SEO is no longer the job of just technical marketers. For content to truly perform in a competitive SEO environment, copywriters need to write with strategic intent. But here’s the problem: many copywriters are confident in tone, storytelling, and clarity yet feel overwhelmed or unsure when it comes to keyword selection.
The result? Blog posts that sound great but never get seen.
That’s the gap this guide aims to close. If you’re wondering how to choose keywords for SEO in a way that drives traffic, ranks in Google, and aligns with what your audience is searching for, this article is your roadmap.
Whether you’re briefing writers, reviewing drafts, or writing yourself, this guide will help you choose keywords that support both search performance and content clarity.
Why SEO Keyword Strategy Matters for Copywriters
Keyword strategy isn’t about stuffing phrases into copy. It’s about connecting the language of your audience with the topics your business needs to be found for.
For B2B teams, this means understanding not only what people are searching for but why. Knowing how to choose keywords for SEO ensures that every piece of content is mapped to a relevant user need, business goal, and search opportunity.
When done well, SEO-informed writing:
- Improves your visibility in search results
- Attracts qualified leads
- Builds topical authority in your niche
- Saves time and budget by targeting content that works
What Makes a Good Keyword?
Before diving into research tools or content planning, you need to know how to judge whether a keyword is worth pursuing. Here’s what to look for:
1. Relevance
Does the keyword align with your business offering and audience intent? It must make sense for your brand and solve a real customer need.
2. Search Volume
A keyword needs enough monthly searches to be worth targeting. As a general rule, aim for a minimum of 70 monthly searches. This ensures there’s enough demand to justify creating content around the term, while still keeping competition manageable.
3. Keyword Difficulty (KD)
This metric (available in most tools) tells you how competitive a keyword is. Lower KD scores mean an easier ranking which is ideal for newer sites or small teams. As a benchmark, look for keywords with a difficulty score of 29 or below. These tend to strike the right balance between opportunity and achievability, especially for growing B2B companies.
4. Commercial Intent
Will those people who are searching for this keyword be ready to take action? Keywords that signal a need for help, tools, or solutions usually perform better than pure information queries.
Pro tip: Look for keywords with medium-to-high relevance, decent volume, and low-to-moderate difficulty. These give you the best chance of ranking without overextending your team.
Recommended Keyword Research Tools
Choosing the right tools can make keyword research faster, more accurate, and easier to scale. Here are a few we recommend:
Free Tools
- Google Search Console: Use it to identify which keywords already bring traffic.
- Google Keyword Planner: Great for volume estimates and discovering related terms.
- AnswerThePublic: Useful for finding question-based keywords and content ideas.
- Keyword Surfer (Chrome Extension): Adds volume data directly in search results.
Paid Tools
- Ahrefs: Comprehensive keyword explorer, content gap analysis, and competitive benchmarking.
- SEMrush: Excellent for keyword difficulty scores and competitive research.
- Ubersuggest: Affordable and user-friendly, good for small teams.
- Moz Keyword Explorer: Solid alternative with strong KD scoring and grouping features.
- SE Ranking: Full-featured SEO platform with accurate rank tracking and comprehensive keyword research
If the budget is limited, start with Google tools and one browser extension. For teams with bigger content programs, a paid tool will pay off quickly.
Building a Keyword List: Start With Your Audience
Before you open any keyword tool, step back and consider your audience. Who are you trying to reach? What problems are they actively trying to solve? The best keyword strategies start not with data, but with human insight.
Talk to your sales team. Review past client conversations. Skim relevant LinkedIn posts. What phrases do your customers use when describing their pain points or goals? Those are often the seeds of strong keyword ideas.
For example, if your B2B SaaS product supports remote cybersecurity, a customer might say they need “better control over remote logins” or are “struggling with off-site compliance.” Those phrases, or variations of them, can lead you to intent-driven keyword phrases that go beyond the obvious.
Once you’ve gathered audience insight, you can then:
- Turn common phrases into seed keywords
- Group similar phrases by topic or intent
- Validate them with search volume and KD
If you’re wondering how to choose keywords for SEO that your audience will actually search for, start here: listen before you optimise.
Grouping Keywords by Intent and Funnel Stage
Not all keywords serve the same purpose. Some are great for awareness content. Others are better for lead generation. Knowing the difference helps you align each keyword with the right piece of content.
Top-of-funnel (TOFU): Informational queries like “what is zero trust architecture” or “how to secure a remote workforce”
Mid-funnel (MOFU): Comparison or solution-focused keywords like “top remote security tools”
Bottom-of-funnel (BOFU): High-intent phrases like “buy zero trust software” or “remote access security vendor”
Segment your keyword list accordingly. This structure helps with content planning, funnel mapping, and aligning SEO with sales goals.
Mapping Primary and Secondary Keywords
Once you’ve gathered a pool of candidate keywords, the next step is choosing a primary keyword for each article and layering in secondary ones that support it.
Your primary keyword should:
- Reflect the main topic of the page
- Match the audience’s intent
- Appear in the title, URL, meta description, and the first 100 words
Your secondary keywords help broaden relevance and match long-tail searches. For example:
- Primary: how to choose keywords for SEO
- Secondary: keyword strategy, how to build a keyword list, adding keywords
In B2B content, secondary keywords often align with subheadings, FAQs, or content blocks that support the main topic. Using them naturally in context strengthens the piece without cluttering it.
Remember, Google ranks pages not just keywords. So while you should choose one focus phrase, your keyword list should reflect the full depth of what your readers care about.
How to Prioritise Keywords in Your Content Plan
If you’ve gathered a large keyword list, you’ll need a method for prioritization. Here’s a simple approach:
1. Score each keyword by:
- Relevance to your audience
- Commercial value to your business
- Difficulty level
- Search volume
2. Choose one primary keyword per article.
Then group 3–5 secondary keywords to support that topic.
3. Map each keyword cluster to content types.
Whitepapers, blog posts, and comparison pages, not every keyword needs a blog.
By aligning keywords with strategy and structure, your content planning becomes more efficient and focused.
Where (and How) to Add Keywords in Your Copy
Adding keywords to your article shouldn’t feel like squeezing them in.
Done right, they guide your structure and help search engines understand the topic of your content.
Here’s where to include your primary and secondary keywords:
- Page Title: Keep it clear, benefit-led, and include your main keyword early.
- URL Slug: Short, descriptive, and ideally includes your primary keyword.
- H1 and Subheadings: Use exact or close-match variations to reinforce structure.
- First 100 Words: Signal relevance early.
- Image Alt Text: Great for accessibility and supporting context.
- Meta Description: Include your primary keyword while making the copy compelling.
- Naturally in Body Copy: Every 130–150 words is a healthy tempo for the primary keyword.
Avoid over-optimizing or repeating exact phrases unnaturally. Vary phrasing when it feels right. A smooth reading experience always trumps keyword density.
How to Add Keywords Without Ruining the Copy
One of the biggest concerns from great copywriters is: “Will adding keywords make my writing sound robotic?”
It doesn’t have to. In fact, a copy that ranks well should still sound natural and engaging.
Here’s how to add keywords seamlessly:
- Use variations and synonyms to avoid repetition
- Add the primary keyword early (within the first 100 words)
- Incorporate secondary keywords in subheadings or image alt text
- Place keywords in meta descriptions, title tags, and URL slugs
- Prioritize readability. If a sentence sounds awkward, rework it
Remember, search engines are smart enough to understand context. Keyword stuffing is outdated. Strategic, well-placed usage is the new best practice.
Common Keyword Mistakes to Avoid
Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to slip up when planning or writing SEO content, especially in fast-paced B2B environments. Here are the most common mistakes we see (and how to avoid them):
- Writing before researching – If you don’t know the keyword, you’re not writing to rank.
- Choosing keywords that are too broad – “Cybersecurity” is too vague. Long-tail keywords like “best cybersecurity tools for remote teams” are more effective.
- Ignoring keyword intent – Match the content type to the searcher’s goal. Someone searching “cybersecurity checklist” expects a clear guide, not a pitch.
- Not checking the SERP – Always Google the keyword. If the top results are tools or product pages and you’re planning a blog, rethink your approach.
- Over-prioritizing volume – A keyword with 10k searches isn’t helpful if it’s not relevant. Relevance and intent matter more in B2B.
- Stuffing keywords – Repetition that disrupts flow or feels unnatural will hurt both UX and SEO.
- Skipping metadata – Titles and descriptions are ranking levers. Don’t leave them as an afterthought.
Avoiding these mistakes ensures your content better serves the reader and is more likely to perform in search.
What B2B Keyword Success Looks Like
Success in B2B SEO doesn’t always mean going viral or ranking for huge terms. Often, it’s about:
- Ranking for highly specific, low-volume keywords that attract decision-makers
- Supporting long sales cycles with helpful, well-structured content
- Building domain authority in your niche over time
When you know how to choose keywords for SEO with a B2B lens, your content becomes more than just traffic bait, it becomes a strategic asset.
Keyword Strategy Isn’t Optional — It’s Your Content Foundation
In 2025 and beyond, copywriters who ignore keyword strategy risk creating content that never sees the light of day. You could have the best product story or thought leadership angle but if it’s not discoverable, it won’t deliver ROI.
Knowing how to choose keywords for SEO empowers you to:
- Guide your content topics with clarity
- Reach the right readers at the right time
- Improve collaboration between writers, SEOs, and stakeholders
For B2B teams, SEO isn’t just a marketing function. It’s a shared language, and copywriters are key translators.
Build a Repeatable Keyword Workflow
No more guessing. No more gut feel. With the right keyword strategy, you’ll create content that performs long after it’s published.
Choosing the right keywords is a cornerstone of strong SEO copywriting but it’s not just a box to tick. It’s a mindset shift. From writing with only style in mind, to writing with both style and search in harmony.
When you build a thoughtful keyword strategy, your content becomes clearer, more targeted, and more discoverable. That’s the sweet spot for modern B2B teams: content that ranks, resonates, and converts.
If you’re building your editorial process or improving how you brief writers, this guide will help you raise the floor—and the ceiling—for every piece of content you publish.
