What is a Seed Keyword?
A seed keyword is a one or two-word-long keyword used as the starting point of keyword research. Bloggers develop the seed keyword into the short or long-tail keyword they optimize their content around.
Seed keywords are generally broad and general. They have a high search volume, making them very competitive. However, they do have unclear search intent. In the case of seed keywords that double as short-tail keywords, such keywords will be challenging to rank for unless your site has a high website authority.
Examples of seed keywords include:
- “Yoga” (for a yoga studio)
- “Recipes” (for a food blog)
- “Travel” (for a travel agency or blog)
- “Fitness” (for a fitness blog or business)
- “Internet marketing” (for an internet marketing agency)
The keyword discovery process begins with the blogger deciding on a seed keyword. Depending on your strategy, you can expand the seed keyword into:
- Short-tail and long-tail keywords
- Short-tail keywords, which you then expand into long-tail keywords
For example, a seed keyword like “yoga” can be expanded into short-tail and long-tail keywords like:
Short-tail keywords:
- Yoga poses
- Yoga classes
- Yoga benefits
- Yoga retreats
- Yoga equipment
Long-tail keywords:
- Best yoga poses for beginners
- Mental health benefits of yoga
- Yoga retreat destinations for relaxation
- How to find the right yoga class for you
- Essential yoga equipment for home practice
Optionally, we can expand “yoga” into the short-tail keyword, “yoga poses,” which we then expand into the long-tail keywords below:
- Easy yoga poses for stress relief at home
- Yoga poses for back pain relief and relaxation
- Yoga poses for better posture and core strength
- Advanced yoga poses to build strength and balance
- Best yoga poses for beginners to improve flexibility