Whenever you want to rank a page for a keyword, you need to optimize it in a proper way. This does mean that keywords should be added to the content you create. The problem is that in many situations beginners do not really know where these keywords should be added. At the same time, there are so many articles about the subject online that it is easy to end up a little confused.
The good news is that there are only 4 essential locations for the chosen keywords. Make sure that you only mainly optimize the page for a couple of keywords and add them to the following important locations.
Title
The blog post’s title is definitely the most important place where the keyword has to be added. This instantly showcases content relevancy. Some people try to be a little creative with their titles so it does not look like click bait. You can do both though and adding the keyword is something you should never forget when you optimize the page.
The considered keyword works best when added in the headline’s first 65 characters. This is because that is where Google will cut the title off in SERPs. Google does measure by a pixel width though and it was increased by around 100 pixels. However, it is better to be safe at all times so aim for 65 characters.
If the title is long, use the keyword at the beginning so it is not cut off. You can always get creative and do this in a way that also creates urgency.
Body And Headers
Keywords have to be mentioned at normal cadence in post body and in various headers. This practically means you need to add the keywords in your text in a reader-friendly, natural way. Do not overdo it as you might end up appearing like you are spamming for the search engines. Because of this, adding keywords should not be a main focus for you.
As content is created, the main focus has to be adding high value for the audience. Try to answer questions and be helpful. Keywords just have to be added naturally, as they fit the discussion.
URL
All search engines analyze the URL in order to learn more about presented content. This is crawled first so you want to optimize it with the appropriate keyword. Never add more than 2 keywords though. In most cases the best idea is to add long-tail keywords you want to optimize for. You can also add the long tail keyword in the URL and the main keyword in the text. Just make sure you do not forget to add keywords to URLs.
Meta Description
Some time ago the meta description was more important for ranking purposes together with meta keywords tags. Now the keywords tag is useless and the importance of the description is lower. However, what should be remembered is that the meta description is what appears in search engine results. Adding keywords in this part of the page is a very good idea as when people search for the keyword it will appear in the description with bold. This makes the page stand out and you end up increasing the possibility the user actually clicks to reach your page.