SEO
How to Find a Website’s Keywords (Organic & Paid)
Contrary to some advice on the web, you won’t find a website’s keywords by viewing its HTML code or using the “find” function. You will need an SEO tool for that.
Dive in to see how to really find any website’s organic keywords (keywords that it ranks for in Google) and even paid keywords (keywords used to bid on Google Ads).
How to find any website’s organic keywords (yours, your competitor’s, and everyone else’s)
As mentioned above, you need an SEO tool for the job. Here’s how to find any website’s keywords in seconds with Ahrefs’ Site Explorer. You can:
- Enter any website’s URL. Adjust the mode to see keywords for the entire domain, a path, or the exact URL.
- Hit search.
- Go to the Organic keywords report. And there you have it—all keywords the website ranks for in Google.
Along with the keywords, Site Explorer will show you important SEO metrics like current position on the SERPs (search engine results pages), search volume, Keyword Difficulty (KD), and even the ranking history.
You can also play around with filters to limit the scope of data. For example, you can view the keywords with low difficulty or look for a specific keyword.
Where to go from here? Since you’ll likely discover a lot of keywords this way, it’s a good idea to learn how to choose the best ones for your website—and we’ve got a full guide on that.
How you WILL NOT find a website’s keywords
If you’re curious, here’s why you need a premium SEO tool.
An old method for finding keywords was to view a page’s HTML code and look at these two parts of the code:
<meta name=”keywords”>
– This is where SEOs used to put their keywords back in the day to tell Google what the page is about (and hopefully rank for those terms). Hardly anybody uses that now, so you won’t find much information there.<title>
– This determines the title of the page. This can be a hint as to what the page’s target keyword is as intended by the page’s creator. This means that a) the page may not rank for the keyword in the first 100 SERP results and b) you can see only one organic keyword (without any SEO data) one page at a time.
Another method is to use Google Keyword Planner. This solution is better but still not accurate.
GKP will show you a mix of keyword ideas based on a page’s URL, where you will find:
- Some organic keywords that the page ranks for, but you won’t know which. And you will likely get overestimated search volumes for whole groups of keywords instead of just one (learn more in our study).
- Topically relevant keywords that Google suggests you could run ads for. So not organic keywords a page actually ranks for.
Talking about keywords for search ads, let’s see how you can find those too.
How to find any website’s paid keywords
Some SEO tools allow you to see paid keywords (aka Google Ads keywords or Google AdWords). Here’s how you can use Site Explorer for that. You can:
- Enter any website’s URL. Again, simply adjust the mode to see keywords for the entire domain, a path, or the exact URL.
- Hit search.
- Go to the Paid keywords report.
Apart from keywords, this report shows you additional data like:
- The cost of the keyword (CPC).
- Search volume.
- The estimated traffic a page gets from a given keyword.
- The landing page for the keyword.
- The ad for the keyword.
And more.
FAQ
How to find good keywords for SEO?
There are a few methods for that:
- Look up your competitors’ keywords – You can then try to rank for the same keywords or use them to find similar keywords.
- Use keyword research tools – Keyword research tools uncover hundreds of keyword ideas, along with their SEO metrics, based on just one word or phrase.
- Study what topics resonate with your audience – This way, you can discover untapped keywords, topics that you didn’t know about, or topics that are just beginning to trend.
Learn how to use each method in Keyword Research: The Beginner’s Guide by Ahrefs.
What is keyword difficulty?
Keyword difficulty is an SEO metric that estimates how hard it would be to rank on the first page of Google for a given keyword.
At Ahrefs, we measure it on a scale from 0 to 100 (the hardest), and it’s based on the estimated number of websites that link to the top 10 ranking pages. The more domains link to the top 10 pages, the more backlinks you’ll need to get to rank.
That’s the basics. If you want to estimate your chances of ranking more accurately, you’ll need to count in a couple more factors, such as the authority of your website and whether you have the ability to match search intent.
Learn more about the topic in Keyword Difficulty: How to Estimate Your Chances to Rank.
How do I use keywords on my website?
Try to choose one target keyword per page—this will be the topic of the page. You will still be able to rank for many other relevant keywords (no need for keyword stuffing). Then craft your content with these SEO good practices in mind:
- Be relevant by aligning your content with search intent (content type, format, and angle)
- Be thorough by including common subtopics searchers expect to see
- Include the keyword in the title
Learn more about targeting keywords with content in On-Page SEO: The Beginner’s Guide.
Keep learning
Interested in learning more about SEO and keywords? Try our other guides:
Got questions? Ping me on Twitter.
SEO
Google March 2024 Core Update Officially Completed A Week Ago
Google has officially completed its March 2024 Core Update, ending over a month of ranking volatility across the web.
However, Google didn’t confirm the rollout’s conclusion on its data anomaly page until April 26—a whole week after the update was completed on April 19.
Many in the SEO community had been speculating for days about whether the turbulent update had wrapped up.
The delayed transparency exemplifies Google’s communication issues with publishers and the need for clarity during core updates
Google March 2024 Core Update Timeline & Status
First announced on March 5, the core algorithm update is complete as of April 19. It took 45 days to complete.
Unlike more routine core refreshes, Google warned this one was more complex.
Google’s documentation reads:
“As this is a complex update, the rollout may take up to a month. It’s likely there will be more fluctuations in rankings than with a regular core update, as different systems get fully updated and reinforce each other.”
The aftershocks were tangible, with some websites reporting losses of over 60% of their organic search traffic, according to data from industry observers.
The ripple effects also led to the deindexing of hundreds of sites that were allegedly violating Google’s guidelines.
Addressing Manipulation Attempts
In its official guidance, Google highlighted the criteria it looks for when targeting link spam and manipulation attempts:
- Creating “low-value content” purely to garner manipulative links and inflate rankings.
- Links intended to boost sites’ rankings artificially, including manipulative outgoing links.
- The “repurposing” of expired domains with radically different content to game search visibility.
The updated guidelines warn:
“Any links that are intended to manipulate rankings in Google Search results may be considered link spam. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.”
John Mueller, a Search Advocate at Google, responded to the turbulence by advising publishers not to make rash changes while the core update was ongoing.
However, he suggested sites could proactively fix issues like unnatural paid links.
“If you have noticed things that are worth improving on your site, I’d go ahead and get things done. The idea is not to make changes just for search engines, right? Your users will be happy if you can make things better even if search engines haven’t updated their view of your site yet.”
Emphasizing Quality Over Links
The core update made notable changes to how Google ranks websites.
Most significantly, Google reduced the importance of links in determining a website’s ranking.
In contrast to the description of links as “an important factor in determining relevancy,” Google’s updated spam policies stripped away the “important” designation, simply calling links “a factor.”
This change aligns with Google’s Gary Illyes’ statements that links aren’t among the top three most influential ranking signals.
Instead, Google is giving more weight to quality, credibility, and substantive content.
Consequently, long-running campaigns favoring low-quality link acquisition and keyword optimizations have been demoted.
With the update complete, SEOs and publishers are left to audit their strategies and websites to ensure alignment with Google’s new perspective on ranking.
Core Update Feedback
Google has opened a ranking feedback form related to this core update.
You can use this form until May 31 to provide feedback to Google’s Search team about any issues noticed after the core update.
While the feedback provided won’t be used to make changes for specific queries or websites, Google says it may help inform general improvements to its search ranking systems for future updates.
Google also updated its help documentation on “Debugging drops in Google Search traffic” to help people understand ranking changes after a core update.
Featured Image: Rohit-Tripathi/Shutterstock
FAQ
After the update, what steps should websites take to align with Google’s new ranking criteria?
After Google’s March 2024 Core Update, websites should:
- Improve the quality, trustworthiness, and depth of their website content.
- Stop heavily focusing on getting as many links as possible and prioritize relevant, high-quality links instead.
- Fix any shady or spam-like SEO tactics on their sites.
- Carefully review their SEO strategies to ensure they follow Google’s new guidelines.
SEO
Google Declares It The “Gemini Era” As Revenue Grows 15%
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, announced its first quarter 2024 financial results today.
While Google reported double-digit growth in key revenue areas, the focus was on its AI developments, dubbed the “Gemini era” by CEO Sundar Pichai.
The Numbers: 15% Revenue Growth, Operating Margins Expand
Alphabet reported Q1 revenues of $80.5 billion, a 15% increase year-over-year, exceeding Wall Street’s projections.
Net income was $23.7 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $1.89. Operating margins expanded to 32%, up from 25% in the prior year.
Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s President and CFO, stated:
“Our strong financial results reflect revenue strength across the company and ongoing efforts to durably reengineer our cost base.”
Google’s core advertising units, such as Search and YouTube, drove growth. Google advertising revenues hit $61.7 billion for the quarter.
The Cloud division also maintained momentum, with revenues of $9.6 billion, up 28% year-over-year.
Pichai highlighted that YouTube and Cloud are expected to exit 2024 at a combined $100 billion annual revenue run rate.
Generative AI Integration in Search
Google experimented with AI-powered features in Search Labs before recently introducing AI overviews into the main search results page.
Regarding the gradual rollout, Pichai states:
“We are being measured in how we do this, focusing on areas where gen AI can improve the Search experience, while also prioritizing traffic to websites and merchants.”
Pichai reports that Google’s generative AI features have answered over a billion queries already:
“We’ve already served billions of queries with our generative AI features. It’s enabling people to access new information, to ask questions in new ways, and to ask more complex questions.”
Google reports increased Search usage and user satisfaction among those interacting with the new AI overview results.
The company also highlighted its “Circle to Search” feature on Android, which allows users to circle objects on their screen or in videos to get instant AI-powered answers via Google Lens.
Reorganizing For The “Gemini Era”
As part of the AI roadmap, Alphabet is consolidating all teams building AI models under the Google DeepMind umbrella.
Pichai revealed that, through hardware and software improvements, the company has reduced machine costs associated with its generative AI search results by 80% over the past year.
He states:
“Our data centers are some of the most high-performing, secure, reliable and efficient in the world. We’ve developed new AI models and algorithms that are more than one hundred times more efficient than they were 18 months ago.
How Will Google Make Money With AI?
Alphabet sees opportunities to monetize AI through its advertising products, Cloud offerings, and subscription services.
Google is integrating Gemini into ad products like Performance Max. The company’s Cloud division is bringing “the best of Google AI” to enterprise customers worldwide.
Google One, the company’s subscription service, surpassed 100 million paid subscribers in Q1 and introduced a new premium plan featuring advanced generative AI capabilities powered by Gemini models.
Future Outlook
Pichai outlined six key advantages positioning Alphabet to lead the “next wave of AI innovation”:
- Research leadership in AI breakthroughs like the multimodal Gemini model
- Robust AI infrastructure and custom TPU chips
- Integrating generative AI into Search to enhance the user experience
- A global product footprint reaching billions
- Streamlined teams and improved execution velocity
- Multiple revenue streams to monetize AI through advertising and cloud
With upcoming events like Google I/O and Google Marketing Live, the company is expected to share further updates on its AI initiatives and product roadmap.
Featured Image: Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock
SEO
brightonSEO Live Blog
Hello everyone. It’s April again, so I’m back in Brighton for another two days of Being the introvert I am, my idea of fun isn’t hanging around our booth all day explaining we’ve run out of t-shirts (seriously, you need to be fast if you want swag!). So I decided to do something useful and live-blog the event instead.
Follow below for talk takeaways and (very) mildly humorous commentary. sun, sea, and SEO!
-
SEARCHENGINES7 days ago
Daily Search Forum Recap: April 19, 2024
-
WORDPRESS6 days ago
13 Best HubSpot Alternatives for 2024 (Free + Paid)
-
WORDPRESS7 days ago
7 Best WooCommerce Points and Rewards Plugins (Free & Paid)
-
MARKETING6 days ago
Battling for Attention in the 2024 Election Year Media Frenzy
-
MARKETING6 days ago
Advertising in local markets: A playbook for success
-
SEO7 days ago
Google Answers Whether Having Two Sites Affects Rankings
-
SEARCHENGINES6 days ago
Google Core Update Flux, AdSense Ad Intent, California Link Tax & More
-
AFFILIATE MARKETING6 days ago
Grab Microsoft Project Professional 2021 for $20 During This Flash Sale
You must be logged in to post a comment Login