Why Don’t Keywords Matter Anymore

Why don't keywords matter anymore? The answer is twofold in that they do and don't however you need to pick the right target to win

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Keywords have changed but is it for the better
Relating intent to content taken a step further
Google RankBrain a new dilemma for bloggers
There is a keyword hero among us
The use of Keyword clusters
Using Longtail keywords for results
The benefits of Keywords exceed all else
The role of Keywords in search marketing
When do you answer a search term or keyword
Are Keywords important for SEO
You can buy a position in search engines
The rise and rise of YouTube
Conclusion
- Why Don't Keywords Matter Anymore by Peter Hanley

Keywords have changed but is it for the better

You have probably spent a lot of time and energy on learning all about keywords and to now be told they don't matter anymore would be a real kick in the butt.

However as silly as it sounds it is in a large way true. Let me explain.

Google has gone all artificial on us and picked up on what they call Intelligent searching.

Termed AI for Artificial Intelligence it's something we all know about but how does it apply to Keywords.

Instead of using exact match searching they toss all the content around and find some that will match your intent.

Relating intent to content taken a step further

Google started this rot a couple of years ago in the Hummingbird upgrade when they closely related intent to content. This was supported by the rise in Voice requests using Siri or others and taking you to a destination they thought best matched your rambling question.
Because this worked pretty well they thought why not rank Keywords the same way..

This change would actually hurt words that were often rejected as an appropriate search term so your site could really suffer. And you would never know why.

To overcome this you should look more at Longtail Keywords that really relate to your content and then Google can't mess around too much with your intent.

Google RankBrain a new dilemma for bloggers

We could go all techie on an explanation however it is really just AI determining a relationship to the topic and changing the whole direction of the search.
Google is learning to think like a human however maybe not the smartest ones yet.

There is a keyword hero among us

Bing and Yahoo have stayed with tradition and continue to use exact match keywords in the search algorithm.
What this means is that you will often see a large disparity in where your keyword ends up on a page. Page one on Bing may not see a top 10 page on Google and vice-versa.

My first discovery of this was using the two search engines in Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console to find out how my posts were performing.
In some cases, I could get a Bing-Google finish however most were one or the other and it had me confused.

The use of Keyword clusters

To get around The AI spooky thing I started to use a lot of Keywords throughout my content.
Therefore when Mr. Google wanted to match intent with content he would have no problems because I was covering all situations with a cluster of appropriate keywords.

Mr. Bing would accept my long-tail keyword and furthermore, I hoped that I would satisfy the near-human experience that Google was trying to achieve.

Using Longtail keywords for results

The more descriptive your Keyword is the better for Bing and Google as well. However, you also have a tradeoff with a lot less traffic.
It is better to be on page one with a handful of viewers than page ten with none.
The better the descriptive phrase the closer your content will rank on all search engines.

The benefits of Keywords exceed all else

You are using words to match intent with content and maintain readers on your page.
This will result in an increase in actions and results.

Longer page time to increase SEO
Gathering return readers because of trust in your content
Sharing content and increasing reader base
More affiliate or product sales and income

The role of Keywords in search marketing

There is no subject more important than your understanding of Keywords.
Blogging is built around search terms and the major engines have gone all out to make this as easy as possible.

The use of Voice search, a growing media, has certainly contributed to this. These terms tend to be much longer and more specific in their quantity of words.

However, this has created another dilemma for the writer

When do you answer a search term or keyword

This is a good and bad situation for us writers. We want people to stay on our page and enjoy our contributions and find our links helpful and creative.

When a search term is really specific it should be answered early.

What year was Elvis Presley born? Answer 8th January 1935. end of the story.

However, on that same page, people also want information about Elvis.

Where was Elvis born
When did Tom Parker take him on
How many siblings did he have
What was his first hit

As well as answering the question you can build interest in the history behind the person and keep those readers on your page.

Are Keywords important for SEO

Again nothing is locked in concrete however the SEO tools will disagree. Both Yoast and AIO SEO insist on Keyword selection for good SEO.
That may change soon with Google's intent to take a more prominent role in search terms.
For now, we are all advised to stay with keywords and use them as well as we can.

It is still difficult to rank for keywords that have high traffic and a large component of competition. The first pages are dominated by expert companies generating information in a manner that meets all the rules. They will not be pushed off the first page.

Therefore you must expand on the subject and narrow the niche into a word that is both acceptable and meets the content rules.

You can buy a position in search engines

Paid advertising is available in all words and phrases at a price per click. The price will vary depending on the traffic and will often add a front-page position.

The first three free entries will get a majority of the action. However, the paid ads will also get some attention. It is then a balance of expense over Income. You pay per click and that needs a bundle of sales to justify the return.

The rise and rise of YouTube

It may surprise many of you that YouTube is searched nearly as much as Google and more than Bing and Yahoo combined.
Most search terms will have a couple of YouTube results looking for viewers and taking them into another dimension.
We recommend including a YouTube link on all pages to satisfy those wanting to use a visual tool. This creates time on the page a valuable SEO component.

Conclusion

Keywords do still matter however you must also write your content around intent.
Research the words use and sprinkle them liberally around your post to cover more action and search traffic.
Jump for Joy when you make the first page on Google and Bing and know that your future looks bright because you are an a track to success.

Traffic is traffic so take it when you can by correctly writing your content to answer a question
or solve a problem with a nice long-tail Keyword.

Your future success is assured when you understand these few basic Keyword rules.