What Is a Focus Keyword and Why Is It So Important?
Last update: 8 March 2024 at 09:33 am
5.00/5In today’s internet-based society, it’s essential to know how to promote your products or services online. Creating content is a vital aspect of digital marketing. Blog posts and articles can draw attention to your business by attracting people interested in the topics you write about.
What is a focus keyword?
The main word or phrase you want your article to rank for on search engine result pages.
Focus keywords are a critical part of the search engine optimization (SEO) strategy for your website. When you understand focus keyphrases and use them well, internet users will be able to find your page or post more easily.
Key Takeaways:
- Focus keyword is important for SEO: A focus keyword is the main term you want your content to rank for in search results. It’s a crucial part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for any website content, including blog posts.
- Focus keyword helps attract traffic: By strategically including the focus keyword in your content, you make it more relevant to users searching for that term. This increases the chances of your content appearing in search results and attracting organic traffic.
- Choose the right focus keyword: Don’t just pick the most obvious term. Research keywords to find ones that are relevant to your content but also have a good search volume (enough people searching for them) and low competition (not too many other websites targeting the same term).
- Optimize your content for readability: While keyword targeting is important, don’t stuff your content with keywords unnaturally. Write informative and readable content that provides value to users.
Finding the Perfect Focus Keyword
Now that you understand why focus keywords are so significant, you’ll want to develop a strategy for choosing them when you create content. The right keyword can make all the difference in increasing your organic traffic.
Long-Tail Keywords
What are long-tail keywords?
They’re phrases that typically contain at least three words, and they can sometimes have more than seven.
Longer keyphrases have multiple advantages. Below are some of the main reasons you might consider using them.
Rank at the Top of Search Results
First, long-tail keywords make it easier for your article to show up on the first page of search engine results. While they have a relatively low search volume, they also don’t have as much competition.
Larger businesses tend to target shorter keywords that more people search. If you target the same focus keyphrase as a huge company, you have little chance of getting ranked on the first page of results. However, long-tail terms can be a blogger’s ticket to success.
Many businesses still struggle with these concepts and have a hard time ranking amongst the top. But SEO specialised agencies in the United States for example have seen an increase in demand in the past years to help these struggling businesses.
More Conversions With Fewer Visits
Another advantage of long-tail keywords is that people who search these terms already have a clear idea of what they’re looking for. In other words, they’re farther along the buyer journey than those who search more general “head” keywords.
So, you don’t necessarily want to choose the keyphrase that gets you the most traffic. Your ultimate goal is to sell your product or service. Using long-tail keywords can bring the same number of conversions with fewer site visitors.
How To Turn Head Keywords into Long-Tail Keywords
To choose the right keywords for your niche, try to think from the perspective of your target audience. Imagine how they might search for the content you’ve created.
For example, instead of using the head term “travel tips” as your focus keyword, you could narrow it to “travel tips for families.” “Content marketing” could become “content marketing for psychologists.”
When you use a more specific phrase, you can attract the audience interested in precisely that content. In this way, you significantly increase the chances of conversions.
Keyword Research Tools
Several keyword tools can help you discover the best focus keyphrase for your content page, and some are even free to use. They include:
- Google Autocomplete
- Wordtracker
- Ubersuggest
- Google Search Console
- Answer the Public
- Google Chrome Keyword Surfer Extension
- Keyworddit
- Google Trends
Paid options for keyword research include:
- KWFinder
- Ahrefs
You can start by typing a head keyword into the research tool. It then brings up a list of longer keyphrases that contain the original term. Here is an example of the search for “focus keyword” on Ahrefs.
Search Volume
Many of the tools listed above also show the monthly search volume for each long-tail keyphrase. If you’re starting now, you’ll want to choose focus keywords with search numbers between 50 and 1000 in your desired geographical location. As you gain experience, you can select terms with higher volumes.
Below, you can see that the keyword “focus keyword” has a monthly search volume of 250 in the United States and 2100 in the world.
Domain Authority
Domain authority (DA) checkers can help you understand how likely it is that you’ll rank for your targeted keywords. The free MozBar Chrome Extension shows the DA for each website that appears in Google search results.
Type your proposed focus keyword into the Google search box, then check the domain authority of the sites on the first page of results. If your website has a DA within three to five points of the ones listed, you’ll likely rank for that keyphrase.
However, if the sites on the first page of results have a domain authority much higher than yours, you’re not likely to achieve success with that focus keyword. You’ll need to find a long-tail keyword with less competition.
Starting with low competition focus keywords will enable your website to build domain authority. As your domain authority increases, you’ll be in a better position to compete for keyphrases with larger search volumes.
How To Add a Focus Keyword in Yoast SEO Plugin
SEO plugins can help you add a focus keyphrase and optimize its location in the article. The tool from Yoast is one of the most popular for use in WordPress.
The Yoast SEO plugin shows an input field for a focus keyword on each page of your website. When you enter a keyphrase, the tool checks the content to see if search engines will recognize the topic of your post.
SEO Analysis
The plugin evaluates the text to ensure that the keyword appears in several places:
- Page title
- Meta description
- Meta title (SEO title)
- First paragraph of your article
- Permalink (slug)
- At least one heading or subheading
- Image alt text
The free version of Yoast SEO allows you to add only one keyword. However, Google permits up to five. If you need to target multiple keywords, you can configure the plugin to allow them.
Here is an example of the Yoast SEO plugin on our recent article on Honest Advertising.
The meta keywords function allows you to input more terms. To activate it, do the following:
- In the Yoast Dashboard, select “SEO,” then “Titles and Metas.”
- On the tab labeled “Other,” enable the meta keywords tag.
- Any blog post you create or edit will now give you the option to enter three to five meta keywords in addition to the primary keyword.*
Using Focus Keywords on Different Platforms
Fiverr
As with any web page, adding the right focus words can improve the visibility of your Fiverr gig. There’s a built-in research capability to help you find specific keywords.
Keyword Research
You can find long-tail keywords through Fiverr’s search tags. Like the tools cited earlier, you type in a general term, and the autocomplete feature shows you the most popular related query terms.
Choose the long-tail keyphrases that represent the same niche as your gig. You may select up to five tags. Make sure they’re as creative, specific, and targeted as possible to set you apart from the competition.
Another research method involves studying the bestselling gigs in your niche. Observe how they use keywords to attract clients. Then seek to imitate these best practices.
Make the right choice with confidence |
Discover the most relevant agencies for your project based on your own specific requirements.
Click here for the list of Keywords Management AgenciesWhere To Add Keywords
Your Fiverr keywords can go in the gig title and the description section. Adding keyphrases to the search tags also helps your page rank higher in search results.
Fiverr ranks gigs based on how well they relate to the keyword the buyer typed. Thus, you want to be as intentional as possible about your keyphrase use to ensure your gig will be one of the first in the results list.
Etsy
Etsy is no different than most websites in that a long-tail keyword typically leads to more conversions. In light of that, some users may become discouraged because tags can only be 20 characters long.
Fortunately, the platform’s search algorithms take into account more than just exact matches. You can also learn here how to start an Etsy shop.
Relevancy vs. Exact Matches
When a user types in a search term, Etsy compares it to your categories, tags, and attributes. It ranks seller listings according to how closely they relate to the shopper’s query.
As a result, your listing can match search queries exactly or broadly. You don’t need the same keyword to rank.
Middle Ground Etsy Keyword Strategy
If your chosen keyword doesn’t fit within the tag length limit, you can take a few different approaches.
First, you can choose a slightly broader keyword that may get you an exact match. You’ll still be avoiding the most common searches that have the greatest competition. You can place more specific terms in your title and description if they don’t fit in the tags.
You might also choose to split a long tag into two separate ones. For example, your long-tail keyword “burnished bronze candle holder” could become “burnished bronze” and “candle holder” to fit within the 20-character limit.
Measuring Focus Keyword Results
When you make changes to your Etsy SEO strategy, be sure to measure the results for six weeks before deciding about further adjustments. It typically takes over a month for the effects to become apparent.
Experts suggest changing just one listing to start. If you like the difference you see after six weeks, you can apply similar adjustments to other pages.
In Summary
A focus keyword is an essential part of a well-developed SEO strategy, whether you’re writing a blog post, Fiverr gig, or Etsy listing. Through research, you can find the long-tail keyphrase that best represents your page or post. When you apply the principles shared here, you’ll see your organic search results improve.
