In the context of SEO, keywords are the specific words and phrases that describe the content of a webpage and are used by search engines to match the page to relevant search queries. Keywords are a crucial element of SEO because they help search engines understand the topic and context of a webpage, and determine its relevance to specific search queries.
When optimizing a website for search, marketers and website owners will research and select keywords that they believe potential users are likely to search for and then incorporate those keywords into the content and meta tags of the page.