Should You Use SEO Phrases or Single Keywords?

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Should You Use SEO Phrases or Single Keywords?

Keywords and keyword phrases are two terms that are often thrown around when talking about SEO. Many people are under the impression that keyword phrases are better because they are longer and have more terms in them, but that’s not necessarily the case. If you’re wondering whether you should use single keywords or longer phrases, the answer isn’t one or the other: it’s both.

Keywords vs Keyword Phrases

A keyword is a single term that is highly relevant to your business. An auto service shop would use keywords such as “automobiles,” “repairs,” “service,” “tires,” “transmission,” and other words related to common auto problems and repairs. But this service shop would also want to use phrases like “oil change,” “flat tire,” “transmission problems,” and “auto repair.” They are also highly relevant to the business, and they’re more likely to match a query.

What Matches a User’s Query?

When you’re considering your keywords and key phrases, you want to really think about what people are going to be searching for. For an auto shop, “oil change” and “auto repair” are going to be more common than a search for “repairs” since that could mean anything from auto repairs to laptop repairs. “Tires” is a great keyword if you sell tires, but it may not help bring in customers who are in need of tire repair. In this case, the auto shop would naturally rely more on key phrases rather than single words.

On the other hand, a jewelry store may get a good number of hits from single keywords like “rings,” “necklace,” “jade,” “diamonds,” and “jewelry.” They would, naturally, also do well for phrases like “engagement ring” and “anniversary gift.” This business would want to use a good number of both.

What Do Search Engines Think?

Search engines were once highly focused on keywords. The algorithms would match just about any query with a website as long as a keyword matched. Today, that’s no longer the case. Search engines are more interested in context. If someone searches for “auto repair,” they are not going to match that query with results for refrigerator repair. You want to have a good mix of keywords and keyword phrases in your SEO to truly do well.

Not sure what keywords and phrases to use? The experts here at BlendIM can help you with all of your SEO needs.

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