Would a Reputable SEO Company in Singapore Say that Keywords Still Matter?

Have keywords lost their spark already? Are they no longer valuable for SEO?

Before, using the exact same keyword repeatedly in your content would have worked. These days, the only chance you’re getting if you continue to do this is your site being penalised. Search engines are becoming wiser than ever. And it’s all for giving users a positive experience. Which is exactly what you want to give your target audience too, right?

Keyword stuffing, as any SEO company in Singapore will agree with, will never be right. This doesn’t mean, though, that keywords are already obsolete. After all, you still need to use terms and phrases that would help search engine crawlers understand what your site is about.

The key is to use keywords properly and the ways you can do so have evolved over time as well.  You need not focus on the exact same keywords thinking it will make your site rank higher.

Tips for Using Keywords the Good Way

The SEO agency in Singapore that you’d hire for your campaigns should be able to educate you further on these tips below to using keywords the proper way.

1. Invest in long tail keywords.

Gone are the days when short, generic phrases would make good keywords. Well that is unless you’re working for an authority site that’s already established long ago.

Let’s break that down further. For example, ‘best burgers in Singapore’ may have worked for you well before, but due to the high competition these days, it will be way harder now to rank for this keyword. With that said, look for search phrases instead that are relevant to your business still but are more specific. This way, you’d have higher chances of ranking higher on search engines.

Also, by doing this, you don’t just target the long keywords, you also get to optimise for the short keywords related to your site. For instance, you may want to explore ‘best healthy burgers in Singapore’ or ‘best cheeseburgers in Singapore for the budget-conscious’. You still need to conduct research to come up with the best long tail keywords, but you get the idea.

The more specific you go, the better it is for your site. After all, users these days are also very specific when it comes to their search. They won’t just look for ‘birthday cakes’. They are more likely to type in ‘princess birthday cake for one year old’. This will make their search easier and they would be able to ensure that results match exactly what they’re looking for.

2.   Ensure keyword variety.

Again, the focus is no longer on a specific phrase. You need to add more variety to your keywords. Look into synonyms or alternative phrases that other users would use to find you. SEO services Singapore experts would also be able to help you on this.

Let’s say you have a mobile coffee bar business. Perhaps you can look into using ‘coffee van for rent in Singapore’ or ‘mobile coffee shop in Singapore’. You can also try ‘mobile coffee van’ or ‘coffee cart for hire’. Possibilities are endless. After all, these search terms are all still relevant to what you do.

Also, note that search engines these days concentrate on context. You don’t have to always put your keywords in one phrase. You can use them separately on a sentence or paragraph and crawlers would still understand where to classify your site under.

Don’t get too obsessed with search engines. Write the way people would love to read and the good will follow. Search engine would appreciate your site better.

3.   Spread keywords in your content naturally and sparingly.

There are many locations you can place your keywords on. And that means other than the body content itself. Take a look at your title, meta descriptions, headings, and alt text for images. Also, as we’ve mentioned, use synonyms too or alternative search phrases.

Don’t get this wrong, though. While your title and the meta description are good places to insert your keywords in, make sure that you do it sparingly. You don’t have to state your keyword more than once. If you find yourself falling for this, find ways to rewrite your tags so your focus keyword ends up being mentioned once.

For burgers, for example, you can consider using the word, buns. And do not just rely on what you think people would use to look for items or services you offer. Ask your customers, themselves, or your team members that face customers. What other terms do your target audience use in referring to your products?

How to Know If You’re Using Keywords Right

How would you know if you’re overdoing your keywords? Try these tips and make sure you do them before publishing your content.

• Read your content aloud. Have your content printed and read it out aloud. Imagine you’re talking to a single person, not a huge crowd. Is this the way you would normally speak? Do you sound too scholarly? You’d want your tone to be as friendly and conversational as possible, but professional still. Notice how you mentioned your keywords. Did they sound awkward? If yes, that means you may have to rewrite that part. If it’s fine with the ears, then you’re good to go.

• Spot weirdness. Is this the natural way you would use that phrase? Did you suddenly stop reading that part of your content as it feels forced? Does it seem that you’re overusing a specific phrase? Beware of these parts in your content. And make sure to revise as necessary.  

• Ask someone else read your content. If you wrote that piece, it will be harder to spot errors. Whether you like it or not, you may be biased. Do take time to ask what others think as well. Let that person be of less knowledge on the subject you’ve written about. If they understood your message and noticed no awkward phrase usage, then that’s a good start. But if they hardly learned anything from your content, then you probably would need to review your write up again.

Using keywords for your SEO campaign is still relevant. However, as SEO companies in Singapore you’re working with would tell you, old techniques would no longer work today the way they did before.  

You need to be more specific. You need to invest more effort studying keyword varieties with less competition but still with significant searches as well. And most important, always monitor the progress of your efforts.