Question: How does Google index keywords?

Google indexes keywords as part of its broader process of crawling, analyzing, and storing web pages in order to quickly provide relevant search results. Here's a breakdown of how this process typically works:

1. Crawling

To begin with, Google sends out 'spiders' or 'bots' (specifically, Googlebot) to crawl the internet. These bots follow links from one page to another, discovering and revisiting web pages. During this phase, new pages, updated content, and dead links are noted.

2. Processing and Indexing

Once a page is crawled, it’s then analyzed. Here, Google deciphers the content of the page — text, images, video, etc. — and assesses the context and quality of the content. Keywords are identified during this stage; they are the terms that best describe the content and are likely to be used in searches related to this content.

During indexing, Google processes the words and their location on each page, and stores this information in its vast databases. It's important to note that Google does not index all parts of a page if the content is deemed to be duplicate or spammy, or if it's blocked by robots.txt directives or noindex tags.

3. Ranking

When a user performs a search, Google sifts through its index to provide the best answers. This involves analyzing the language of the searcher’s query and matching it with relevant keywords in the index. The results are then ranked based on hundreds of factors including keyword relevance, site authority, mobile-friendliness, and user experience.

Best Practices for Keyword Optimization

• Keyword Research: Understand the phrases and questions your target audience inputs in search.
• Strategic Placement: Include important keywords in critical places like titles, headers, meta descriptions, and the first 100 words of your content.
• Quality Content: Write comprehensive, unique, and authoritative content that fulfills the searcher's intent.
• User Experience: Ensure the website is easy to navigate, loads quickly, and is mobile-friendly.

By following these practices, you can help ensure that your content is attractive not only to Googlebot but also to the end users, which is ultimately reflected in the search rankings.