How to Properly Use Keywords in Hubs

Many online writers obsess over keywords, and with good reason. It is through keywords that someone searching for information online may find your Hub!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with keywords, they are nothing more than common terms and words that may be searched online. People add keywords to their Hubs by including them in titles, tags, and text.

Once you have chosen something to write about online, it helps to do a bit of preliminary keyword research. We recommend stopping by the Google AdWords Keyword tool and typing in the subject of the Hub you plan to write (check out a more complete guide to using the Google Keyword Tool here). Doing so will yield a series of similar search terms that people are commonly typing into Google that are related to the subject of your Hub.

Why is it useful to see some of the alternate terms that people are searching for when they're trying to find information on the topic you are writing about? By knowing what words people are using to search for your topic, you will be able to include them in your Hub, thus making your Hub more likely to show up in search results when people type those terms.

Here's an example: say you love bitter chocolate and write a great Hub on the differences between making bitter chocolate treats with Dutched cocoa and unprocessed cocoa. If you do some keyword research, you may find that a lot of people are searching instead for "dark chocolate." Dark chocolate and bitter chocolate are pretty much the same thing - you just called it something different - but knowing what most people call something helps, because then you can write something that more people are likely to be searching for.

The gist is this: knowing keywords for your subject and including them in your Hub helps.

That said, there is always the possibility of misusing keywords, or having too much of a good thing. Here is a quick overview of the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to using keywords:

Good use of keywords involves using keywords in your title (e.g. Whether to Use Dutched or Unprocessed Cocoa to Make Dark Chocolate Treats), in your tags (these are what you enter in along with your title in the first step of Hub creation, and can add later on by editing tags in the sidebar of your Hub in edit mode), and in your text.

When using keywords in your text, only include them where it makes sense - do not force it or interrupt flow.

In some cases, people abuse the use of keywords in order to get more traffic than they rightfully deserve. If, for example, one were to include keywords in one's Hub that have nothing to do with the Hub's content, they would be misleading people searching for information on that topic.

An example would be including keywords like "chocolate gift basket," "chocolate hampers" and "chocolate covered strawberries" in a Hub that is only about discussing the use of Dutched vs. unprocessed cocoa for baking and cooking purposes. The Hub is not about chocolate gift baskets, and by "stuffing" it with keywords that suggest otherwise, the author would be essentially engaging in false advertising. Doing this sort of misleading tagging and keyword stuffing could lead to moderation of a Hub... plus it is obnoxious to searchers.

Another misuse of keywords involves overusing keywords - even legitimate ones - to such an extent at which they actually interrupt the flow of a Hub. Repeating keywords so much that they look obviously repetitive, or make a Hub look spammy, will neutralize the value of your writing, distract readers, and cheapen your Hub - all of this could hurt its long-term potential for both garnering traffic and earning money. Over-use of keyword-heavy words or phrases may also result in moderation, as it falls under the category of being deceptive to searchers.

Keywords are very important when it comes to being found online, but what matters most is that you offer well-written, original, and useful information. Do feel free to use keywords to ensure that people who are searching for information covered in your Hub will find it, but do not go overboard. As a general rule of thumb, if you find yourself adding keywords just for the sake of adding keywords, you should probably stop.