Why It’s Time To Rethink Keywords.

The other day I read a new article, written by a friend who I think of as having significant experience and knowledge in content SEO, where they stressed how essential keywords were to a blog’s success.

But they aren’t the only one emphasizing this strategy. There are copious, almost never-ending, articles that are still stressing this same point.

And they’re all wrong!

Yes, it’s true, keywords have become secondary in today’s sophisticated SEO and SERPs. In fact, HubSpot has completely retired its keywords tool.

Here’s what Search Engine Watch says on this topic, “They (keywords) can be helpful in small doses and with strategic inclusion, but there are more powerful factors out there.”

We all know that keyword stuffing, or using the same keyword multiple times, is unnatural and shunned, sometimes even deindexed, by the search engines.

Even the top two most downloaded WordPress SEO plug-ins, WP all-in-one-SEO and Yoast both suggest not using keywords.

Today’s algorithms are smart and getting smarter by the day. They know how to detect unnatural keyword placement, decipher synonyms, and even look for natural language.

One type of keyword that is still relevant, to a point, are long tail keywords. Four to five words long are suitable for a long-tail keyword.

But more specifically, phrases that are like real people’s search inquiries, in real people language, are what the search engines are looking for.

Also, there are many more significant things that will affect your content’s ability to rank well.

The most important thing that we need to keep in mind at all times is user intent. “What does a real person want to know about my business or product?”

If you stay focused on this goal, organize your content around this question, and create content that always helps answer this question, you’ll never go wrong.

Here Are Some of the other (real) top ranking factors;

-HTTPS (a necessity)

-Site speed

-Mobile optimization

-Quality (not too filled with ads or excessive links etc.) content.

-Author’s expertise, (credentials) -This is a relatively new factor that came into effect during Google’s August 2018 update. It seems to have only affected health-related websites so far.

I really think too many people spend too much time trying to decipher Google’s intentions. SEO and rank aren’t half as complicated as the SEO companies would have you believe. Don’t forget it’s these companies business to make money off people’s SEO questions and concerns, so be wary.

I’ve watched some videos with John Mueller myself, and he must have fantastic patience because so often it seems that everyone is asking the same questions over and over again or they’re trying to find hidden meaning behind every simple statement.

Very silly.

Overall, always, and as I’ve said many times over the years, trust is still the top consideration to always keep in mind. Are your site and the content in it trustworthy, is the big question. 

Do you have any thoughts on this topic? Are you still using keywords and what type are you using?