Secondary Keywords: What They Are, How to Find & Use Them

Why do some content creators seem to crack the SEO code while others struggle to get a single view? The difference often comes down to one overlooked strategy: secondary keywords.

You've probably tried everything – writing epic content, optimizing primary keywords, sharing on social media – yet your content still feels like a needle in a digital haystack.

This guide is your map to understanding how secondary keywords can be the missing piece that turns your content from invisible to irresistible.

This guide isn't another theoretical SEO lecture – it's a practical, step-by-step breakdown of how secondary keywords can be your content's ultimate amplifier.

What Are Secondary Keywords?

Secondary keywords are additional words or phrases closely related to your main keyword that you can include in your content to help it rank for more relevant searches. They provide helpful context and cover subtopics that users may look for related to the main topic.

Related Read: How to Do Keyword Research

How Secondary Keywords Differ from Other Types of Keywords

Secondary keywords are contextual support terms that help explain and expand on your primary keyword, providing comprehensive coverage of a topic. Unlike long-tail keywords, which are very specific phrases, or LSI keywords, which are conceptually related, secondary keywords bridge the gap between the main topic and detailed exploration.

Difference between Primary Keywords and Secondary Keywords

Primary keywords are the main search terms you're targeting, while secondary keywords are supporting terms that provide additional context, cover related subtopics, and help your content rank for a wider range of search queries. Primary keywords are your content's core focus, and secondary keywords expand and enrich that focus.

Secondary Keywords vs. LSI Keywords or Related Keywords

While secondary and LSI keywords might seem similar, they serve different purposes. Secondary keywords are intentionally chosen to cover subtopics and provide comprehensive content coverage, whereas LSI keywords are semantically related terms that help search engines understand the content context more deeply.

Secondary Keywords vs. Long-Tail Keywords

Secondary keywords are broader topic-related phrases that provide context, while long-tail keywords are extremely specific, often longer search queries. Secondary keywords help you cover multiple angles of a topic, whereas long-tail keywords target very narrow, specific user intents with precise, often longer search phrases.

Examples of Secondary Keywords

Secondary keywords are additional search terms that provide context and depth to your primary keyword.

Here are some practical examples of secondary keywords across different domains:

1. Primary Keyword: "Digital Marketing"

Secondary Keywords:

2. Primary Keyword: "Healthy Eating"

Secondary Keywords:

3. Primary Keyword: "Web Development"

Secondary Keywords:

4. Primary Keyword: "Personal Finance"

Secondary Keywords:

These secondary keywords help search engines understand the depth and breadth of your content. As a result, it allows you to rank for a wider range of related searches while providing comprehensive information that addresses multiple user intents.

The key is to choose secondary keywords that naturally expand on your primary topic and offer additional value and context to your audience.

Importance and Benefits of Secondary Keywords

Using secondary keywords allows you to comprehensively answer all the different angles and queries around a subject.

Here are the major benefits of secondary keywords:

Read Also: Tips for Content Creation That Boosts Sales

Now, let’s explore different approaches to find relevant sub-topics related to your primary topic.

How to Find Relevant Secondary Keywords

Here are some effective tips on how to find relevant secondary keywords for a particular primary topic:

Think From the Reader's Perspective

Put yourself in the shoes of someone searching for information on your primary topic. What are all the different angles and subtopics they might want to know about? Jot down all the related queries and questions that come to mind.

Dig Into Search Analysis

Go to Google and start typing in your main keyword. Pay attention to the autocomplete suggestions that pop up, as these represent common related searches people make.

The "People also ask" and "Related searches" sections at the bottom of the results page can also reveal great secondary keyword ideas.

Analyze Competitor Content

Take a look at what your top-ranking competitors are writing about for that topic. Use an SEO tool to see all the different keywords their content is ranking for. Identify any relevant ones you may be missing.

Conduct a Brief Content Audit

Briefly scan through the current top-ranking results for your target keyword. What key subtopics and angles are they covering that you'll need to include? Where are there any gaps in information that you could fill?

After listing down secondary keywords in bulk, you may end up with many irrelevant and duplicate ones in the mix. Additionally, the relevant and unique secondary keywords would likely be unorganized and lacking any logical grouping.

So, you should clean up some data and do logical clustering to tackle these issues.

How to Cluster Secondary Keywords Effectively

Here's a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how you can cluster the collected secondary keywords:

Step 1: Categorize by Search Intent

Start by separating the keywords into different buckets based on the primary user intent behind the searches - informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional. Don't mix different intent types in the same content cluster.

Step 2: Clean Up Data with AI

Before clustering, you'll want to remove any irrelevant or duplicate keywords from your list. You can use an AI assistant like ChatGPT for this:

Example Prompt: "Here is my list of potential secondary keywords related to [primary keyword]:

[list of keywords]

Please remove any keywords that are duplicates and/or clearly not relevant to this main topic."

The AI will then go through and filter out the noise, leaving you with a cleaner list of focused secondary keywords to work with.

Step 3: Group by SERP Similarity

For the remaining keywords within the same intent bucket, take a closer look at the actual search results they are returning. Group together those with very similar ranking pages and SERP features, as these indicate queries looking for comparable information.

Step 4: Utilize AI Clustering

To save time on manual grouping, you can use an AI writing assistant tool to automatically cluster the keywords for you:

First, paste the cleaned secondary keyword list into a prompt like:

"Here are some potential secondary keywords I've collected related to [primary keyword]:

[list of keywords]

Please group these into logical clusters around subtopics."

The AI will then analyze the keywords and separate them into thematic clusters for you to review and adjust as needed.

Step 5: Prioritize & Refine Clusters

Look at the keyword/traffic volume for each potential cluster to prioritize which subtopics to focus on first. You may need to split larger clusters further or combine smaller fragmented ones.

Step 6: Map to Content Outline

Once satisfied with your clustered themes, map each one to a corresponding heading/subheading in your content outline. Systematically cover each cluster as a logical subsection of the overall topic.

Step 7: Let User Questions Guide You

As you're clustering, think about the specific questions a searcher might have around each subtopic theme. Use these to further expand on any keywords you may be missing in that cluster.

Keyword clustering allows you to comprehensively satisfy search intent around the primary topic in a structured, easy-to-follow way for readers.

How Many Secondary Keywords Should You Use?

There's no strict number limit for secondary keywords if you follow SEO best practices. The goal is to comprehensively cover all relevant subtopics and angles of your primary keyword. Focus on clustering keywords by search intent, ensuring you naturally address different user questions and perspectives within your content without keyword stuffing.

How to Add Secondary Keywords to Blog Content

Integrate secondary keywords naturally throughout your content by mapping them to specific sections or subheadings. Use them to structure your content, answer related questions, and provide comprehensive coverage of the topic. Avoid forced insertion; ensure they flow seamlessly within the text.

FAQs

What are Primary, Secondary, and LSI keywords?

Primary keywords are your main target search terms, while secondary keywords are additional words or phrases closely related to the main keyword that provides context and cover subtopics users might search for. LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are conceptually similar terms that help search engines understand the content's context more deeply.

Do secondary keywords need to have high search volume?

Secondary keywords don't necessarily require high search volume. Their primary purpose is to provide comprehensive topic coverage, answer related questions, and give search engines more context about your content. Focus on relevance and user intent rather than strictly chasing high-volume terms.

How can I track the performance of my secondary keywords?

Track secondary keywords' performance by monitoring overall content rankings, user engagement metrics, and search query reports. Use SEO tools to analyze which secondary keywords are driving traffic, examine user behavior, and identify opportunities to refine your content's keyword strategy.

Read Also: SEO Trends to Follow

Master Secondary Keywords & Transform Your Content from Invisible to Invaluable

The journey to SEO success isn't about single keywords, but holistic content strategy. Secondary keywords are your roadmap – guiding you to create rich, contextual content that speaks directly to user needs and search engine algorithms. You can craft content that not only ranks higher but also provides genuine value to readers seeking comprehensive information by optimizing your content with secondary keywords.