In SEO, Keywords are ideas and topics that define the content of your site. In SEO terms, these are the words and phrases that searchers type into search engines, also known as “search queries”. Keywords are an essential part of an SEO strategy. Used as a basis for optimizing the writing and content of a web page, well-chosen, they drive traffic to a website. But how do you know which queries are of interest to Internet users and more particularly to your customers? How to choose your keywords well and how to avoid what is called keyword cannibalization? This is what we will see in this article.

Contents

What is search intent in SEO?
How does Google define search intent?
Why use buyer personas in SEO?
Identify the problems of his personas
How to choose your keywords in natural referencing?
How to avoid keyword cannibalization in SEO?
What is keyword cannibalization?
What to do not to cannibalize keywords?
What is search intent in SEO?

We call search intent in SEO the reason that prompts Internet users to type a certain query on Google. It is extremely important in SEO because it should be taken into account when doing your keyword research. Indeed, there is no need to create content to target a keyword that does not correspond to a search intention on the part of your target.

How does Google define search intent?

For each query typed on its search engine, Google analyzes the behaviour of Internet users. One of the important metrics in analyzing the relevance of content to a target query is bounce rate. Google considers that the page does not satisfy Internet users if the bounce rate is high. But beware, it happens that for some requests, Internet users are looking for different things. This can be the case with the following queries:

Little black dress: perfume or clothing
Orange: The fruit or the telephone operator
Avocado: The profession or the fruit
Jaguar: The car or the animal

Depending on the requests, Google will favour one or the other option. On the other hand, on long queries, it will be based on the vocabulary of the extended query to make proposals. Also, if you type “avocado peel”, you will have suggestions around the fruit and (fortunately) not around the professional.

Why use buyer personas in SEO?

By studying their customer profiles, the company can create offers that are perfectly suited to their typical buyer profile. It is also by studying the buyer personas that he will discover which keywords are used by his ideal clients. So,

how do you integrate a persona into an SEO strategy?

Take inspiration from the suggestions made by Google at the bottom of the page. A list of the different key expressions searched by Internet users is provided. This gives you keyword ideas for your future blog posts. Another solution to better understand your buyer personas: consult the search console. You will see the keywords that Internet users use to arrive on your site.

Identify the problems of his personas. Search intentions also help uncover buyers' needs or concerns. For example, for the query "create a hyperlink", Google offers queries such as:

How to create hyperlinks.
How to create a hyperlink on PowerPoint?
How to create an active link in an email?

The more content you create that relates to your buyer's personas, the more likely you are to attract traffic to your site.

How to choose your keywords in natural referencing?

Choosing a keyword is not done lightly in an SEO optimization strategy. Several elements are taken into account to define which keyword is to work on your site.

Here are 5 elements that will help you choose your keywords:

Keyword Competition: If some of the keywords of interest to your business are too competitive, go for keywords that are similar but less desirable. Focus on long-tail queries which have the advantage of more easily driving traffic to your site.

Be specific: Try to target your keywords. If you are selling motocross bikes, you don't have to try to get a top spot on Motorbike Request. Focus on the queries that are closest to your product.

Check the habits of your personas: As mentioned above, knowing the expressions used by your personas will allow you to know which keywords to choose.

Choose keywords that convert: Ideally, look for keywords that reach people close to the purchase. For example

How to avoid keyword cannibalization in SEO?

What is keyword cannibalization?

Keyword cannibalization is having multiple pages optimized for the same keyword. This can be the case for niche sites where the choice of keywords is quite limited or on sites that really want to stand out on a keyword and have decided to create content (too much content) on a keyword. precise. The concern is that Google may have problems determining which page to put should be best positioned in search results. For the site owner, the risk is to see a page on which he was not really betting for the conversion.

What to do not to cannibalize keywords?

Here are 4 solutions to avoid keyword cannibalization:

Create a canonical URL: The principle is simple, diversify the keywords processed and redirect these pages to the canonical URL created for the page that you want to be taken into account by Google. The user will have access to the content most relevant to him.

Create 301 redirects: Nothing prevents you from posting multiple pieces of content on the same keyword, but consider creating 301 redirects to direct visitors to the page that is most interesting for you and the Internet user.

Work on long-tail keywords: This is still the best solution to not only avoid keyword cannibalization but also to improve the SEO of your website. Remember that 80% of organic website traffic comes from long-tail phrases. So you should find something to avoid cannibalizing certain keywords while gaining traffic to your website.

Update an article rather than creating several: Updating your main article can be a solution to avoid having to create another article on the same keyword.

Either way, if your site is doomed to have many pages, use an SEO tool to track your keywords or keep a file of the main keywords you use. This will give you better visibility on the keywords already treated.

The basic keywords of the SEO strategy