Keyword

How do you choose keywords?

You choose keywords by looking at three things together: how many people search for them, how much competition there is, and what the searcher is trying to do. Look at only one of the three and it's easy to pick a term lots of people search that brings in no customers, or one with no competition that nobody searches for.

For a small business, the most realistic combination is "area + business type + detail." "Mangwon-dong pasta" beats "pasta," and "Mangwon-dong pasta group booking" beats that: less competition, and the customer's intent is clearer.

It's a good idea to actually search the keywords you've picked. Whether the top is packed with blog reviews or shows business websites tells you whether it's a term worth targeting with your website.

At first, picking as many as you have pages is plenty. With 6 pages, start with 6 keywords, one per page, then expand through blog posts.

Why does search intent matter when choosing keywords?

Search intent is what the customer is trying to do with that search. Even in the same industry, a customer who's "just looking into it" and one who "wants to book today" type different words and want different pages.

Search engines and customers are only satisfied when you connect them to a page that fits the intent. Show a long informational article to someone ready to book, or a page with nothing but a booking button to someone still researching, and they'll leave quickly.

You can guess the search intent by looking at the actual search results. If the top is full of informational blog posts, it's likely an informational search; if a map and list of businesses come first, it's likely a "visit" search.

On Naver, blog and Cafe posts take up much of the top of the results, so it can be hard to target every keyword with your website alone. In that case, split the roles: your website handles searches for your business name, booking and prices, and blog posts handle informational keywords.

How do you research keywords on Naver and Google?

There are several tools you can start with for free. Tools that show search volume as numbers require an ad account; for the rest, all you need is the search box plus Search Console and Search Advisor.

The search volumes these tools show are estimates. It's enough to use them to compare "which phrasing people use more" rather than reading too much into the numbers themselves.

Before launch, when you have no search data yet, looking at the page titles on competitors' websites is another option. But rather than copying them as is, use them to stand out by adding details unique to your business.

1. 01Write down about 20 phrases customers have used, word for word, in calls, DMs and reviews.
2. 02Type each one into the Naver and Google search boxes, and copy down the autocomplete suggestions and related searches.
3. 03Compare monthly search counts in the keyword tool of Naver Search Ads. You need a Search Ads account to use it.
4. 04Check Google search volume with Google Ads Keyword Planner. You need to finish setting up a Google Ads account to use it.
5. 05After launch, check the terms that actually brought visitors in the Queries tab of Search Console's Performance report and in Search Advisor's Top 30 search keywords.
6. 06Sort the keywords you've collected by page and make a "this page targets this term" table.

Where on the page should keywords go?

It's enough for keywords to appear naturally in the page title, the main heading at the top of the screen, the first paragraph, subheadings and photo descriptions (alt). Search engines look at these spots to work out what the page is about.

You don't need to repeat the exact same words. Google explains that even when customers search with different words, like "charcuterie" and "cheese board," it can match the language and find relevant pages. Mixing phrases like "one-day taster class" into a "one-day class" page also makes it easier to read.

Stuffing words into the meta keywords tag doesn't work. Google has stated that it doesn't use this tag in search.

• Page title: "Couple Ring One-Day Class | Orb Studio, Seongsu"
• Main on-screen heading (h1): "Couple Ring One-Day Class"
• First paragraph: "At Orb Studio's couple ring class in Seongsu-dong, the two of you make your own silver rings over 2 hours."
• Photo description (alt): "Engraving initials inside a silver ring"
• Page URL: /class/couple-ring

What happens if you use the same keyword on several pages?

When several pages target the same keyword, it becomes hard for search engines to decide which page to show. Google treats similar pages as a group and picks one representative page from it to show, so it may pick a page you didn't want.

For example, if a Pilates studio has three separate blog posts about "Yeoksam Pilates prices" plus a pricing page, their strength gets spread thin. In that case, build one thorough pricing page and give the blog posts different questions, like "what to watch out for in prenatal Pilates."

If you already have overlapping pages, merge the content into one and set the leftover URLs to forward (redirect) to the merged page. To decide which to keep, pick the page with more clicks in Search Console.

What are common keyword mistakes?

The riskiest mistake is forcing keywords in. Google's spam policies explicitly prohibit listing city or area names one after another or unnaturally repeating the same words to chase rankings. Naver also warns that repeating the same keyword 2 or more times in a title or description may get you penalized.

On the flip side, being so cautious that you only use industry jargon is also a problem. The words you're used to and the words customers type into the search box are often different.

Keywords also aren't a list you set once and forget. About once every 3 months, look at the search terms in Search Console to see whether the words customers actually use have changed, and update your page-by-page table.

• Going after only the single highest-volume term without checking whether your business can actually win it
• Using only industry jargon and leaving out the plain words customers use
• Tacking a cluster of words like "Gangnam hair salon Yeoksam hair salon Seolleung hair salon" onto the bottom of the page
• Leaving the keywords you picked unchanged even when the season or menu changes