At the heart of any good SEO campaign is a set of keywords—a keyword theme. These themes guide the reader through your content in a natural way. They slot into the content because they’re meant to be there. They haven’t been stuffed in there for the sole purpose of search engines.
Constructing keyword themes helps you to create quality content that brings genuine value to the reader. Plus, they contribute to your SEO campaign in a way that will boost your content up the search engine rankings.
In this article, we’ll look at what a keyword theme is and how you can discover them. We’ll then share ways that you can implement them into your SEO campaigns.
- Are keyword themes a necessary part of an SEO campaign?
- How can you build keyword themes?
- What’s the best way to integrate keyword themes naturally?
Keyword Themes: Definition
Keyword themes are made up of individual keywords or phrases. When keywords and phrases are collected into relevant groups or clusters representing a core topic, they become a theme. The idea is to go beyond simple keyword insertion and consider semantic search and user intent.
Keyword themes are not simply synonyms or close matches. They are words that match a wider theme. Take, for example, “Digital Marketing” keywords. Words that fit into that theme could include; “content marketing,” “SEO,” “social media marketing,” and others of similar ilk. They all have a contextual relationship with each other in the theme of digital marketing.
By grouping our keywords into keyword themes, we begin to consider what users might be searching for and how our content connects with it. That naturally creates a better user experience and, in turn, bolsters our reputation with search engines.
Building Keyword Themes
We’ve broken down the process into five steps. If you’ve conducted keyword research before, much of this guide won’t be news to you. Thought it might involve you slightly altering or adapting your usual process.
Step 1: Broad Keywords
The process begins by identifying our top-level keywords, our broadest options. These keywords have high search volume with a competitive rating to match. When creating your theme, they are the foundations that you can build on. They are the most obvious members of the theme. A fitness keyword theme would include “gym,” “workout,” and “running.”
Step 2: Long-Tail Keywords
Now that you have your foundation, you can begin to dig a little deeper. This is where we look at our long-tail keywords. These are more specific, longer search terms that have considerably lower search volumes but far higher search intent. Sticking with our fitness example, you would add keywords such as “workout routine to lose weight” or “full-body calisthenics workout.”
Step 3: Grouping Keywords
Now you have a larger selection of keywords, you can begin to group them together. The best way to do so is to group by intent. What is the user’s intent? There are 4 typical intents: information, navigation, transactions, and commercial investigation. By segmenting your keywords into these groups, you are better able to craft content that matches the user’s intent. Therefore, your content will convert at a much higher rate.
In our example, you would likely put the keyword “workout routine to lose weight” into the information section as the user is looking for tips.
Step 4: Competitor Analysis
So far, you’ve just used your own knowledge. Now, it’s time to see what your competitors are doing. Use a tool such as Ahrefs or SEMrush to see what keywords you have missed. Add them to your keyword themes and plug any gaps that you might have.
Step 5: Refine
By now, you’ve probably got a lengthy list of keywords in your themes. Not all of them will be as relevant as you initially thought, so you should prune them from your list. When you’re sure that every keyword on your list is there on merit, finalize your groups and begin to craft content.
Keyword Theme Application
Now you have your keyword themes, it’s time to use them. That means writing and creating content that best suits the user’s intent. Effective SEO has to strike a balance between technical SEO requirements and user experience. Google won’t rank a page that has all the technical factors addressed but is a horrible user experience. It’s a bit of a game, but it’s one you have to play.
Naturally, weave your keyword themes into your content so that they don’t feel forced or stuffed. That means using them across your posts and pages in these areas:
- Titles
- Headings
- Body Content
- Meta Descriptions
- Alt Text
Remember that your industry, no matter what it might be, is evolving. More keywords and search terms will be entering your sphere. Keep a close eye on trending topics and industry news so that your keyword themes include the latest and most relevant content.
Once the content is out there, be sure to keep track of how it is performing by using a tool that shows you analytics related to keywords. This will help you to refine your strategy and edit your content based on data.
Key Takeaways
If you’ve already undertaken a significant amount of keyword research, then chances are you’re already 80% of the way to creating keyword themes. It’s simply a matter of keeping user intent and relevance in mind. It’ll be easier to create than it might seem. Plus, once you implement it as part of your strategy, you’ll reap the SEO benefits.
- Naturally using keywords in relevant content should be a hallmark of your SEO strategy.
- Start with broader keywords to build a base for your keyword themes.
- Always refine and adapt your keyword themes so that you’re including the latest trending words.
Looking to refine your SEO strategy but aren’t sure where to go next? Need to start from scratch? Have a chat with us here at Spacebar Collective and see how we can help.
