If you have been recently searching for SEO services for your website and have gone through several SEO plans & packages of different agency websites then the first thing you would have noticed is number of keywords offered in each of the package.

And if you found it little hard to understand exactly what they are offering and how will it benefit you then this post will make things little clearer to you.

Keywords offered in different plans of search engine optimization services is the first thing one could notice. SEO packages of different agencies offer different numbers and different terms to describe those too. Let me guide you over the two key choices might come across in selecting the best one for you.

Choice No 1 – Keywords or Key Phrases to target

This is the first thing that may confuse a prospective customer. Some SEO websites mention keywords ranking while some say ranking of key phrases. What is the difference between the two? And is there any difference at all? Well, yes and no.

Both of the terms point more or less to the same thing. It is simply one of the ways to distinguish different forms of keywords. Let me give you some key differences to help you understand.

Major differences between keywords and key phrases are:

  • Keywords are short (2-3 words) – Key phrases are little longer phases (3-5 or 6 words)
  • Keywords are high volume – Key phrases are lower volumes
  • Keywords are tough to rank – Key phrases are relatively easier to rank
  • Keywords bring general traffic – Key phrases bring more targeted traffic

Irrespective of the differences or even considering those, when we start any SEO campaign for a new website then it’s the key phrases or long tail keywords that are targeted and ranked. This is because no website can straightaway rank for shorter keywords which are much tougher to rank. It takes months of optimization and link building efforts to make a website gain domain authority, relevance. Only after this, can a site aim to rank for those tougher keywords.

So, if you are starting SEO for your site then you need not worry that much about which ones your site is ranking for initially, but yes if those 2-3 words keywords are relevant for your business then sooner than later your agency will have to rank your site for them too. So, in the initial phase as well as later phases, what matters more is how relevant are your keywords or key phrases and what kind of traffic you are getting.

Importantly, when your site’s domain authority increase then you can easily target those high volume keywords and get more traffic. Yet, if it is of any consolation then long tail keywords or key phrases make up for more than half of search. And for a website aiming for rankings, these are more relevant, accurate and bring more targeted and relevant traffic.

Choice No 2 – Keywords optimization or Keywords Ranking

This is another set of terms which may bring some confusion to you. Let me explain the difference in very simple terms. Ranking of a keyword is actually making it rank on the search engine pages, which is ranking on top SERP page. SERP means search engine ranking pages. Optimization means doing all the groundwork to make the keyword rank. So, there’s not much of a difference, still there is a little difference.

Ranking is a more definitive term. It means you will get rankings for a set number of keywords. Optimization means preparing a set number of keywords for search engine rankings. Hence, there is always a possibility of all the keywords not getting top page rankings.

What you can also see is that few sites mention both the terms, and in that case, ‘keywords to be optimized’ are always higher than the ‘keywords to be ranked’. This is due to the reason I just explained above. Also, some SEO plans say that they will rank a specific percentage of the number of optimized keywords.

Even if the plan offers ranking, it cannot be achieved with proper optimization and right link building. And when you get those two right, your rankings will surely improve in two ways: one, you will get higher rankings for your targeted keywords, and second, your site will attract more keywords for rankings.

Conclusion

First. It does not matter whether you target keywords or key phrases as ultimately it is your website’s ranking capacity which will decide what rankings you get. What matters is how appropriately those key phrases or keywords are optimized. This also answers the second question of optimization vs. rankings. Your level of optimization & quality of links will ultimately decide your rankings. So, look for the services quality and you will gain from SEO.

Closing Thought

Just to make it more clear or interesting for you.
If two search optimization agencies provide equally best of services then what will you choose if one offers lesser number of keywords to be ranked and other offers much higher number of key phrases to be optimized?

Well, if you ask me, I might go for second option as that will give me more opportunity to bring relevant traffic, a traffic which increases the chances of getting leads. And since the service quality is good, I will rank for those keywords.