A “keyword” is the individual word, or phrase, someone gives when using a search engine to find a product, service or information. For example, if you’re looking for a roofing company in your area, you might type in “roof.” That’s an example of a keyword. Or you might type in “roofing companies near me.” That’s also considered a keyword; though technically it would be better to call that a “keyword phrase.” When it comes to keywords for search engine optimization, you ultimately want to identify the most important keywords your target audience is using, then make sure you show up on Google [and other search engines] for those keywords.