Almost everyone nowadays is familiar with SEO work and its terms such as SERPs, Sales Funnels, content marketing, image optimisation and video production. However, not everyone is familiar with the different types of keywords associated with SEO.

I still see confusion around keyword selection, difficulty and intent. Its no ones fault because there is so much content around the topic.

There are three main types of keywords associated with SEO. Let’s take a look at the different SEO keywords and their meanings.

Keyword Type 1: Broad Match Keywords

When focusing on broad match keywords, it is possible for a business to reach a large audience. Broad match keywords, ultimately, are broad search terms and, as a result, are often used in search by a large number of people.

Advantages of Broad Match Keywords

The great thing about broad match keywords is that search engines also look for relevant variations and similar phrases to the search terms entered by the user. In addition, spelling and grammatical errors are included in broad match searches.

Disadvantages of Broad Match Keywords

There are a number of drawbacks with broad match keywords. Firstly, because of broad match terms targeting a wide range of people, not all traffic reaching your website would be potential consumers.

In addition, because broad match keywords aren’t always very specific, they can make the quality of your website much poorer and could potentially have a negative effect on a business’ SEO in terms of content quality.

Keyword Type 2: Exact Match Keywords

The opposite of broad term keywords, exact match keywords are much more specific and focus on the minor details of a search term. This makes it much more difficult for your website to match the search terms exactly but when your website does succeed in matching the keywords, the traffic directed to the site is likely to be much more focused and, as a result, will most probably lead to a high number of conversions.

Advantages of Exact Match Keywords

Exact match keywords probably lead to more sales because the search terms are more specific and therefore, consumers are much better matched than with broad term keywords.

Disadvantages of Exact Match Keywords

The main disadvantage is that less traffic will go to your website. Your website will, therefore, need to include a number of different exact match keywords. That said, although the traffic would be fairly low, most of the traffic would be completely relevant. This can help to raise sales.

Keyword Type 3: Phrase Keywords

Phrase match is some between exact match and broad term keywords. Phrase term keywords will, ultimately, give you less traffic than broad term keywords but that traffic is likely to be more relevant.

Here is a recap of a conversation I had with a client around targeting keywords that 99% of other SEO’s would not recommend. My aim is always to provide the best choice for my clients. Low volume but high intent thats the money right there. I avoid the fluff and focus on the money. 

Keyword research is a fundamental part of any SEO campaign. In this article I have outlined a list of different types of keywords and how you can use them in your content marketing strategy. I hope you found the article helpful. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me on the START button in the header.