You don't need to choose keywords as the usual part of your RivalFlow workflow, but they do help to determine the competitors we compare you to and, ultimately, the recommendations that you get.
Let's take a look at:
How keywords help us make the right recommendations, and
What to do if the primary keyword isn't the one that you originally wanted to target.
How keywords work in RivalFlow
Improving a domain starts with this: after you type it in, the tool analyzes the domain's pages for strong potential to grow in ranks. It detects the keywords that your pages rank for and prioritizes more competitive terms. (If you can improve on those, you are more likely to gain clicks from the increased impressions on the SERPs.)
With a primary keyword detected for the page, RivalFlow reviews the SERP for close, relevant competitors that outrank you for that keyword. We choose one competitor's page--making sure that it is a text-based page that covers the topic well (as opposed to something like a product page).
The next step recommends a head-to-head project for you that improves your page based on what this competitor is doing better.
All of that happens in milliseconds.
Be assured -- we designed the process to use the keyword that is most likely to deliver increased clicks when your impressions and ranks rise with your improvements. You can be confident in using our default system without having to also choose a keyword. We fast tracked that part for you.
Starting with a keyword in RivalFlow is only a convenience. Some content managers need a way to find their pages by what they rank for. We added that feature to make it easier for everyone.
Why do I see a different primary keyword than the one I started with?
We occasionally get this question from someone using the Pick a Page feature. You can search for any of your pages by typing in a keyword.
It might be helpful to think of the keyword you searched as the "finder" of this page inside RivalFlow.
So while that keyword helps to pull up this page inside RivalFlow's search, it isn't necessarily the strongest keyword to bring you more traffic. That's where the primary keyword comes back.
Let's look at that through actual steps
We just showed step one: Find and select your page.
Find and select your page.
That dropdown arrow on the left will show you keywords this page ranks for that match the term you searched. This is a gut check to let you know some variations that it ranks for.
Next: Review the suggested match-up
We used the page's primary keyword: of all of the keywords it ranks for, this one is most competitive AND gives you the best shot at lifting your position to get more clicks.
In this case, the primary keyword "when can puppies start training" is different from the keyword you searched to find this page ("best age to train a dog").
You can accept this recommendation to start the project. Done!
Option: Change the Targeted Keyword
Or, if you want to focus on the keyword you searched, you can change the primary keyword.
Use More Actions to get there.
Scroll through the keyword options or search a few words to match what you're looking for. Select it when you find it.
Next: Pick a Competitor from the new SERP
Now pick your competitor from the new SERP for that keyword. Once you select it, that offers you a new project to work on. Accept the recommendation, and start improving your page.
Why do competitors change?
For this new keyword, there's a different page that has a stronger presence on the SERP, and comparing your page to that one will give you stronger recommended updates.
RivalFlow will compare the new page to yours to find details that their page covers better than yours does. This boosts your page's authority and makes it more helpful so it ranks higher on the keyword you are targeting.