Keyword strategy – what is it and how do you create it?

The right keyword strategy can dramatically change the face of your online presence, attracting traffic to your website and boosting your position in search results. By consciously selecting and using the right keywords, how can brands increase their visibility?

In this article you will learn:

• What is a keyword strategy?
• How to create a keyword strategy?
• What tools are used in creating and implementing a keyword strategy?
• What are good practices in keyword strategy?
• What is the role of a keyword strategy?

Keyword strategy – definition

A keyword strategy is a plan of action that helps optimise web content to improve search engine visibility and attract a target audience. It involves the careful selection and use of keywords that potential customers may use when searching for information, products or services online.

A keyword strategy is a methodology for the selection and use of specific terms and phrases that potential customers use when searching for information on the Internet in order to improve search engine visibility.

Definition of keyword strategy

It is worth emphasising that keyword strategy is an important component of SEO strategy, which encompasses a broader range of activities – technical optimisation of a website, improving its structure and usability or building a valuable backlink profile. Its key elements include keyword research to identify high-potential phrases, competitive analysis to understand what keywords are being used in the industry, and content optimisation, i.e. incorporating selected keywords into content in a way that is natural and valuable to readers.

Creating a keyword strategy

The first step in creating a keyword strategy is to identify the most relevant words that potential customers are likely to use when searching for products, services or information related to your industry. This includes analysing the popularity of individual phrases, their competitiveness and user search intent (User Intent). The next step is to analyse your competitors and their websites – this allows you to understand what keywords they are using, what content strategies they are employing, and to identify gaps in the market.

Once this is complete, you can move on to keyword selection that is most in line with your company’s SEO and business objectives, and shows the most potential. This should include highly competitive phrases, as well as those that are less competitive and longer (known as long-tail or long-tail keywords). It is a good idea to include semantic keywords in the strategy, linked to already identified phrases.

The chosen keywords should be integrated into the content of the website so that they are natural and valuable to the reader. This applies to both text and meta elements (i.e. titles, descriptions, headings), as well as the URL structure. It is also a good idea to take care of the structure of the page – it should be search engine friendly, which makes it easier to index the content and improves visibility. So don’t forget about technical optimisation, especially improving loading speed, mobile responsiveness and creating an understandable information architecture.

Regularly tracking the results of the keyword strategy, including search engine positions, traffic and conversions allows it to adapt to changes in market conditions and search engine algorithms.

Tools used in the development and implementation of a keyword strategy

The following tools are most commonly used in the implementation of a keyword strategy:

• Google Keyword Planner is a free Google tool mainly for advertisers using Google Ads, but can be used to research keywords, their popularity and competitiveness.
• SEMrush is a comprehensive tool that offers extensive features including keyword research, competitive analysis, SEO audit and position monitoring.
• Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO tool that offers rich functionality for keyword research, SEO audits and ranking monitoring. It is valued for its accurate backlink database and niche market research capabilities.
• Moz Keyword Explorer is a tool from Moz that helps with keyword research, offering data on keyword difficulty level, search volume and potential traffic. It also helps in discovering keyword ideas and analysing the competitiveness of phrases.
• Ubersuggest is a free tool offered by Neil Patel that helps generate keyword ideas based on the term entered. It also offers information on search volume, cost per click (CPC) and competition levels.
• AnswerThePublic is a tool that visualises search queries and frequently asked questions related to the term entered. It is particularly useful for generating content ideas that answer specific user questions.

Best practice in keyword strategy

The following practices can help in creating and interpreting a keyword strategy:

• Focus on user intent. By understanding why and how potential customers search for information online, you can create content that responds to their needs.
• Use long-tail SEO – although long-tail keywords generate less traffic, they have higher specificity and less competition, which often translates into better results and higher conversions.
• For businesses operating locally, it can be helpful to include place names and regions in keywords to attract traffic from specific geographical areas.
• Keywords should be woven into content in a natural and readable way to not only be effective for search engines, but also valuable and accessible to readers.
• The world and search trends are constantly changing, so website content, including keywords, should be regularly updated to match user queries.
• Page titles, meta descriptions and headings (H1, H2, etc.) are crucial for SEO and should include relevant keywords to improve visibility in search results.
• Assigning specific keywords to individual pages on your site will help you stay organised and optimise more effectively for search engines.
• Tools such as Google Analytics, Ahrefs or Surfer SEO can provide valuable data on keywords, competition and user behaviour.
• In addition to optimising for keywords, it is also important to build the credibility and authority of the website through high-quality backlinks and valuable content.

The role of keyword strategy

A keyword strategy is the foundation of a brand’s online visibility. It enables content created by brands to better respond to users’ needs and queries, resulting in a higher ranking in search results.

One of the main goals of a keyword strategy is to understand the intentions of users so that content can be created that is precisely tailored to their needs. This also allows you to build relationships with potential customers by providing valuable information, which can improve engagement and conversion rates in the long term.

A keyword strategy also influences the structure and information architecture of a website, helping to organise content in a way that is friendly to both users and search engine algorithms. This makes it easier for pages to be indexed and can contribute to search engines finding content more quickly.

Selecting the right keywords is also an opportunity to find niche markets and areas with less competition, which can pave the way for increased traffic and visibility for the site. It is also an integral part of online branding – consistent use of well-chosen key phrases can increase brand recognition and image, which is particularly important for long-term marketing efforts.