Keywords are the words and phrases that search engines use to understand what your website is about. Without the right keywords, you’re missing out on organic traffic that can drive leads and sales — and no business wants to miss out on that.

How can I improve my keywords?

Whether you’re an SEO agency or a small business, the right keywords are crucial to getting your content found online. They help to ensure that your content shows up in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Before you can create a list of potential keywords, you need to know who your audience is and what questions they have. This can be done by using website analytics tools and examining your existing traffic source buckets.

You’ll want to identify a variety of different questions, but you should also consider the type of intent each question has. This means deciding what format content best fits each query and targeting that particular type of intent, so that you can maximize your keyword’s opportunity to rank.

Next, you should look at how your competitors are ranking for those keywords. This can help you refine your list to make sure you’re including a balanced mix of head terms and long-tail keywords.

Remember that optimization is good, but over-optimization is bad — it can produce exactly the opposite of the results you’re after. That’s why it’s so important to start with a solid baseline and avoid over-optimization mistakes.