Semalt Practical Guide On How To Select Key Phrases



Whatever your site, the key is to attract quality traffic to it, which will translate into conversions.   A good selection of key phrases will help you generate such traffic. But how do you choose them correctly? Here are some tips and an online tool to help you find the right keywords

When to choose SEO keywords?



An elegant, modern and intuitive website is a great asset. It can promote your interests and the products or services offered by your company. When creating your own website, you want to reach as many recipients as possible, which is why you focus on both its professional appearance and functionality. However, there is also another important aspect whereby a website will be visited frequently and willingly. It is about choosing keywords.

When is the best time to choose them? Proper analysis and selection of phrases already at the stage of creating the website will make it visited by more potential customers, and you will not waste your money on positioning yourself for bad phrases that do not bring profit. Keywords integrated into the content on your website are one of the most important factors in determining whether internet users will find your website.

The correct selection of keywords will allow you to quickly build a network of customers and will increase the interest in your website. This will translate into specific financial gains since this is why you run your business online - to make money on it.

Nowadays, almost nobody, when looking for information on the Internet, searches for websites using their full address. As you know, these are the most common and interesting phrases for the user that are typed in. They are not always grammatically correct, and they are often mental shortcuts. You should also take this into account. The selection of key phrases must be thought through and preceded by an analysis using tools designed for this task.

SEO keywords - how to choose key phrases?



We can distinguish several types of key phrases, depending on their content, complexity, or popularity. The key phrases are selected in terms of the type of products on the website, the range of activities, or your business goals. Here are the most popular categories used for effective website positioning.

1. General phrases

This is the most common type of keyword. These phrases are usually 1-2 words long. They are characterized by a very high generality, which is why many people usually enter such a phrase into the search engine. This is clearly visible when you start typing a word in the search window. New hints appear with each letter.

Do the entries in such a sentence result in a conversion? Not always, and unfortunately it can be worse. Popular searches have thousands of hits. Despite this fact, customers usually only focus on the first page of results, so general phrases are better suited to narrow specializations. Otherwise, they may not be enough to drive much traffic to your online shop site.

2. Long tail phrases


The so-called long tail is a more complicated type of keyword than the previous one, and therefore more effective in directing traffic to your website. These are phrases of 3, 4, or more words, which are therefore more specific. In general, these phrases are entered into the search engine much less frequently than general phrases, but the traffic they generate is potentially more valuable and more often results in a conversion. Webshop positioning is an area where long-tail phrases are used extensively.

The selection of long-tail key phrases is one of the most important tasks related to the positioning of a given page. It is thanks to them that customers, after entering a very specific query, can see a link to your shop in the search results. This means that your website will be visited by people who are actually interested in the products or services you offer.

3. Regional phrases

Many people search the web for local information. They are looking for companies operating in their city or the immediate vicinity. So-called regional phrases are used for this purpose. These are all SEO keywords that contain city, village, province, housing estate, or any other word that assigns them to a specific place.

Such phrases are crucial when it comes to positioning local businesses. They can bring a lot of traffic to your website. If you operate locally and want to acquire most of your customers via the Internet, the right choice of keywords is very important.

4. Phrases with errors

This is a very interesting category of key phrases. They are used to intercept people who have made a mistake when entering their query. This can be a slightly different spelling, the absence of certain characters or a common spelling mistake.

Many people enter queries into Google without the correct characters, with typos and even misspellings. Generally, you don't rank for these phrases, but there are cases where you may discover a niche that will bring a lot of conversions to your website. Therefore, it is worth considering whether the keyword ideas related to your website might be misspelled or phonetically misperceived, for example. If this is the case, it is worth taking it into account when planning the positioning of your website.

5. Brand phrases

In general, your company name is so unique that Google automatically places it at the top of the search results. However, the situation is different for large companies that not only sell their products themselves, but also have a worldwide distribution network. In such a case, many people want to appear for their phrase on Google. A manufacturer, a supplier, a wholesaler, or an online shop selling products of a certain brand can position themselves on the same phrase. Unfortunately, it is also not uncommon for competitors to position themselves under someone else's brand.

Examples of brand phrases: Coca-Cola, Polfarm, Comarch

Keyword selection - what to avoid?

You already know what types of key phrases are. Now it is time to learn the rules by which they should be selected. At first, you will learn what not to do, as this knowledge will allow for a better and more efficient selection of key phrases. So what should you avoid? Don't make these mistakes:

Try to avoid overly general keywords

The traffic they generate is usually of low value. People who type in such phrases have different intentions, and only a small percentage of them will actually want to buy something. The same is true for one-word phrases (unless it's a brand or product name), which are generally not selected for positioning.

Do not use SEO under highly competitive words

That is, those with the greatest competition. Rivals have been in the market for a lot longer. They have more strong links to their sites and even if you spend a lot of money on it, it will be very difficult to compete with them. Of course, sometimes it cannot be avoided, because perhaps it is the most competitive words that are crucial for your business. However, in most cases, when you see that the top10 for a given query are, for example, Wikipedia, Onet, WP, and similar players, it is better to let go.

Do not position your website for wildcard phrases

For example, someone opens a car showroom in Warsaw, which specializes in hybrid cars, and wants to position himself on the phrase "Warsaw hybrids". It turns out, however, that most people who enter this phrase in Warsaw mean the Hybrydy Music Club or are looking for a manicure specialist. Therefore, it is worth putting yourself in the shoe of a user of the Google search engine and considering what such a person may mean when entering a given phrase. The choice of keywords must be logical so that your time and money are not wasted.

Keyword suggestions - what tool to choose?

Various tools are available to help you choose your keywords. They facilitate their selection and analysis. Most of these tools work in the same way. However, keep in mind that it is best to choose an SEO tool that has multiple functions to meet your personal needs and preferences. A keyword research tool will only work if you learn how to use it properly. Here is one of the best SEO tools.

The Dedicated SEO Dashboard

The Dedicated SEO Dashboard is a real harvester when it comes to analyzing and selecting keywords. It shows the suggestions you get when you enter a keyword into a search engine. This way, you can browse the best SEO keywords that will help your website get high search results. If you plan everything well and analyze the traffic to your website continuously, over time, your website will be on the first page of Google results.



Not all keyword suggestions will be the best immediately, but this tool will certainly help you refine your search area. Remember, an effective key phrase should be tailored to the nature of your store or any other business you wish to advertise on the internet.

How to use the Dedicated SEO Dashboard?

Parameters such as "Volume" or "CPC" are taken from Google. However, the "Competition" index is interesting, as it counts from "0.00" to "1.0", which is much more precise than the 3-point scale of Google. This makes the selection of key phrases more precise and accurate. In the end, this is where the chosen words or phrases generate a lot of traffic to your website.

The features that facilitate the analysis of words in the Dedicated SEO Dashboard are: "Filter Results" and "Negative Keywords". The Filter Results allow you to display only words containing the specific word you are interested in. On the other hand, the "Negative Keywords" are useful, especially when you enter a generic phrase, as they allow you to eliminate any missed phrases.



As you can see, this is a very powerful tool that allows you to discover keywords easily and quickly. SEO is an important part of a successful campaign. It doesn't matter what sector, level of competition, or market you are in. You will succeed if you choose the right keywords. Positioning works well when it is well thought out and based on the use of dedicated tools.

If you need to learn more about the subject of SEO and website promotion, we invite you to visit our Semalt blog.