August 5th, 2019 | Updated on June 17th, 2020
When choosing your keywords something you need to consider is the type of keyword you should be using.
This will depend on the goal of your website and if not done right, will lose you time and a bunch of money.
There are a lot of keyword research tools that can help you find keywords but first you need to understand what type suits your business goals.
So let’s take a look at the different types of keywords.
Types Of Keywords
Understanding the different types of keywords and how to use them to your advantage is an important step for any business.
Here’s a sneak peek at the types of keywords:
Ok now let’s delve a little deeper…
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1. Generic Keywords
Generic keywords isolate the topic, but don’t go into any real detail.
Some examples are:
- Mobile phone
- Wine
- Clothes
- Books
These keywords are also known as ‘short tail’ keywords.
They usually consist of a couple of words but no ‘tail’ or ‘head’ to qualify the keyword further.
It is usually a good idea to steer clear from generic keywords because they are high competition, the search intent is unknown and they usually have pretty low conversions.
2. Brand Keywords
Brand Keywords will include a keyword which relates to the brand of the product
They would look this these:
- Dell laptops
- Dyson hoovers
- Samsung mobile phones
- Adidas shoes
So these are a step up from generic keywords but you still can’t figure out what the intent of the searcher is.
There are a number of reasons they could be using the brand name in their search, so unless you want to go into competition with the brand I suggest you don’t focus on branded keywords.
3. Broad Keywords
Broad keywords usually provide a good amount of traffic with much less competition because the search is narrowed down somewhat.
The searcher has essentially decided what they want to buy but only have a rough idea.
Some examples of broad keywords are:
- Running shoes
- Prom dresses
- Travel books
There are still a few ways these can be interpreted but the search is a little more specific.
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4. Exact Keywords
So exact keywords are the complete opposite to generic keywords.
They signify that the searcher knows exactly what they are looking for.
Exact keywords example are:
- Red prom dress size 8
- Running shoe reviews
- Samsung Galaxy S10 case
These are a good type of keyword to optimize for as they usually convert well and have a high search volume.
The only problem with exact keywords is there is a lot of competition.
5. Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are probably the best keyword to focus on and there are some fantastic tools to help you find them.
They usually have less search volume but this means less competition with a really high level of conversion.
Long tail keyword examples are:
- What are the best shoes for running marathons
- How to make a vegetable lasagna
- Bon Jovi concert tickets Manchester UK
They target the right balance between traffic, conversion and competition.
6. Buyer Keywords
Buyer keywords are search terms that have buying words around the main keyword and they generally signify the searcher is ready to hand over their money.
Some buyer keyword examples are:
- Buy Nike running shoes
- Coupon Nike running shoes
- Nike running shoes deals
- Nike running shoes discount
Depending on your type of business… having your page optimized for buyer keywords is a really smart decision.
7. Tyre Kicker Keywords
Tyre Kickers are keywords that indicate that the searcher is probably someone you want to avoid.
They usually just want something for free:
- Learn to play violin for free
- Book torrents
- Download violin lessons
- Free violin chords book
- Generally you should avoid these keywords.
There can be some exceptions depending on your strategy but you need to have this thoroughly planned out.
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Wrapping Up
So we have reviewed the different types of keywords, but which type should you use?
The other thing to consider is whether to focus on intent or traffic.
Learn more on this subject in this article, The 7 Types Of Keywords To Increase Search Traffic