If you are into SEO, then you have most probably used keyword modifiers before and did not even know it.
Keyword modifiers are those useful words that can make your broad keywords more specific. With the help of modifiers, you’re targeting long-tail keywords that are less competitive.
We will talk more about that later.
In this blog post, we will cover the types of keyword modifiers and how they can improve your visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).
What are Keyword modifiers?
A keyword modifier is an extra word that adds more detail to your keyword.
For example, if you’re seed keyword is ‘shoes’, adding modifiers can make it ‘Running shoes for women’. In this case, the words ‘Running’ and ‘Women’ are called keyword modifiers
The beauty of modifiers is that once you find one, you can replace it with other words to create more keywords for your strategy.
In our example case , it can be ‘Women’s hiking shoes’ or ‘Men’s running shoes’ and so on.
Type of Keyword Modifiers
Here’s the thing: there is no book that says, ‘These are X types of keyword modifiers for SEO’.
Just to make it easier for you to understand this concept of keyword modifiers, we’re talking about the types of modifiers. Here we have divided keyword modifiers into various categories based on their search intent, value, etc.
Now, let’s look at these modifier types and how you can apply them to your SEO.
1) Branded keyword modifiers
Branded modifiers can a great addition to your keyword research if you’re in a niche that’s competitive.
For instance, if you’re targeting to sell one kind of product from multiple brands, then you can use brand names as modifiers to target customers with their search queries.
For example:
- ‘Adidas running shoes for men’
- ‘Nike running shoes for men’
By using brand names, you’re narrowing down your audience and directly attracting loyal brand customers to your content.
It was found that branded keywords drive 66.1% of conversions on your website, compared to 33.9% for non-branded keywords.
2) Time Modifiers
Time modifiers allow you to add time to your keywords, enabling you to target specific time-sensitive or seasonal search terms.
Examples include:
- Summer Tops for Women
- Best Valentine’s Day gifts
According to Google Trends data reveals that searches with time modifiers tend to increase during the relevant periods. For instance, the searches related to ‘Black Friday deals’ reached 100 (peak popularity) in November compared to 1 (least popularity) in other months.
3) Feature Modifiers
Feature modifiers are those words that highlights characteristics of a product or certain attributes of what people are searching for.
For example:
- Portable Bluetooth speakers
- Ergonomic office chair
- Gluten free cookies
4) Size Modifiers
Size modifiers are the words that can represent actual size, length, ratios, or even percentages of a product and these modifiers can be helpful for users to locate the specific item they are looking for.
Examples include:
- King-size mattress
- Large dog crates for Great Danes
Size modifiers help you target specific customer needs relating them to your product or service. For example, ‘small business loans’ have a different purpose than just business loans.
5) Price Modifiers
Price modifiers is self-explanatory, they help searchers sort out their products or services according to their own pricing.
Examples include:
- Running shoes for men under $200
- Luxury watches under $1000
- Free SEO tools for beginners
Price modifiers can help you come up with keywords where you can see lot of commercial intent and obviously the clicks you generate from these type of keywords are likely to convert into sales.
6) Adjective Modifiers
Adjective modifiers are those words used to describe the quality, condition or type of a product or service.
For example:
- Quick and easy dinner recipes
- B2B Content Writing Services
Adjective modifiers can help you come up with keywords that focuses on specific customers with preferences.
7) Niche Modifiers
Niche modifiers are the keyword additions that narrow down or define your target audience within your niche.
Examples include:
- Yoga mats for daily yoga
- Gluten-free birthday cakes for kids
- Ergonomic office chairs for back pain
8) Geographical modifiers
If you want to attract local clicks through your content, then geographical modifiers are the right choice.
Here you will use locations as modifiers to target searches based on specific areas. For example:
- Best yoga classes in Chicago
- Best digital marketing institutes in Toronto
Google’s local searches contribute 22.5% of its traffic, so these geographical modifiers can be a great addition to your strategy.
Benefits of Keyword Modifiers for your SEO
When used properly, keyword modifiers are very helpful in the research and targeting for SEO. Not to mention, using them effectively can increase your chances of ranking in SERPs.
Keyword modifiers can come in handy when it comes narrowing down your keyword search in the initial stages of a website’s SEO and niche selection process.
1) They help you come up with keyword variations
Stuck with your keyword research? Modifiers can be your way out.
When you are doing your keyword research stuck with high-competition keywords or broader search terms, modifiers can be a game changer.
It is possible to find some new keywords in your niche with the help of modifiers.
With the help of keyword modifiers, you can find a ‘n’ number of keywords that you may not have even thought of before.
Note: You can use tools such as AnswerThePublic or Ubersuggest to generate modifier ideas.
2) It is easier to rank them
Keyword modifiers are a form of long-tail keywords, and it is a known fact that long-tail keywords are less competitive compared to broad keywords(short) in SEO.
Anyhow you have to keep in mind that these modified keywords usually have lower search volumes, but when you look into the long-term they help you save time and effort that could have gone wasted if you’ve chosen to go with keywords where you don’t stand a chance to rank.
Thus, modifier keywords are those words that saves your time and help you guide your content strategy in the right direction where there is less competition and comparatively easier chance to rank.
3) They can help you generate more leads
Keyword modifiers don’t just help you rank – they help you convert (because they target specific audience segments).
When someone enters a specific keyword into the search engine (for instance, ‘best budget-friendly noise-cancelling headphones for students’), they are likely to be in the decision making stage.
If you can use your modifiers effectively, you can then target buyers in different stages of the buying process using good content.
According to The HOTH, long-tail keywords can improve conversion rates compared to head terms.
4) They assist you in sorting your content types
For example, modifiers like ‘how to’, ‘guide’, or ‘tutorial’ tells you that users want to learn and are in full on tutorial mode.
On the other hand, modifiers like ‘Reviews’ or ‘vs’ suggest that searches are looking for a comparison type of content to make a decision.
With keyword modifiers, you will have a clarity of what type of content to create. Thus making it easier for you to start working on content that is helpful, relevant, and, most importantly optimized content, that Google loves.
How To Use Keyword Modifiers To Rank in SERPs
Using keyword modifiers isn’t rocket science, but it does take some strategy. It’s like cooking – you’ve got your main ingredient (your seed keyword), and now you’re going to add some spices (modifiers) to make it better.
So, let’s talk about using keyword modifiers in your SEO strategy
1) Start keyword research with your seed keyword
Every great keyword strategy starts with a seed keyword in your niche. Your seed keyword is like the starting point for your keyword research.
First, you begin by brainstorming seed keywords related to your niche. For example, if you’re in the fitness industry, your seed keywords might be ‘workout,’ ‘fitness,’ or ‘exercise.’
You can use Google autocomplete (or) paid tools like Ahrefs to get ideas and move from seed keywords to modifier types that you can use later.
2) Select your target audience for your niche
In any SEO strategy, understanding your audience is crucial in targeting and this is where you begin to get clues on more keyword modifier ideas.
Think about factors that can segment audience like these:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Interests
- Pain points
For example, if you are targeting busy moms through your content, you may use words such as ‘fast’, ‘simple’, or ‘mom’s choice’.
3) Add your keyword modifiers
From the above two steps, you should have a list of keyword modifiers that you can use to come up with core keywords for your SEO. Also, make sure to use the different types of keyword modifiers from our list mentioned earlier.
Here is the fun part – you can mix and match modifiers to create keyword variations to target.
For example:
Seed keyword: ‘workout’
- Time modifier: ‘30-minute workout’
- Feature modifier: ‘HIIT workout’
- Niche modifier: ‘workout for beginners’
Don’t be afraid to combine multiple keyword modifiers: ’30-minute HIIT workout for busy moms’
You can use a keyword research tool such as Ahrefs to look for search volumes, keyword difficulty scores, and SERPs analysis for your new keywords.
4) Use the primary keyword (from keyword modifiers) to create and do on-page SEO
After you have decided on your primary keyword using modifiers – it is time to use them in your on-page SEO.
Select the main keyword that you finalised, write your content and do some on-page SEO optimizations like:
- Meta Title & Meta Description
- Heade Optimization
- Sprinkle keywords from your research throughout your content
- URL optimization
- Image Alt Text
Note: If you have an existing piece of content and came across relevant modifiers for your piece. Then you can add your new keywords/secondary keywords obtained from modifiers into your on-page SEO strategy.
Ensure that you use related keywords, variations, and NLP keywords in your content. This will assist Google to better understand your topic and can lead to improved rankings for several other related keywords.
Wrap Up
Keyword modifiers might be add-ons to your seed keywords, but they can be quite valuable if you integrate them rightly into your SEO campaigns.
Here are a few things to keep in mind about keyword modifiers:
- Modifiers help you discover the untapped keywords in your niche
- They make ranking easier by targeting lesser competitive keywords
- They attract users who are more engaged with your content
At PullingOffStrategies, we believe SEO isn’t about gaming or manipulating search engines – it’s about giving users exactly what they’re looking for. This is where keyword modifiers, along with quality content writing and SEO optimisations, can help you rank in search engines like Google.
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