Keywords are search phrases and terms people use when looking for information, a product, or a service. Understanding different types of keywords and their purposes can allow you to use them effectively for your marketing strategies. An SEO agency in Kolkata, India can help find these types of keywords when performing keyword research. Accordingly, you can select the right type of keywords to select the right audiences.

Seed/Short-tail Keywords

These are short phrases to describe a topic broadly. They are the basis of keyword research and usually consist of generic terms.

Example – digital marketing

Pros – Have high search volumes and hence can attract huge traffic

Cons – Have high competition and hence quite difficult to rank for. They don’t have any buyer intent and hence don’t help in conversion.

Long-tail Keywords

These are longer and highly specific search phrases.

Example – digital marketing services for small businesses

Pros – They have a clear search intent. As a result, they help in higher conversion rates.

Cons – Compared to short keywords, they have a lower search volume.

Mid-tail Keywords

They fall between short-tail and long-tail keywords.

Example – digital marketing strategies

Pros – Have a balanced search volume and competition.

Cons – Since, their competition is moderate, they might not help in higher conversion. As a result, they need to be refined for improved targeting.

Primary Keywords

It is the main keyword of the page. These keywords are used strategically throughout the web page, such as in URL, Metadata, Headings and Subheadings, and the body of the content.

Example – For instance, we have used the primary keyword ‘create pillar and cluster pages’ for our blog ‘How can you Create Pillar and Cluster Pages for your Website’

Pros – Represent the core topic of the page and help search engines understand the context of the content.

Cons – These keywords should be supported by secondary keywords and related search phrases for a better understanding of the topic.

Secondary Keywords

These are closely related to the primary keywords. You need to use them throughout the body of the content to support the primary keyword.

Example – Taking an example of the previous point, for our blog ‘How can you Create Pillar and Cluster Pages for your Website,’ we have used secondary keywords, such as ‘steps to create pillar and cluster pages,’  ‘types of pillar pages,’ ‘content silos,’ ‘topic cluster,’ etc.

Pros – Using these keywords helps increase the chances of being ranked for more related search queries.

Cons – You should be mindful when using these keywords for individual web pages to avoid keyword stuffing.

Intent-based Keywords

These keywords are categorized based on users’ search intent.

Example – Keywords with informational search intent will include questions, such as ‘how,’ ‘why,’ etc. Other if the intent is transactional, it may include words, such as ‘buy,’ ‘for sale,’ etc.

Pros – Helps align content with user’s search intent.

Cons – Requires in-depth analysis of user intent to determine the intent behind different keywords.

Informational Keywords

The search intent of these keywords is looking for information. Searchers use these keywords when they want to learn about something.

Example – Keywords starting with questions, such as ‘how,’ ‘what,’ etc

Pros – Helps build brand awareness, drive traffic, and establish your brand as an authority in the industry.

Cons – Since they target audiences at the early stage of the buyer’s journey, they have lower conversion rates.

Navigational Keywords

These are keywords that searchers use when searching for a specific website or page.

Example – When searchers are trying to log in to software, any social media platform, etc

Pros – Help drive high-quality traffic to a specific location on a website.

Cons – Unless they target a specific search purpose, they might not have a great impact on SEO

Commercial Keywords

Searchers use them when researching products or services.

Example – Best digital marketing agencies

Pros – These keywords are used by searchers who intend to purchase specific products or services soon. Hence, it helps drive high-quality prospects.

Cons – Need to be supported by high-quality content, reviews, and feedback to rank effectively on SERP.

Transactional Keywords

The search intent behind these keywords is making a purchase or completing a specific action.

Example – They include words such as ‘near me,’ ‘buy,’ ‘for sale,’ etc

Pros – As they have strong purchasing intent, they have high conversion potential.

Cons – Might have high competition and, hence, can have high CPC (cost-per-click) for PPC ad campaigns.

LSI Keywords

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords are terms semantically related to main keywords.

Example – If the main keyword is ‘digital marketing,’ the LSI keywords can be ‘SEO strategies,’ ‘SMM strategies,’ etc

Pros – Help improve the relevance of your content.

Cons – Requires in-depth analysis to identify appropriate LSIs for main keywords.

Seasonal Keywords

These keywords are popular during specific times of the year or special events.

Example – ‘Christmas offers,’ ‘winter collection,’ ‘Big sale on New Year,’ etc

Pros – High search volume during specific seasons, events, etc. Hence, have the potential to increase conversion during those specific times.

Cons – These keywords usually have a short lifespan that lasts only during specific seasons and events.

Evergreen Keywords

These keywords have consistent search volume regardless of trends, seasons, or time.

Example – ‘Basic SEO strategies,’ ‘how to perform SEO’

Pros – Can help drive long-term, sustained traffic

Cons – Might have high competition and need continuous optimization to maintain SERP rankings.

Competitor’s Keywords

These are the keywords the competitors are ranking for. It would help you understand what the target audiences are searching for.

Example – Analyzing competitor’s websites to identify the keywords they are ranking for.

Pros – Help gain valuable insights about competitors and tap their traffic.

Cons – Have high competition and might be difficult to rank for.

Branded Keywords

These are search terms or phrases that contain the name of a brand.

Example – Google Business Profile, Google Search Console, Google Trends, etc

Pros – Have high conversion rates as users are specifically searching for the brand.

Cons – Might attract competition from similar resellers.

Product Keywords

These are keywords that directly relate to a product or a service.

Example – Keywords that include the name of a product, with or without a brand name, such as ‘Keyword Planner,’

Pros – As users are specifically searching for a product, they are highly targeted and help improve sales.

Cons – They are limited to specific product lines and may not attract broad audiences

Niche Keywords

These are highly specific keywords that target a small segment of the target audience.

Example – SEO agency for startups in Kolkata

Pros – Have a low competition but strong user intent

Cons – Have a limited search volume

Location-based Keywords

These keywords include any geographic locations.

Example – Keywords containing names of neighbourhoods, cities, states, etc

Pros – They are effective for local SEO as they are relevant for local searches. They may help in local sales conversion.

Cons – As they target specific regions, their audience reach will likely be smaller.

Low-competition Keywords

These are also called low-hanging keywords.

Example – These are keywords with a low or easy difficulty score

Pros – Easy to rank for and hence are ideal to rank new websites. It might be long-tail in nature.

Cons – Have low competition and might not drive huge traffic.

Exact Match Keywords

They are used in PPC ads. They refer to results that exactly match the keywords entered in the search bar.

Example – If someone searches for a specific term, any ad that contains the exact match of that keyword will only appear.

Pros – It helps attract relevant traffic with strong search intent. These keywords have high conversion rates.

Cons – Might limit audience reach. Further, avoid using exact match keywords in anchor text frequently, as it might lead to the risk of over-optimization.

Phrase Match Keywords

It will trigger ads when the search query includes the whole search phrase or its close variations.

Example – A phrase match for ‘SEO strategies’ might trigger an ad for ‘SEO strategies for startups,’ ‘SEO strategies for small businesses,’ etc.

Pros – Helps maintain a balance between audience reach and targeting.

Cons – Might appear for less relevant searches that contain the phrase.

Broad Match Keywords

These keywords are also used in PPC ad campaigns. They allow your ads to appear for related searches and variations of the main keyword.

Example – A broad match for ‘digital marketing’ can be ‘PPC campaign,’ ‘SEO strategies,’ etc

Pros – Increase audience reach

Cons – Might attract traffic of low relevance, and hence, can lead to higher ad spend.

Negative Keywords

These are keywords you can add to your PPC campaign. The purpose is to prevent your ads from appearing for these keywords as they are irrelevant to your business.

Example – For instance, if you don’t want to rank for keywords containing words such as ‘Free,’ ‘Cheap,’ etc., you can use them as negative keywords.

Pros – As they help prevent irrelevant traffic, they can lead to less ad spend. Further, they help improve Ad Quality Score. It will further help determine whether to display your ad over a competitor if both of you are bidding for the same keyword.

Cons – You need to update them based on search trends and intent regularly.

Customer-Defining Keywords

They represent a certain section of the audience.

Example – SEO strategies for startups, LinkedIn marketing strategies for professionals,

Pros – Helps create focused content to target a specific demographic of audiences.

Cons – You need to understand your audiences better to use the right keywords to target the right audiences.

Single-keyword Ad Groups

In this approach, each ad group targets a single keyword for better control over ad targeting.

Example – WordPress website development, WordPress website design

Pros – Helps improve quality Score in Google Ads

Cons – It might be time-consuming to manage the ads

 Action-Oriented Keywords

These keywords encourage users to take an action.

Example – ‘sign up,’ ‘download Ebook,’ etc

Pros – Have a high potential for conversion.

Cons – Requires persuasive content to prompt users to take the required action.

When selecting keywords for your SEO or PPC campaign, you should consider various aspects, such as your marketing goals, your target audiences, user intent, etc. We have discussed different types of keywords in the above section. However, you should understand that a keyword can belong to multiple categories. For instance, a secondary or LSI keyword can be long-tail or have different user intent. Complete Web Graphics is an experienced and trusted SEO agency in India that can perform keyword research for your business. Accordingly, we can help identify the right keywords to target for your SEO or PPC campaign to achieve your business goals.