John Mueller Shares Advice On Ranking For Head Term Keywords

Online businesses and site owners usually choose the highest SEO keyword search volumes to use in their content. However, Google’s John Mueller advised new websites to use a unique approach to rank for head term SEO keywords.

Head Term Keyword Phrases

Head terms – or head keywords – are key phrases with a high search volume. These keywords can help site owners maximise organic traffic and aid them in getting ahead of competitors. Head terms are popular and have a high search volume because they usually focus on well-known concepts or broad topics. Head terms can be extremely short searches, and they sometimes consist of only one word.

On the other hand, long-tail phrases are search queries with a low search volume. In SEO, however, the number of words in the search query does not matter; a high SEO keyword search volume is what’s important.

Head terms in SEO can represent any niche or industry. Marketers and online businesses usually get the most out of head terms because simple and short keywords can represent their core business. Head keywords can also be the key factor in driving traffic to a website, particularly for new domains.

Ranking For One-Word Search Queries

A person recently asked Mueller about ranking for search terms that have a lot of traffic. They shared that they saw a website – which they perceived as poor quality – ranking high in the search engine results pages (SERPs). The site contains one video with thousands of comments, but it still ranked as the first result in the SERPs.

Meanwhile, the person perceived their website as higher quality, and they wondered why it would rank lower. Moreover, many other higher-quality websites rank lower than the first result.

The publisher did more research on the website that they perceived as low-quality. They found out that the query for the result was “programming”, and there is a lot of authority in their niche.

Mueller told the publisher that the search query “programming” was so ambiguous that there is no absolute right or wrong when using the keyword to rank a website. The ambiguity makes single-word search queries problematic because the user’s intent could be so many things.

When a user types in “programming” in Google’s search box, the system might display many results irrelevant to the user’s intent. The results could also be somewhat mixed. Therefore, one cannot ensure that Google will rank their web page number one if they create content using a vague single-word search query.

Mueller recommends that online businesses and site owners focus on key phrases with less competition instead of aiming for high-volume SEO keywords, especially if their website is new. He recommends focusing on other important things like writing about a topic with very little competition.

By following this advice, one can gain enough experience over time and understand how things work in the SEO industry. They should also determine the kind of content that would do well for search and how users react to the content.

If SEOs keep on building that up, they will soon realise over time that they are focusing on ranking for head terms and shorter queries that users tend to search for a lot. This approach also helps one build a foundation. For instance, they can make the most of the commonly asked questions about programming and create excellent content about it, and this would eventually help them rank well in the SERPs.

Once they have built a solid foundation in their niche, it makes sense to expand the subject into a broader topic. The site owner or publisher could also try to find more topics with less competition but with enough people searching for them. Continuously making relevant content is one of the best things that one can do to keep a website running and growing.

Focusing on targeted key phrases with clear search intent is a great strategy. Generally, fewer people type one-word search queries in Google’s engine box, meaning one-word queries are no longer head terms; they are just ambiguous and do not help one’s SEO that much. For instance, the Google Trends tool tells SEOs that 50 per cent less people are using the word “programming” when typing in Google’s search box compared to users five years ago.

One-word and two-word search queries had a lot of search inventory in the past. However, user behaviour and the way they search has changed. As a result, one-word questions do not appear to be head-terms anymore. Moreover, expert SEOs do not associate them with high traffic.

Google uses query refinement features to guide its users to make more accurate search queries and find relevant content for their questions. Mueller’s approach can be satisfying for both publishers and users. With this approach, a searcher is more likely to find the specific answer they are looking for. Specific search queries also have higher chances of getting more clicks and sales.

Find Head Terms For SEO

For online businesses and site owners who are looking to start or improve their current SEO, head terms will become an inevitable part of their keyword research.

Before making content for a website, one should conduct keyword research. It is an important starting step that allows one to find the most significant key phrases that are relevant to the site’s niche. The publisher should target the keywords from the research to build their site’s content.

Here at Position1SEO, we are experts in conducting keyword research and writing relevant content for your website. You can target any kind of key phrase at any competition level when working with us, and we can still guarantee you a position on Google’s Page 1.

Our professional team will optimise your pages, preparing your website for Googlebot crawling. Some of our typical areas of work include improving your website’s performance, accessibility, and load speed. We can also completely manage your Google Search Console and set up your Google Local for you

If you are interested in our services, you can get in touch with us on 0141 846 0114 and at office@position1seo.co.uk.