Last updated: September 2026
Wondering what are keywords? A keyword is a word or phrase that people type into Google to find information, products or services. It can be one word such as “plumber” or a full question such as “how much does a plumber cost in Melbourne”. DigiFix uses keywords to connect what Australians search for with the pages that answer them.
Key takeaways
- A keyword is the exact phrase a person types into a search engine, not the topic a business wants to talk about.
- Short-tail keywords bring volume and competition, while long-tail keywords bring specific intent and lower ad costs.
- Each page should own one primary keyword, placed in the title, headings and first 100 words.
- Keyword stuffing does not work, because search engines reward content written to help people.
- DigiFix retrofits existing pages so every section answers one buyer question in full.
Want a keyword plan that matches the services you sell?
What are keywords?
A keyword is a word or phrase a person types into a search engine to find something. Google calls the same input a search query, and the two terms mean the same thing in practice. Marketers also use the labels key phrase, SEO keyword and search term.
Keywords matter because they are how a search engine works out what a page is about. Google crawls a page, reads its words and stores them in an index. When someone searches, Google compares the query against that index and ranks the pages it believes answer the query best.
DigiFix treats a keyword as a promise a page makes. If a page targets “emergency electrician Clayton”, that page must answer the query in its first two sentences.
Four steps: a person types a query, Google matches the query against its index, Google ranks pages by relevance and quality, and the person chooses a result.
How a search query becomes a result
1
Type a query
2
Match intent
3
Rank pages
4
Result chosen
The same four steps in text:
- A person types a query.
- Google matches the query to its index and works out the intent behind the words.
- Google ranks the matching pages by relevance and quality.
- The person chooses one result, and pages that were never matched stay invisible.
Why do keywords matter for Australian businesses?
Most Australians are online, so the buying journey usually starts with a search. The Digital 2025 Australia report published by DataReportal, using Kepios analysis from January 2025, counted 26.1 million internet users in Australia, which is 97.1 percent of the population.
The catch is that most pages never get found. Ahrefs studied around 14 billion pages for its 2023 search traffic research and reported that 96.55 percent of pages get no organic traffic from Google at all. A page that never matches a keyword is not ranking badly, it is absent from the conversation.
Search also sits close to the moment of purchase. Google states on its own Google Ads site that 67 percent of users who encounter brands on social media are later influenced by Google Search to buy a different brand. That is the gap good keyword work closes.
What are the main types of keywords?
Keywords are grouped by how specific they are and how they are used on a page. The main groups are primary and secondary keywords, short-tail and long-tail keywords, and branded and non-branded keywords.
Primary keywords and secondary keywords
A primary keyword is the one term a page is built to win, usually the highest-volume phrase that matches the page’s purpose. A secondary keyword supports it and covers a related phrase a person might use instead. On a page about emergency plumbing, the primary keyword might be “emergency plumber Melbourne” and a secondary keyword might be “24 hour plumber near me”.
Short-tail keywords and long-tail keywords
A short-tail keyword is three words or fewer, such as “SEO tools” or “digital marketing”. A long-tail keyword is four words or more, such as “best SEO tools for a small plumbing business”. Short-tail keywords bring far more searches, but also the most competition and the highest cost per click in paid search. Long-tail keywords bring fewer searches, but the person behind the query already knows what they want, which is why they convert better. For a small Australian business, a page built on long-tail keywords usually earns its first enquiries months before a page chasing a short-tail keyword earns anything.
| Factor | Short-tail | Long-tail |
|---|---|---|
| Length | One to three words | Four words or more |
| Example | “web design” | “small business web design Melbourne cost” |
| Search volume | High | Lower |
| Competition | Heavy | Lighter |
| Buyer intent | Broad, often early research | Specific, often close to a decision |
Branded and non-branded keywords
A branded keyword includes a company name, such as “DigiFix SEO Melbourne”. A non-branded keyword does not, such as “SEO agency Melbourne”. Branded searches are easier to win because the person already knows the name, while non-branded searches reach people who have not heard of the business yet.
What makes a good keyword?
A good keyword balances demand against difficulty and matches what the searcher wants. Five factors decide whether a keyword is worth targeting: search volume, competition, cost per click, word count and search intent.
Five factors to check before targeting a keyword: search volume, competition, cost per click, word count and search intent.
Five qualities to check before you target a keyword
Search volume
Searches per month
Competition
How hard the top ten is
Cost per click
The price of one click
Word count
How specific it is
Search intent
Why they are searching
| Quality | What it measures | What to aim for |
|---|---|---|
| Search volume | Searches per month | Enough demand to justify a page |
| Competition | Strength of the current top results | A difficulty your site can pass |
| Cost per click | Price of one click in Google Ads | A click price your margin can carry |
| Word count | Words inside the phrase | Longer phrases for specific pages |
| Search intent | The goal behind the query | A page type that matches the goal |
Keyword difficulty estimates how much work it takes to reach the top ten organic results. Cost per click is the paid equivalent and also signals commercial value. Word count tells you how narrow the query is, and search intent tells you whether the searcher wants to buy, compare, learn or find a specific page.
Want a keyword plan built for your Melbourne business?
What are the four types of search intent?
Search intent is the reason behind a query, and it decides what kind of page should answer it. There are four main types: transactional, commercial, informational and navigational. Matching the page type to the intent is the biggest keyword decision a business makes.
| Intent | Example query | Best page type |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional | “buy espresso machine Melbourne” | Product or service page with pricing and a buy action |
| Commercial | “best espresso machine for a cafe” | Comparison, review or shortlist page |
| Informational | “how to descale an espresso machine” | Guide, tutorial or question and answer page |
| Navigational | “DigiFix blog” or “log in to Semrush” | The specific page or login the person wants |
Transactional and commercial queries pay the bills. Informational queries build trust and feed the pages that sell. Navigational queries matter for brand defence: if a customer searches a company name, the company should own the result.
How do you use keywords on a page?
Put a keyword where a search engine expects to find it and where a reader still finds the page useful. Seven places on a page carry the most weight.
- Page title. Lead with the keyword so the reader sees it in the search result, under 60 characters.
- Meta description. Write 140 to 155 characters that answer the query rather than tease it.
- URL slug. Use a short, readable slug that contains the keyword.
- H1 heading. Include the keyword once in the main heading on the page.
- H2 and H3 subheadings. Phrase them as the questions people actually ask.
- First 100 words. Use the primary and one secondary keyword early, inside a real answer.
- Body and image alt text. Use the keyword naturally, and describe images accurately in the alt attribute.
Eight places to use a keyword: title tag, meta description, URL slug, H1 heading, H2 and H3 headings, first 100 words, body copy and image alt text.
Eight places a keyword earns its place
Title tag
Meta description
URL slug
H1 heading
H2 and H3 headings
First 100 words
Body copy
Keyword first, under 60 characters
140 to 155 characters, answers the query
Short slug with the keyword
One H1 with the primary keyword
Questions people ask, related keywords inside
Primary plus one secondary, in a real answer
Natural use, plus descriptive image alt text
DigiFix on-page keyword placement map, September 2026.
The same eight places in text: the title tag, the meta description, the URL slug, the H1 heading, the H2 and H3 headings, the first 100 words, the body copy and the image alt text.
How often should you use your keyword?
There is no exact keyword density that Google rewards, so treat any guide that answers what are keywords with one fixed percentage as out of date. A practical range for a page of 1,000 words is four to five uses of the primary keyword in natural sentences, with secondary keywords used less often. On a 2,000 word page, seven to ten uses usually reads naturally.
The test is readability. Read the page aloud: if the keyword sounds forced, cut it. Google’s own guidance on creating helpful content asks businesses to write for people first, and pages written around a count rather than a question tend to fail that test.
What mistakes should you avoid with keywords?
- Keyword stuffing. Repeating a phrase until it stops reading like a sentence does not lift rankings.
- Chasing volume only. A high-volume keyword that does not match the page type brings traffic that never enquires.
- Mismatched intent. Sending an informational query to a sales page tells the search engine the page does not answer the question.
- One page, many keywords. A page targeting five unrelated keywords usually ranks for none of them.
- Ignoring local intent. Phrases such as “near me” and “in Melbourne” carry the strongest buyer intent for service businesses.
Quick keyword self check
| Question to ask | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Does the page open with the answer? | The first 40 to 60 words answer the question directly, with the keyword inside them. |
| Does one page own one keyword? | One primary keyword, with related terms supporting it. |
| Do the subheadings match real questions? | Headings are phrased the way people speak, and each section reads on its own. |
| Is the keyword used naturally? | Four to five uses per 1,000 words, in sentences a person would say. |
| Does the page type match the intent? | Buying queries reach a buying page, learning queries reach a guide. |
What does a keyword retrofit look like in practice?
Consider an electrical contractor in Clayton with a website built in 2021. The site ranks for the business name and almost nothing else, and the home page targets “electrician” on its own, which is too broad to win.
A DigiFix retrofit starts with a keyword map, then works through the site in a set order. First, the team lists the services the business actually sells and matches each to a primary keyword and two or three long-tail variations (about one week). Second, each service gets its own page, written so the first two sentences answer the query (two to three weeks). Third, existing pages are rewritten so headings become real questions (three to four weeks).
The cost of doing nothing is measurable: the business keeps paying for every click and stays invisible for the specific queries that are cheapest to win. You can read more about the team behind this work on the DigiFix about page.
Want to see keyword work that already ranks?
Frequently asked questions about keywords
What are keywords and why do they matter?
A keyword is a word or phrase a person types into a search engine. Keywords matter because they are the bridge between a search and a page: Google matches the query to pages that answer it, so a page that never matches a keyword cannot be found.
How many keywords should one page target?
One primary keyword per page, plus a small set of related secondary keywords that answer the same intent. If two keywords need different page types, they need two pages.
What is the difference between a keyword and a search query?
A search query is the exact string a person types. A keyword is the phrase a business chooses to target, usually a cleaner version of the same idea. Keyword research groups the variations that mean the same thing into one target.
Do keywords still matter for AI search and AI Overviews?
Yes. AI assistants and AI Overviews retrieve passages, so a page that answers one question clearly in its own section is easier to quote. Keyword work has shifted from repeating a phrase to covering the question fully in one self-contained chunk of text.
How long does it take to rank for a keyword?
Long-tail keywords can move within a few weeks on a site that already has some authority. Competitive short-tail keywords usually take six to twelve months, and sometimes longer if the top results are strong national brands.
Talk to the team that builds keyword plans for Australian businesses.
What should you do next?
Pick one page, confirm the keyword it should own, and check it against the eight placements and the self check above. Most Australian businesses find the same problem on the first page they review: a broad keyword, a mismatched intent and an opening paragraph that never answers the question.
If you would rather hand the work over, DigiFix builds keyword maps and retrofits existing pages for Melbourne businesses. Start with the DigiFix blog, or read these next:
- How to optimise website content for better visibility
- How to attract more customers with local SEO
- How to improve click through rate from search
- The ultimate guide to generative engine optimisation
Keywords remain the foundation of search visibility, and they now carry into AI answers as well. DigiFix is a Melbourne digital marketing agency working with Australian businesses on SEO, Google Ads, web development and AI automation, and a keyword retrofit is usually the fastest place to start.
