{"id":19994,"date":"2020-01-28T11:46:01","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T11:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/keyword"},"modified":"2026-09-14T13:26:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T13:26:40","slug":"keyword","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/keyword","title":{"rendered":"Keyword"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Keyword\" class=\"boxpad wp-image-22971 size-full alignright\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/keyword.jpg\" style=\"margin-top:0;\" width=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/keyword.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/keyword-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>keyword<\/strong> is a word or phrase used in digital marketing to identify a search topic and guide content or advertising campaigns. It may consist of one or more words.<\/p>\n<p>A keyword selected for a strategy should be distinguished from the query that a person types or speaks into a search engine. They may match, but a single page can answer different related queries, and an advertising keyword can match different searches depending on its settings.<\/p>\n<p>In SEO, keywords help identify the information an audience is looking for and how to organize content. They are not a tool in themselves, and simply repeating them is not enough to rank a page. In search advertising, they are used to guide the eligibility of ads for particular queries.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Types of keyword<\/h2>\n<p>The terms short tail, medium tail, and long tail describe different parts of search demand. They are often associated with how broad or specific a term is, but there is no universal word count that determines each category.<\/p>\n<p>This classification can be summarized in three groups:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Short tail:<\/strong> terms in the most concentrated part of demand, usually broad and frequently searched. They may express different needs, but they are not necessarily useless for attracting customers or always the most difficult to rank for.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Medium tail:<\/strong> a practical label for terms between those with the highest demand and those searched less frequently. Its boundaries are not standardized and do not automatically indicate competition.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Long tail:<\/strong> the large set of queries that individually have low demand. Many are specific, but they are not defined by having four or more words. A short, infrequent query can also belong to the long tail.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Targeting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/long-tail\">long tail<\/a> can help address specific needs, but few searches do not mean easy rankings. Difficulty depends on the existing results, intent, the quality of the answer, and the characteristics of competing websites.<\/p>\n<p>The choice should not be based solely on whether a website is new, either. Relevant terms are those related to its content, products, or services and the needs it can actually address.<\/p>\n<h2>How to conduct keyword research<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/keyword-research\">Keyword research<\/a> starts by defining the offering, audience, language, and geographical market. This information is used to prepare an initial list of topics and phrases, which is then expanded and checked.<\/p>\n<p>Search intent helps interpret what a user expects to find. It can be informational, when seeking an explanation; navigational, when trying to reach a particular website; commercial investigation, when comparing alternatives; or transactional, when intending to take an action such as buying or hiring a service. A query may combine intents, which cannot always be inferred from an isolated word.<\/p>\n<p>Search results in the target market should be reviewed to identify which pages and formats answer each query. A product page, a category page, and a guide can address different needs even when they share vocabulary.<\/p>\n<p>These three tools can help expand and analyze the list:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Google Trends:<\/strong> compares relative search interest across terms, periods, and locations. Its normalized values do not represent a monthly search count.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Google Keyword Planner:<\/strong> provides ideas and estimates of searches and advertising costs within Google Ads. Advertising competition should not be interpreted as organic ranking difficulty.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ubersuggest:<\/strong> provides term suggestions and estimated SEO metrics. Features and limits depend on the access available; it should not be presented as an entirely free tool without restrictions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/trends\/answer\/4365533?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">explanation of Google Trends data<\/a> details how interest is normalized from 0 to 100. A value of 100 indicates the relative maximum within the selected dataset, not one hundred searches or a universal market share.<\/p>\n<p>Volume, cost per click, and difficulty scores serve as reference points, but they measure different things. Estimates depend on the source, location, and period; they do not guarantee visits or sales. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/google-ads-agency-spain\">Google Ads<\/a>, the actual cost also depends on auction and campaign conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Once selected, terms are grouped by intent and assigned to existing or proposed pages. There is no need to create a URL for every variation: several queries can be answered on one page when they share a need. The research findings should guide content and its organization, rather than remain a list sorted by volume.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Definition: A keyword is a word or phrase used in digital marketing to identify a search topic and guide content or advertising campaigns. It may consist of one or more words. A keyword selected for a strategy should be distinguished from the query that a person types or speaks into a search engine. They may [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[1237],"class_list":["post-19994","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-keyword-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/19994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=19994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}