In the early days of search, keywords were a monumental success. Littering them on web pages was cheap, easy, and extremely effective.
Along with backlinks, keywords were all you really needed. But sadly, the times they are a changing. What was once a fast and easy solution is now slow and cumbersome.
Google spent years expanding their quality criteria and tackling spam. They're far from perfect, but it's certainly not as easy to force yourself to the top as it once was.
But if keywords are no longer the fast and easy solution they once were, why do freelancers and agencies start every projects with keyword research? Is it necessary? What would we do without it? And, what even is a keyword?
Oftentimes experts use 'keywords' and 'search queries' interchangeably. However, they are meaningfully different. It's not merely an academic or semantic difference. It matters.
A search query is the exact phrase searched by one or more users. It could be any combination of words. If it's a short query searched by lots of people, we call it a 'broad keyword'. If it's a highly specific query searched by only a few people, we call it a 'long tail keyword.'
Experts often call these keywords, as I just did, but really they're search queries.
By contrast, keywords are the essential words or phrases used within search queries. These words, when placed in the right order, summarise the search query.
For example, let's say a user searches for "what to do when my cat eats a bat". The first part of the question "what to do" simply tells search engines you need advice. The keywords are "cat", "eats," and "bat" in that order. It's a totally different article if the bat eats the cat, and so, word order is just as important as word choice.
There's a huge difference between search queries and keywords. We might use them interchangeably, but they're not the same thing.
It was 2009 when Google confirmed they no longer used meta keywords as part of their algorithm. Nevertheless, industry use of the term hasn't shifted much in the past fifteen years.
In fact, the only thing to have really changed is that we ignore the meta tag.
Today, almost all vendors stuff keywords into the content to varying degrees. The difference between them is essentially the difference between Burger King and McDonalds. Either way, they're going to fill pages with junk.
Unfortunately, the search engine has moved on, and this paradigm is no longer fit for purpose. Vendors can come up with ever increasingly complex ways of researching and clustering keywords, but the fact remains that it just doesn't matter anymore.
Google utilises systems which are much more sophisticated than in years gone by. Instead of keywords or search queries, topics is a more helpful building block for creating content.
Topics encompass the many different ways of asking a question, as well as the user's implied meaning. Here is an example of four ways to search for the same topic:
Through keyword research, we would identify four keywords. Afterwards, through keyword clustering, vendors group these keywords into a single topic.
This process is totally redundant.
Why go through the process of finding individual search queries only to cluster them together? You can skip this step altogether and just think about search from the perspective of a user.
There's no special tool you need when thinking of topics. Put yourself into your customer's shoes and ask what might they want to know. Better yet—speak with them directly and ask them. Qualitative research is infinitely more helpful than keyword research.
Ultimately, this archaic process of keyword research is more beneficial for vendors than it is for clients. As a result, the power to drive down demand and price sits with clients, but it's a power not often leveraged, seemingly out of trust for the experts.
Rather than focusing on keywords, and the granular reporting they afford vendors, it's possible to skip both the research and clustering processes altogether.
There are two major considerations to this approach:
Firstly, you should move away from granular reporting of search queries. Metrics which represent broad performance, such as impressions and clicks, should become the key success criteria.
Without keyword research, it is impossible for vendors to populate tools such as BrightEdge, Ahrefs, SE Ranking, and so on. However, Google Search Console still includes average position if needed.
While this change might sound dramatic, it's a positive change.
Many vendors report keyword increases, but skip commentary when that same keyword decreases. They then repeat the positive commentary when it increases again. As a result, you can go from position three to four and back to three, and you'll be told twice things are improving, when in fact things are static.
Impressions, on the other hand, fluctuate significantly day to day, but create a clear trend over time. It is free, easy to understand, and a more accurate representation of success.
Secondly, you should rely on subject matter experts to create content. Without thinking about search engines, they will naturally include relevant keywords in the text.
Typically, vendors take two different approaches to this challenge based on the level of expertise needed for a topic, and their team's expertise on that topic.
If they concede the topic requires a high level of expertise and that their team can't write it, they will often charge to review the content to ensure it is keyword optimised. This step often provides negligible value.
However, if the topic requires a low level of expertise and their team can write it, they're often an expensive solution to writing the content.
Unfortunately, some vendors use outdated practices and sell long, low-quality content. This content is not designed to be read by users, and in today's algorithm it is harmful for longevity of the site.
It's entirely possible to perform well in search without complex or expensive processes. There are advantages to keyword research, but they come at a disproportionate cost.
If you're interested in learning more about how I can help you move away from expensive and outdated processes, get in touch by emailing rowan@rowancollins.com.
