What is a Keyword? The Foundation of All Your SEO

If SEO were a house, keywords would be the foundation. Without a solid understanding of what keywords are and how they work, any positioning strategy is doomed to failure.

Have you noticed that when you search for something on Google, some pages seem to read your mind and offer exactly what you need? That’s not coincidence. It’s the result of intelligent keyword research and strategic optimization.

What Exactly is a Keyword?

A keyword is any term or phrase that users type into search engines when looking for information, products, or services. They are the bridge between what people search for and the content you offer.

📝 Clear Examples of Keywords:

Short keyword: “pizza”
Medium keyword: “pizza delivery Madrid”
Long keyword: “best Italian pizzeria delivery Madrid center”
Question keyword: “how to make easy homemade pizza”

🔍 Why Are They So Important?

They are your users’ language: You speak how they search
Google uses them to understand your content: You tell it what your page is about
They determine your visibility: Without the right keywords, you’re invisible
They connect intent with solution: You link what they search with what you offer

The 4 Types of Keywords You Must Know

1. 🎯 Keywords by Length

Short-Tail: 1-2 words

Example: “shoes”, “marketing”
Characteristics: High volume, high competition, vague intent
Advantage: Lots of potential traffic
Disadvantage: Hard to rank, low conversion rate

Mid-Tail: 2-3 words

Example: “running shoes”, “digital marketing”
Characteristics: Medium volume, moderate competition, more specific intent
Perfect balance: Between volume and specificity

Long-Tail: 3+ words

Example: “Nike women’s running shoes”, “online digital marketing course”
Characteristics: Lower volume, low competition, high intent
Advantage: Easier to rank, better conversion
Ideal for: Beginners and specific niches

2. 🧠 Keywords by Search Intent

Informational (70% of searches)

Intent: Learn or get informed
Examples: “what is SEO”, “how to make bread”
Typical words: what, how, why, guide, tutorial
Funnel stage: Awareness

Navigational (10% of searches)

Intent: Find a specific page
Examples: “Facebook login”, “Amazon Spain”
Characteristics: Looking for a specific brand or site
Funnel stage: Direct traffic

Transactional (10% of searches)

Intent: Buy or perform an action
Examples: “buy iPhone 14”, “hire car insurance”
Typical words: buy, price, offer, discount
Funnel stage: Purchase

Commercial (10% of searches)

Intent: Compare before buying
Examples: “best antivirus 2024”, “iPhone vs Samsung”
Typical words: best, vs, comparison, review
Funnel stage: Consideration

3. 💰 Keywords by Commercial Value

High Value

Generate direct sales
Examples: “buy”, “price”, “offer”
High competition, high CPC

Medium Value

Close to purchase
Examples: “review”, “comparison”, “best”
Balance between competition and opportunity

Low Value

Informational, educational
Examples: “what is”, “how to”, “guide”
Low competition, easy to rank

4. 🏢 Keywords by Competition

High Competition

Domain authority (DA) needed: 60+
Time to rank: 12-24 months
Examples: “marketing”, “insurance”, “loans”

Medium Competition

Domain authority needed: 30-60
Time to rank: 6-12 months
Examples: “digital marketing Madrid”, “young driver insurance”

Low Competition

Domain authority needed: 10-30
Time to rank: 3-6 months
Examples: “digital marketing for dentists Barcelona”

Anatomy of a Perfect Keyword

✅ Characteristics of a Winning Keyword:

Sufficient search volume (minimum 100 searches/month)
Manageable competition for your domain authority
Clear intent that matches your content
Total relevance to your business or niche
Stable or growing trend over time

📊 The Keyword Score Formula:

Keyword Score = (Volume × Relevance) ÷ (Competition × Difficulty)

Volume: Monthly searches
Relevance: 1-10 how relevant it is to your business
Competition: Number of results on Google
Difficulty: 1-100 according to tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush

How to Choose Your First Keywords: Step-by-Step Method

🎯 Step 1: Define Your Audience and Goals

Key questions:

Who is your ideal customer?
What problems do you solve?
How does your audience speak?
What would they search on Google before finding you?

Practical exercise:

Create 3 buyer personas and list 5 problems each one has. Those problems will become your seed keywords.

🧠 Step 2: Brainstorm Seed Keywords

Sources of ideas:

Your experience: What do your clients ask you?
Your competition: What do they rank for?
Autocomplete tools: Google Suggest, YouTube, Amazon
Forums and social media: Reddit, Facebook Groups, LinkedIn
Your sales team: What objections do they handle?

Initial list (example for a pizzeria):

pizza, pizzeria, pizza delivery
Italian pizza, Neapolitan pizza
pizza Madrid, pizza near me
best pizza, cheap pizza
how to make pizza, pizza dough

🔍 Step 3: Expand with Tools

Free Tools:

Google Keyword Planner

Real search volumes
Related ideas
Competition data for ads

Ubersuggest (Freemium)

3 free searches per day
Keyword ideas
Basic competition analysis

Answer The Public

Questions people ask
Mind map visualization
Perfect for informational content

Google Trends

Temporal trends
Keyword comparison
Related searches

Expansion Process:

Enter your seed keywords
Export all suggestions
Filter by minimum volume (100+ searches)
Manually remove irrelevant ones
Group by search intent

📊 Step 4: Analyze Competition

What to evaluate in results:

Domain authority (DA) of top 10
Type of content that’s ranking
Average length of articles
Quality of existing content
Technical optimization of pages

Effective manual tool:

Search your keyword on Google and analyze:
Position 1-3: Are they very authoritative sites? (Wikipedia, Amazon, big brands)
Position 4-10: Are there sites similar to yours? Improvable content?

🎯 Step 5: Prioritize and Organize

Prioritization Matrix:

Keyword	Volume	KD	Relevance	Priority
”easy homemade pizza”	1,500	25	9/10	High
”Italian pizza recipe”	800	35	8/10	Medium
”pizza”	50,000	85	10/10	Low

Prioritization Criteria:

Easy keywords (KD < 30) with decent volume (500+)
High relevance to your business (8+/10)
Intent aligned with your content type
Improvement opportunities vs current competition

📝 Step 6: Create Your Keyword Map

Strategic organization:

1 main keyword per page
2-3 secondary keywords related
Long-tail variations to include naturally
Synonyms and LSI terms for context

Free vs Premium Tools

🆓 Free Tools (To Get Started)

Google Keyword Planner

✅ Direct data from Google
✅ Completely free
❌ Broad volume ranges
❌ Requires Google Ads account

Ubersuggest Free

✅ 3 daily searches
✅ Keyword ideas
❌ Limited to basic analysis

Answer The Public

✅ Excellent visualization
✅ Real user questions
❌ Only 2 free searches per day

💰 Premium Tools (For Professionals)

Ahrefs

✅ Largest database
✅ Very precise metrics
✅ Deep competition analysis
❌ Considerable investment

SEMrush

✅ Complete suite (SEO + SEM + Social)
✅ Robust competition analysis
✅ Position tracking
❌ High learning curve

KWFinder

✅ Simple and intuitive interface
✅ Very accurate keyword difficulty
✅ More accessible pricing
❌ Smaller database than Ahrefs

The 7 Most Costly Keyword Mistakes

❌ Mistake #1: Obsession with High Volume

The problem: Choosing only keywords with thousands of searches The reality: 10 long-tail keywords can generate more traffic than 1 impossible-to-rank short-tail

❌ Mistake #2: Ignoring Search Intent

The problem: Optimizing “buy shoes” in an informational article The solution: Align keyword type with content type

❌ Mistake #3: Keyword Stuffing

The problem: Repeating the keyword 50 times in 500 words The penalty: Google detects over-optimization and penalizes you

❌ Mistake #4: Only One Keyword per Content

The problem: Obsessing over one exact keyword The improvement: Use variations, synonyms, and LSI terms

❌ Mistake #5: Not Considering Seasonality

The problem: Creating “Christmas gifts” content in January The planning: Use Google Trends for strategic timing

❌ Mistake #6: Competing Out of Your League

The problem: DA 15 trying to compete with DA 80+ The strategy: Start with long-tail, build authority gradually

❌ Mistake #7: Not Tracking Results

The problem: Optimizing and not measuring progress The solution: Google Search Console + tracking tools

Your First Practical Exercise

🚀 Challenge: Find Your First 10 Keywords

Step by step (30 minutes):

Define your niche (5 min): Write in one sentence what you do
List 5 problems you solve (5 min)
Search each problem on Google (10 min): Note what appears
Use Google Keyword Planner (10 min): Look for volumes
Prioritize the top 10

Template to organize:

Keyword: ____________________
Volume: ____________________  
Estimated difficulty: _______
Relevance (1-10): __________
Priority: __________________

📈 What to Expect in Your First Months

Week 1-2: Research and keyword selection
Month 1: First optimized and published pages
Month 2-3: First appearances on Google (positions 50-100)
Month 3-6: Gradual rise in rankings
Month 6+: First page 1 positions for long-tail

Conclusion: Keywords as Digital Compass

Keywords are not just words you include in your content. They are your digital compass that tells you:

What content to create (based on real demand)
How to structure it (according to search intent)
Who to write it for (your target audience)
When to publish it (seasonality and trends)

🎯 Your Immediate Next Step

Before closing this guide, choose ONE long-tail keyword related to your business and do this exercise:

Search that keyword on Google
Analyze the first 5 results
Ask yourself: “Can I create better content than these?”
If the answer is yes: That’s your first target keyword

🚀 The Final Secret

The perfect keyword doesn’t exist. There exists the keyword perfect for you, in your current moment, with your level of authority and your available resources.

Start where you can win. Small victories build authority. Authority allows competing for more ambitious keywords. It’s a virtuous circle that begins with your first well-chosen keyword.