April 01, 2022
Episode 101: Keywords, Long-Tail Keywords and Entities
Confused about keywords versus entities? You’re not alone. Casey Keith breaks down the critical differences using real examples, showing you how “running shoes” becomes “12 best running shoes of 2025” and why understanding that progression changes everything about your content strategy and pillar page approach.
Most SEO professionals think they understand keywords. They don’t. Casey Keith discovered this during a late-night conversation with Ciprian Tepes about long-tail keywords and entities. What started as a simple demo of Casey’s bookmarklet tool quickly revealed a fundamental gap in how we think about search terms. The example that changed everything? “12 best running shoes of 2025”, a phrase that looks simple but contains layers of SEO strategy most people miss.
This episode breaks down the anatomy of that phrase. Running shoes is the core entity. 2025 is a temporal modifier. “12 best” adds numerical specificity that transforms search intent. Casey explains how understanding these distinctions helps you build better pillar pages, avoid keyword cannibalization, and create content that actually ranks. By the end of this conversation, you’ll never look at keywords the same way again.
Notes
This episode emerged from a spontaneous late-night discussion between Casey Keith and Ciprian Tepes about keyword strategy and entity recognition. Casey demonstrates his custom bookmarklet tool for discovering long-tail keywords while explaining the fundamental differences between core entities, temporal modifiers, and numerical qualifiers. Using “12 best running shoes of 2025” as the primary example, they explore how running shoes serves as the main entity, while 2025 functions as a temporal modifier and “12 best” adds numerical specificity. The conversation covers pillar page strategy, internal linking opportunities, and how understanding entity relationships prevents keyword cannibalization while improving content structure and search intent alignment.
Recap & Takeaways
Entities vs. Keywords: Not the Same Thing
Keywords contain entities, but entities are the core concepts within those keywords. “Running shoes” is your main entity. Everything else modifies it. Understanding this distinction changes how you approach content strategy.
Modifiers Transform Search Intent
Temporal modifiers like “2025” or “spring” add time-based context. Numerical modifiers like “12 best” create list-based content opportunities. Each modifier type serves different search intents and content formats.
Pillar Pages Start with Core Entities
Your main entity becomes your pillar page topic. Supporting content targets the modified versions. “Running shoes” could be your pillar, while “12 best running shoes of 2025” becomes supporting content that links back to the main entity page.
**Tools Make Discovery Easier**
Casey’s bookmarklet demonstrates how simple tools can uncover long-tail opportunities. You don’t need expensive software. Sometimes the best solutions are the ones you build yourself to solve specific problems.
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