Seed keywords

What is seed keywords?

Seed keywords are the short, broad terms that describe your topic at its most basic level — like “coffee”, “running shoes”, or “keyword research”. They are the starting point of keyword research: you enter them into Autocomplete and keyword tools to expand them into the longer, more specific phrases you actually target.

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Frequently asked questions

What is an example of a seed keyword?

“SEO” is a seed keyword; “how to do SEO for a new website” is a long-tail phrase grown from it. Seeds are broad and high-level — one or two words that name your topic — and each one can branch into dozens of specific, rankable queries.

How do you find seed keywords?

List the core topics your audience cares about and the plain words they would use to describe your product or content. Note the terms that come to mind first and check how competitors describe the same topics — those obvious, broad phrases are your seeds. Then expand each one with a tool like rankseed.

What is the difference between seed and long-tail keywords?

Seed keywords are broad, high-volume, and highly competitive; long-tail keywords are the longer, more specific phrases grown from them, with lower volume but clearer intent and far less competition. You use seeds to discover the long-tail variations a new site can realistically rank for.

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