Keywords Intent

There are four main categories of keyword search intents that 99% of all search terms fall under: navigational, informational, transactional and commercial. Each can give you clues as to what a searcher wants when typing certain keyword phrases.

1. Navigational - Users want to find a specific site or page according to their needs. When someone types a website or brand name into a search engine, these results on SERPs are known as navigational.

Here are some navigational keyword examples:

Youtube

Myntra

Amazon

2. Informational - Informational keywords are search terms used to find information, solutions, or guidance on a specific topic. Informational keywords are search terms used by people who want to learn something.

Here are some informational keyword examples:

What is SEO?

Benefits of meditation?

Guide to investing in stocks

Tips to write blogs

Informational searches often result in featured snippets as well. Featured Snippets are the content or informational that show at position Zero on SERPs.

 

3. Transactional - Transactional keywords are the keywords that show the strongest intent to buy or take imminent action. Target these keywords with paid ads and highly optimized product pages. Or other landing pages where users can take immediate action on your site. Transactional keywords often feature words like “buy,” “subscribe,” and “for sale. Transactional keywords are valuable for businesses because they indicate a high level of purchase intent and are the most likely to lead to conversions.

Here are some Transactional keyword examples:

Buy Mobile online

Order pizza online

Book a hotel room

 

4. Commercial - Commercial keywords are specific phrases that people type into search engines when they're looking to buy products, services, or brands. These keywords show that the person is likely ready to make a purchase or is at least seriously considering it.

Here are some Transactional keyword examples:

Best phone under 15000

safest car in India

best affordable tennis shoes

Conclusion: Understanding the different types of keywords is essential for effective online marketing and content strategy. From informational keywords that help users gather knowledge to transactional keywords indicating readiness to purchase, each type serves a unique purpose in the customer journey. By effectively leveraging these keywords, businesses can enhance their visibility in search engines, attract the right audience, and ultimately drive conversions. Whether you are optimizing your website, crafting blog content, or planning your advertising strategy, focusing on the right keywords can significantly impact your success. Tailoring your content to align with the needs and intentions of your audience not only builds trust but also fosters a connection that can lead to long-term customer loyalty. Learn related blog - Why Keyword Research Important in SEO