Skip to main content
Take a tour on Semji and you will quickly understand that chosing the right Focus Keyword is key to a successful content strategy.

​
What is a Focus Keyword ?

A Focus Keyword is the main keyword you want your content to rank on. Semji’s suggestions are all based on this keyword. You can find it at the top right corner of the content editor.

​
How does it work ?

When you select a Focus Keyword, Semji runs an analysis that allows you to :
  • Retrieve data related to the keyword (traffic, position and search volume directly displayed in the input bar)
  • Calculate a Content Score (how your content performs out of 100)
  • Analyze the SERP (Search engine result page) and competing content
  • Build editorial recommendations for your content: length, search intents, questions, related terms, incoming links…
An analysis on Semji costs one credit so chosing the right Focus Keyword for each of your content is important. The number of available credits is set by the formula you have chosen when subscribing.

​
How to chose the Focus Keyword of an updated content ?

​
Indicators to follow

When you enter a Focus Keyword on Semji, the platform analyzes it and provides you with several indicators. These indicators will help you decide whether your Focus Keyword is intersting or not.

​
Simple rules and common sense

  • It is a keyword that represents your activity or a subject on which you are an expert
  • It is a keyword that has an interesting search volume in relation to your market, your sector and your target, and therefore has the potential to bring you traffic
  • It is a keyword whose meaning is not confusing (beware of acronyms that may be used by several industries or in other languages)
  • Ideally, it is a keyword that is already generating traffic for your site and whose ranking can be improved to generate more.
Bonus criteria: the Focus Keyword must be a keyword for which no other page of your site is ranked (in the top 30 results) or which would be more relevant. Selection is not always that simple! Adapt the above criteria, keeping in mind the objective of your content production: performance !

​
The list of keywords from which to choose your Focus Keyword

The Keyword Focus is central to the import of existing content. Existing content on your site is first accessible in the Opportunities section of the Pages tab. Then, once optimized, they will be gathered under the “Updated Content” tab where you can follow their performance. These are the contents that you want to optimize to improve the Content Score, the position on Google and the organic traffic. When you are about to optimize existing content on your site, the Semji platform suggests a list of Focus keywords to choose from. To find the best Focus Keyword within this list, you must take the 3 indicators seen previously into consideration and weight them:
  1. Focus on the keywords that generate the most clicks.
  2. Among them, identify the keywords on which your content could rank better. This content shouldn’t appear too far in the Google results: ideally between positions 2 and 10, otherwise before position 20 and at most before position 30.
  3. Finally, among them, select a Focus Keyword with a significant search volume.
If none of the suggested Focus Keywords generate clicks: Google may rank your content too far down in its results for it to have generated clicks. Content ranked beyond the 1st page rarely generates traffic. Focus on the next 2 steps in the selection process: your content’s keyword position and search volume. Your goal is to generate clicks on the keyword that you feel is most relevant to your content. If none of the suggested Focus Keywords rank in the top 30 in Google results:   If all the suggested Focus Keywords position your content beyond position 30, you should consider reorienting your content, as Google has not considered it relevant enough to position it higher. In this case, choose a keyword from the suggested list by prioritizing the search volume, or add a new keyword of your choice with the “Add keyword” function and follow the platform’s recommendations to optimize your content. If none of the Focus Keywords has a search volume >100 :  Your content is specific? It is not necessarily a problem. Less searched queries often mean more qualified targets. Ranking in the top 3 on specific queries means that you perfectly answer a specific search intention. By finding the answer in your content, the user is more likely to convert on your site. Quantity does not equal quality, and a small volume of well-targeted searches can bring you interesting performances!

​
When to select the Focus Keyword?

The Focus Keyword is usually selected when importing existing content. Go to the “Online Content” tab and click on the “Import” button in the upper right corner. Two choices: you can either browse the list of your site’s best pages, pre-selected by Semji according to their traffic, or enter a list of urls yourself.

​
During the “Browse Top Pages”

If you let Semji recommend which pages to optimize, you will see that it suggests a Focus Keyword for each content. This is a keyword that already positions your content in Google results and has an interesting search volume. The platform finds that if you optimize this content by following the recommendations related to this Focus Keyword, you should gain traffic. Step 1: Go through the list of your site’s content provided by Semji Platform. You can see that the platform already suggests Focus Keywords. Step 2 : select the content you want to optimize first Step 3 : Adjust the Focus Keyword choice for each content by clicking on it. You will then get a list of other suggested keywords. If none of them suits you, click on “Add keyword” at the bottom of the list to enter a keyword of your choice. Note: the completion of this step launches an analysis and counts 1 credit for each imported content.

​
During the “Import URL” process

If you import your own URL in Semji Platform, you will see that a Focus Keyword is suggested automatically. Here again, you can change it if you don’t like it. Step 1 : Copy your url in the available field. To do this, you can use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + C (copy) then Ctrl + V (paste). Note that you can copy and paste each url, or copy and paste a selection of several urls that you would have previously listed in an Excel spreadsheet or a notepad for example. Step 2 : Adjust the Focus Keyword for each imported url. Semji Platform suggests one automatically, but you can change it by clicking on it. You will then get a list of other suggested keywords. If none of them suits you, click on “Add keyword” at the bottom of the list, to enter a new keyword of your choice. Note: validating this step launches an analysis and counts 1 credit for each imported content.

​
How are the Focus Keywords of existing content suggested?

The Focus Keywords suggested by the platform is the keyword that generates the most clicks - thus the most traffic. It is the main keyword, also called “top keyword”. It is often a more generic keyword than the other ones on which your content is positioned, a short tail keyword, with a higher search volume. The other suggested Focus Keywords in the list are other keywords that generate traffic in Google natural search results for your content. Semji Platform does not consider your content’s rank on the Focus Keyword, that’s why you can find in the list keywords on which your content is already in position 1. It is up to you to decide whether it is interesting and relevant to optimize your content on this keyword in the light of the different indicators you have:
  • rank
  • monthly clicks
  • search volume
In short, Semji Platform suggests you to optimize your content on a Focus Keyword that already generates traffic, because :
  • Since you are not number 1 on Google with this content, you can do better! By improving the relevance of your content on this keyword, you improve your ranking, your click rate and therefore your traffic!
  • Even if you are already number 1, be aware that your competitors will always be looking to overtake you. Optimize your content with Semji’s recommendations to maintain your lead and your performance.
If you want to learn more about choosing a Focus Keywords, see our article about How to choose the right Focus Keywords for a New Content