# Source: https://docs.apify.com/academy/actor-marketing-playbook/promote-your-actor/seo.md

# SEO

SEO means optimizing your content to rank high for your target queries in search engines such as Google, Bing, etc. SEO is a great way to get more users for your Actors. It’s also free, and it can bring you traffic for years. This guide will give you a simple framework to rank better for your targeted queries.

## Search intent

Matching the search intent of potential users is super important when creating your Actor's README. The information you include should directly address the problems or needs that led users to search for a solution like yours. For example:

* *User goals*: What are users trying to accomplish?
* *Pain points*: What challenges are they facing?
* *Specific use cases*: How might they use your Actor?

Make sure your README demonstrates how your Actor aligns with the search intent. This alignment helps users quickly recognize your Actor's value and helps Google understand your Actor and rank you better.

*Example:*

Let’s say you want to create a “YouTube Hashtag Scraper” Actor. After you search YouTube HashTag Scraper, you see that most people searching for it want to extract hashtags from YouTube videos, not download videos using a certain hashtag.

## Keyword research

Keyword research is a very important part of your SEO success. Without that, you won’t know which keywords you should target with your Actor, and you might be leaving traffic on the table by not targeting all the angles or targeting the wrong one.

We will do keyword research with free tools, but if you want to take this seriously, we highly recommend [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/).

### Google autocomplete suggestions

Start by typing your Actor's main function or purpose into Google. As you type, Google will suggest popular search terms. These suggestions are based on common user queries and can provide insight into what your potential users are searching for.

*Example:*

Let's say you've created an Actor for scraping product reviews. Type "product review scraper" into Google and note the suggestions:

* product review scraper free
* product review scraper amazon
* product review scraper python
* product review scraper api

These suggestions reveal potential features or use cases to highlight in your README.

### Alphabet soup method

This technique is similar to the previous one, but it involves adding each letter of the alphabet after your main keyword to discover more specific and long-tail keywords.

*Example*:

Continue with "product review scraper" and add each letter of the alphabet:

* product review scraper a (autocomplete might suggest "api")
* product review scraper b (might suggest "best")
* product review scraper c (might suggest "chrome extension")

...and so on through the alphabet.

### People Also Ask

Search for your Actor's main function or purpose on Google. Scroll down to find the "People Also Ask" section, which contains related questions.

*Example*:

For a "product review scraper" Actor:

* How do I scrape product reviews?
* Is it legal to scrape product reviews?
* What is the best tool for scraping reviews?
* How can I automate product review collection?

Now, you can expand the “People Also Ask” questions. Click on each question to reveal the answer and generate more related questions you can use in your README.

### Google Keyword Planner

Another way to collect more keywords is to use the official Google Keyword Planner. Go to [Google Keyword Planner](https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/) and open the tool. You need a Google Ads account, so just create one for free if you don’t have one already.

After you’re in the tool, click on “Discover new keywords”, make sure you’re in the “Start with keywords” tab, enter your Actor's main function or purpose, and then select the United States as the region and English as the language. Click “Get results” to see keywords related to your actor.

Write them down.

### Ahrefs Keyword Generator

Go to [Ahrefs Keyword Generator](https://ahrefs.com/keyword-generator), enter your Actor's main function or purpose, and click “Find keywords.” You should see a list of keywords related to your actor.

Write them down.

## What to do with the keywords

First, remove any duplicates that you might have on your list. You can use an online tool [like this one](https://dedupelist.com/) for that.

After that, we need to get search volumes for your keywords. Put all your keywords in a spreadsheet, with one column being the keyword and the second one being the search volume.

Go to the [Keyword Tool](https://backlinko.com/tools/keyword), enter the keyword, and write down the search volume. You will also see other related keywords, so you might as well write them down if you don’t have them on your list yet.

At the end, you should have a list of keywords together with their search volumes that you can use to prioritize the keywords, use the keywords to name your Actor, choose the URL, etc.

### Headings

If it makes sense, consider using keywords with the biggest search volume and the most relevant for your Actor as H2 headings in your README.

Put the most relevant keyword at the beginning of the heading when possible. Also, remember to use a clear hierarchy. The main features are H2, sub-features are H3, etc.

### Content

When putting keywords in your Actor’s README, it's important to maintain a natural, informative tone. Your primary goal should be to create valuable, easily understandable content for your users.

Aim to use your most important keyword in the first paragraph of your README. This helps both search engines and users quickly understand what your Actor does. But avoid forcing keywords where they don't fit naturally.

In your content, you can use the keywords you gathered before where they make sense. We want to include those keywords naturally in your README.

If there are relevant questions in your keyword list, you can always cover them within an “FAQ” section of your Actor.

Remember that while including keywords is important, always prioritize readability and user experience. Your content should flow naturally and provide real value to the reader.

## Learn more about SEO

If you want to learn more about SEO, these two free courses will get you started:

* [SEO Course for Beginners](https://ahrefs.com/academy/seo-training-course) by Ahrefs
* [SEO Courses](https://www.semrush.com/academy/courses/seo/) by Semrush

The [Ahrefs YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@AhrefsCom/featured) is also a great resource. You can start with [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsVTqzratPs).