If you have ever used an SEO agency in Melbourne, then there’s no doubt you would have learned how important keywords are. Over recent years the effectiveness of keywords has been a hotly debated topic. Do they still work for an SEO campaign? Are they worth the time and effort? The short answer is a resounding YES. But it’s why they’re still important today, which may interest you.
If you’re unsure about what a keyword is or how it’s used for an SEO campaign, then let’s quickly break it down for you. First off, you need to understand how Google works. What we know for a fact is that Google uses over 200 ranking factors in their search algorithm to decide which web pages will sit at the top of the Google search results page. You ideally want to rank at the top of these Google search results pages. A reputable SEO agency in Melbourne can help you with this.
Here’s how an SEO agency in Melbourne approaches things. Say they have a client who is a local dentist in Cranbourne, then that client wants to be the first result that shows up for searches like “Cranbourne Dentist.” These two words can be classified as a keyword. Suppose that an SEO agency in Melbourne focuses a reasonable amount of time and effort into using this keyword on the dentist’s web pages. In that case, the chances are that Google will recognise this and help the website rank highly among the search result pages for “Cranbourne Dentist.” But there is no guarantee this tactic will work.
Ask any SEO agency in Melbourne, and they’ll quickly tell you that the Google search algorithm still has the other 200+ ranking factors to consider when it looks at all the other websites that use the keywords “Cranbourne Dentist.” That’s why you need expert advice from an SEO agency in Melbourne to maximise your chances of ranking.
The Google search algorithm is a very complex system that Google uses to find, rank, and produce a list of the most relevant pages that match your search query. This ranking system uses multiple algorithms that look at several ranking factors such as keywords, page speed, and usability.
You’re probably wondering if using keywords will work for your business. There are many SEO tools and programs available today that can help you assess your website’s performance regarding keyword rankings. For example, your website’s homepage may be ranking in the top 10 Google search page results for the term “Cranbourne dentist.”
Several online performance monitoring tools show where you rank for a keyword, what other websites are above you, and exactly how many visitors are coming to your website based on specific search queries. Some tools can even tell you the search volume of a particular keyword. “Cranbourne dentist” may receive 300 searches per month, but you might discover a more popular search term such as “Cranbourne teeth specialist” pulls in 500 searches per month.
If a keyword has a search volume of 500, it has received an average of 500 searches in Google per month. That’s up to 500 potential customers that could end up discovering your business if you appear at the top of the Google search results page for a particular keyword.
Any SEO agency in Melbourne should have a thorough understanding of where your website ranks for keywords that directly relate to your business. Your digital marketing agency partner should provide monthly reports and SEO performance reviews. It’s also quite common today for a SEO agency in Melbourne to provide you with a dashboard that gives you live updates on your overall marketing performance, not just your SEO campaign so that it’s easily accessible.
Gone are the days when it was much easier to manipulate your search engine rankings. You may have heard of tactics such as ‘keyword stuffing,’ back when SEO was still new, and it was common for websites to over-optimise keywords on their web pages so their rankings could appear on page one. A trusted, professional SEO agency in Melbourne would have advised you that this tactic involves bad practice and would not only negatively impact your website rankings but you could risk being blacklisted and removed from the search engine altogether.
Google’s search algorithm is a lot smarter and far more advanced today than back then. When you’re purposely overstuffing a web page with a particular keyword, it can pick up. So it will choose to ignore your page if you take things too far.
You can still use keywords as a way to help your web pages rank. A healthy number of mentions for a keyword would sit around a 1-2% keyword density. This method is not an exact science, but it certainly helps to have a lower number than something extreme like 5% or higher. And don’t be afraid to use related keywords. You may be a dentist, but you can also focus on related keywords such as professional dentist, orthodontist, and dental surgeon. Your keyword density targets form a part of your content marketing strategy.
You can calculate keyword density by comparing the number of times a keyword appears on your page with the total number of words that appear on the page. For example, if you have 3 mentions of a keyword out of 100 words on the page, you have a keyword density of 3%.
Keyword density isn’t the only thing to consider when including keywords on your web pages. The placement of your keywords can also help your web page get picked up by the Google search algorithm. According to Matt Cutts, former Google search quality expert, their algorithm can better recognise keywords when they are placed in areas such as the heading of your page.
So if you’re looking to optimise the headings of your web pages, it’s crucial to incorporate keywords aligned to that page. Ensure your headlines represent the content of your page and are aligned to your content. When you can include keywords into a heading, it’s the appropriate opportunity to optimise these according to your website’s sitemap and align this with the page’s purpose and objective. Make sure that the messaging of your new heading isn’t confusing or compromised from the tempting addition of a keyword. Remember that you’re writing content for humans to read. You are only using keywords to optimise your website for SEO purposes.
Another clever trick is the addition of keywords in your anchor text. The Google search algorithm can use this as a clear sign that your page is about the subject mentioned in the hyperlink text. A perfect example of this could be “Bob’s Car Repairs.” If this hyperlink text appears on a separate webpage, it’s essentially telling the algorithm that users can visit a car repair shop by clicking the link. If one of your target keywords you’re trying to rank for is “car repairs,” then you have a perfect opportunity to include it in this hyperlink text linked from a different directory website.
Anchor text comprises the words you see that are on display in a hyperlink. On some websites, they usually appear as underlined text that you can click on. These hyperlinks will link you to another webpage. It’s common to use these in a call to action, such as a “read more” button, the name of a blog article, or the name of a webpage.
New to the concept of using keywords to promote your business? The methods we discussed here are just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of other creative ways to use keywords to improve your website’s SEO performance. But more importantly, this should all be developed and crafted as part of your overarching content strategy. At One Stop Media, a highly reputable SEO agency in Melbourne, our team of strategists understands how important it is to adapt. We develop your SEO strategy based on your needs for growth and as part of your content strategy.
Your SEO campaign is scaled based on where you want your business to be in the next six, twelve, or even eighteen months. With a clear vision for where you want to go, you are more likely to get there. If you’re looking for an SEO agency in Melbourne that is not just in it for quick wins but long-term, sustainable growth, then you need to contact us.
Learn how keywords can be used to promote your business. Ask an SEO strategist from One Stop Media today.
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