SEO Keyword Research – Best Practices You Should Know

When I started in SEO, keywords were stuffed everywhere: content, metadata, the footer, even hidden in the code in tiny or invisible text. Today that’s spam under Google’s policies (Google), and keywords play a different role: they show what people need, so you can build the right pages and answer the right questions. For tools and a step-by-step research process, see keyword research tools.

What are keywords in SEO?

Keywords are the words and phrases people type or say when they search. Search engines match them to pages that answer the query, and modern language models understand meaning, synonyms and context, not only exact words (BERT and beyond). Keywords are still how you plan content and measure progress (rank tracking), but the goal is qualified traffic, not positions alone.

Example: a store selling dog food and accessories could target “best dog food”, “dog toys”, “dry dog food” or “dog food online”. The more relevant searches you cover, the more of your range can be found.

What types of keywords are there?

Group	Type	Example (dog store)	Monthly searches (US, Mangools, 12-month average, Nov 2026)
Length and specificity	Short tail: broad, high volume, very competitive	dog food	237,000
	Long tail: specific, lower volume, easier, often better converting	best dog food for puppies	2,700
Intent	Informational: wants to learn	how much to feed a puppy	2,700
	Commercial: compares before buying	best grain-free dog food	1,600
	Transactional: ready to buy	buy dry dog food online	10
	Navigational: looks for a specific site	zooplus login	30
Brand	Branded / non-branded	royal canin puppy food	16,200
Season	Seasonal: peaks at certain times	dog coats (autumn–winter), cooling mat for dogs (summer)	10,800 / 42,500
	Evergreen: stable all year	dog leash	43,200
Location	Local: tied to a place	pet store near me	1,060,000
	Global or national: no place	pet store online	1,300

Short tail vs long tail

Short-tail keywords are broad and searched often, so many sites compete for them and results take time. Long-tail keywords are more specific and searched less often; together they make up most searches and are usually easier to rank for and closer to a purchase. “Long tail” is about low volume and specificity, not the number of words (Ahrefs).

Search intent

Intent decides what kind of page can rank: a guide for informational queries, a comparison for commercial ones, a category or product page for transactional ones. Check the current results before you choose the page type (search intent).

Branded keywords

Searches with your brand name usually bring you to the top if the brand is known. A new brand, or one with a common-word name, may need work even for its own name. Branded searches for other brands you sell (royal canin, purina) are valuable for category and product pages.

Seasonal and evergreen keywords

Seasonal keywords peak at certain times: dog coats in autumn and winter, cooling mats in summer, Christmas gifts for dogs in December. Check the pattern in Google Trends (Google) and publish 2–3 months before the peak (seasonal calendar). Evergreen keywords are stable all year and are the base of your category structure.

Local keywords

Local keywords include a place (“pet store Mokotów”) or have local intent without one (“pet store near me”). For them you need a Google Business Profile, consistent address and contact details, and location pages if you have several stores.

One keyword can belong to several groups. “Wojas red heels on sale online” is branded, long tail, transactional and seasonal at once.

Why do question keywords matter?

Questions (“what is the best dog food”, “which dog food is grain free”) show exactly what people want to know. People also ask boxes, featured snippets, AI Overviews and AI assistants answer them directly, and AI tools break complex questions into many sub-questions before picking sources (SEL). Use questions as H2s and FAQ entries and answer them in the first sentences below. More: voice and conversational search.

What about LSI keywords?

Google doesn’t use latent semantic indexing, and its John Mueller has said there’s no such thing as LSI keywords (SER). What matters is covering the topic: related subtopics, questions and terms an expert would naturally use (for dog food: ingredients, puppy vs adult food, allergies, portion sizes).

Where should you use keywords on a page?

Element	How to use keywords	Avoid
Title tag	Main keyword near the start, written for clicks	Lists of keywords (Google)
Meta description	Related keywords and a reason to click (affects CTR, not ranking)	Copying the title or stuffing (Google)
H1	The main topic or category name	The same H1 on several pages
H2 / H3	Subtopics and questions people ask	Headings written only for keywords
First paragraph	A direct answer that includes the main topic	Long introductions before the answer
Body text	Natural use of main and related terms, synonyms and entities	Repeating the exact phrase; hidden text
Image alt text	Describe the image; use a keyword only if it describes it	Keywords unrelated to the image (Google)
URL	Short, readable, with the main topic	Long strings of keywords
Internal links	Descriptive anchor text pointing to the page for that keyword	The same anchor for different pages

Plan one main keyword group per page, so pages don’t compete with each other; for stores, the category tree is where this starts (category structure). For more on writing, see writing SEO-friendly articles and the 7 biggest copywriting mistakes.

What are our best practices for working with keywords?

• Mix short and long tail across your site: broad keywords for the home page and main categories, specific ones for subcategories, products and articles.
• Put competitive keywords on your strongest pages, those with the most links and internal links, including the home page.
• Answer the query directly on the page people land on.
• Skip popular keywords that don’t fit your audience or offer; they bring traffic that doesn’t convert.
• Bold key information, not keywords, so readers can scan the page.
• For local searches, keep your Google Business Profile and contact details complete and consistent.
• Review keywords regularly: new terms, seasonal shifts and questions people ask AI change over time (Google).

FAQ

What is the difference between short-tail and long-tail keywords?

Short-tail keywords are broad and searched often; long-tail keywords are specific, searched less often and usually easier to rank for.

How many keywords should one page target?

One main keyword group (a main phrase with its variants and related questions). Other groups belong on other pages.

Does keyword density matter?

No. Use keywords where they read naturally; repeating them to reach a percentage can count as keyword stuffing.

Are keywords still important with AI search?

Yes. They show what people need. AI search adds longer questions and sub-questions that your content should answer.

Sources

• Google Search Central: Spam policies (keyword stuffing, hidden text)
• Google Search Central: Title links and Snippets
• Google Search Central: Image SEO
• Google Search Central: Creating helpful content
• Ahrefs: Long-tail keywords
• Search Engine Roundtable: No such thing as LSI keywords
• Search Engine Land: Fan-out rankings and AI citations