In search engine optimization (SEO), it’s common knowledge that keywords are essential. However, topics can often be even more critical in driving traffic and achieving SEO goals. To understand this better, we must first define both keywords and topics.
Keywords are the words that people use when searching for something online. They can be exact matches, broad matches, or phrases that match, and they’re critical for driving traffic to your site. Despite their importance to an overall SEO strategy, sometimes search engines may pick up on keywords that have little to do with the actual topic at hand.
Conversely, topics offer semantic relevance and organize information neatly into a box. While they may be less specific than keywords, they provide a broader framework for a conversation. Topics are often described as keywords’ more insightful second cousin because they offer more meaningful insights and context than keywords alone.
By focusing on topics, you can create more engaging and informative content that resonates with your audience and drives more traffic to your site. So, while keywords are undoubtedly important, it’s essential to consider topics when crafting your SEO content strategy.
Why Topics Are Better Than Keywords for Your SEO Goals
Now that we’ve defined both terms, it’s a good exercise to discuss if either is more important than the other — and what both bring to the table. To be clear, this is not an endorsement to do away with keywords altogether. In fact, the best way to approach SEO content is to use keywords and topics to your benefit.
The trick to properly using both is understanding where their strengths lie. Keywords are crucial in determining what goes into the copy that appears on the website. In that regard, you could say that keywords provide a basic infrastructure for further building. Each page would then be structured around a specific keyword, offering the opportunity to create various landing pages.
Topics, on the other hand, are good for creating one overarching strategy that would all be compiled on one page. Instead of spreading keywords around a whole website, a topic would lead you to one specific page that could give a generalized feel of the content of an entire website. Using each strategy in tandem is an effective way to make a website easier to find and, once a user is there, easier to navigate.
3 Reasons Topics Should Be a Fundamental Part of SEO Strategy
While there are many factors that go into an effective SEO strategy, the use of topics has emerged as a key element. By creating content that is topic-centric and people-first, you can showcase your brand more effectively, attract more search traffic, retain existing users, and expand your customer base. Consider the following benefits of focusing on topics rather than keywords when creating content that converts.
1. Topics Help You Display Your Expertise
Google search quality raters review content and judge it based partly on expertise. The other metrics include experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. According to Google’s updated rater guidelines: E-E-A-T – or Double-E-A-T is now part of the updated search rater guidelines they’ve released.
- Everyday Expertise: When evaluating the content on a website, Google is now taking into account the everyday expertise of content creators. This means that Google is looking for content that not only demonstrates formal expertise but also reflects users’ everyday experiences and concerns. For example, if a website provides advice on parenting, Google will evaluate not only the authors’ credentials but also assess whether the content reflects the everyday experiences of parents.
- Authoritativeness: Authoritativeness has always been an important factor in Google’s evaluation of content, but with EEAT, Google is taking a more nuanced approach to assessing authority. This means that Google is looking for signals of authority beyond just formal credentials, such as awards, recognition from peers, and positive user reviews.
- Trustworthiness: Trustworthiness is another key factor in Google’s evaluation of content, but with EEAT, Google is looking for more than just a lack of spammy or harmful content. Google is looking for content that is transparent about its sources and methods, provides clear and accurate information, and demonstrates a commitment to ethical practices.
You’ll also see clearer guidance throughout the guidelines underscoring the importance of content created to be original and helpful for people, and explaining that helpful information can come in a variety of different formats and from a range of sources.
Google looks at the main content of a page to determine this. Keywords simply won’t get it done when it comes to showing off your industry knowledge. Information provided that qualifies as expertise will be topic-centric, people-first content. It will be content that answers questions and gives advice. Solving problems will encourage visitors to take action and enter your growth loops to generate more traffic and business for your company.
2. Topics Provide More Search Traffic
You have a goal to be one of the first-ranking search results on Google’s search engine results page (SERP); Google has a goal of making sure that the websites that pop up first on their search engine are the most authoritative. Some content creators think that painting with a broad brush will gain a wider audience, but it appears that the opposite is true. If there is something in a niche you are particularly versed in or curious about, lean into it.
This is where Google Analytics (GA) can make a big difference. GA allows you to get an in-depth look at the performance of your website. It can be as broad or as specific as you want it to be, as it is a tool that becomes more intuitive the more you use it and offers wonderful benefits for precise content creation. If your website isn’t performing the way you would like, GA provides clear-cut data showing where and why objectives aren’t being met to help you get back on track. Those findings can help guide the topics you should be focusing on.
3. Topics Allow You To Expand Your Customer Base
It’s easy to think of SEO content as specifically targeted content to a very specific audience. In some ways, that’s true, but not entirely. By using topics, you can generate interest from people who may have randomly stumbled on your site by searching through something else. Companies whose goal is to reach multiple audiences have done this to great effect. It also works for businesses targeting specific audiences. As long as the audience’s intent is aligned with your company’s North Star metric, this will support growth.
Ultimately, using keywords and topics together is a great combination, but focusing on topics, in particular, will take your brand to another level. Think about it this way:
- Keywords will only get people in the door looking specifically for you.
- Topics will get people in the door because you successfully showed them where their solution was before they even knew they had a question.
If you’re striving for optimization and content that converts, consider a topic-centric strategy to help meet your SEO goals.
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