How to Get the Right Set of Keywords
The key to successful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is KEYWORD. One of the most essential elements of the SEO process is keywords selection and implementation. If you find yourself undermining the role of keywords in your online marketing strategy, think again.
Correct keyword selection fosters free and qualified traffic from search engines. The multitude of the words in your web copy will be indexed, and the search engines will rank your site based on calculated algorithms (sometimes called organic or natural search) drawn from your site’s keywords which can be found in your text, Meta tags, image tags, and URL. To do correct and proper keyword selection, always put your target audience in front of you. Identify your audience and know how to reach them. Wrong search phrases could get you with good search engine rankings but for keywords that have no search requests. In the same way, low search engine results will get you little or no visits.
Selecting and integrating keywords into your website might seem so simple but in truth, it would require a lot of strategic thought.
Brainstorm. Ask for the feedback of your co-workers and/or business partners and determine the search phrases that target users are most likely to use. To be more organized, you could create a chart using the excel program including three columns: a.) keyword, b.) keyword effectiveness index – how popular is that keyword for users and how many competitors use that keyword, and c.) info – the kind of top websites found by that search engine. As much as possible, do not limit yourself to a single keyword all the time. You should have multiple-word keywords in your list too because people often use them to get more targeted results.
It would also help to consider the following questions during the brainstorming process:
· Would your target audience enter industry specific technical terms or simple layman’s phrases?
· What are the common misspellings for your keyword/s? What are the alternative terms for them in certain environments?
· Which of your items are available? Avoid listing products that are out of stock as keywords because doing that would mislead viewers.
· What is the profit margin for each of your products? Which one has the highest/lowest profit margin? Such information could prove to be useful because there are instances that less searched products actually have higher profit margins and would make it easy for you obtain a high search engine ranking for the said product.
· Who are your leading competitors? Which products are they most known for? Which search phrases do they have high rankings for? By sizing up your competition, you have bigger chances of getting ahead of them.
Analyze your pay-per-click data. This step is applicable to companies who have budget for the more costly PPC campaigns. While it is practical to launch an SEO campaign to reduce the cost of your PPC campaign, there is nothing wrong with milking your PPC efforts for what they are worth. Your PPC data would tell you which keywords brought on the highest traffic levels, best clicks through rates, and other useful information.
Make use of keyword research tools. Not everything in your list of proposed keywords would garner good results. Fortunately, there are keyword devices that would make it easy for you to evaluate possible results. Examples of keyword research tools are Word Tracker, Google’s Keyword Tool, Google Suggest, Google Trends, Google Analytics, SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool, Digital Point Keyword Research Tool, Good Keywords, etc. As much as possible, pick the keywords with the best profitability (i.e. high KEI) and consider eliminating the ones with the lowest profitability. To be counted among the top results, you should have at least 40 to 70 different highly profitable keywords.
Integrate your keywords into your website body text properly. Use your keywords in such a way that it would not cause an inconsistency in the natural flow of your contents.
· Be specific - If you sell books, make sure that there are a lot of references to books in your website – paperbacks, hard bounds, textbooks, etc.
· Categorize – Sort your products. Again, using books as an example, assign different pages to different categories – bestsellers, young adult fiction, science fiction, suspense, biographies, etc. Categorizing would make it easier for you to target niche keywords and meet relevancy guidelines for search queries.
· Proofread - It will not do to just slap all the keywords on your page because that would just lead to awkward phrasing which is definitely not going to impress your audience. Recognize the patterns within your website and group relevant keywords around those pages. Do what you could to make the content flow as organized and consistent as possible. Search engines are not the only ones who should be happy. Your viewers should be satisfied with your content too.
· Be thorough – Even your website title, meta tags, image tags, and URLs factor a great deal. Take a closer look at the details included on the SERP – website title, brief description, and the URL. That should tell you a lot about how significant their functions are.
· Keep improving – Assume that your competitors would continue revising their websites for the better. To stay on top of the corporate game, your web pages should always be optimized to their full potential. There are always improvements to be made because there is a new development in technology each day. You do not have to worry about how hard it would be to make continuous improvements. There are tools everywhere that would make it easier for you.
There is no point of dedicating so much time and effort to creating and maintaining a website when the chances of it being visited are little to none. The best way to make it worth your time is to tune your keywords and make them work for you.
Somni Creative, Inc., rich media marketing professionals from Los Angeles, California, specialize in providing search engine optimization. We value our customers, both old and new. We welcome the challenge of getting you ahead in the corporate race. Call us at (310) 6973199 or visit www.somnicreative.com.
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References:
Implementing Keywords Into a Website
Using Google Trends to Select Website Keywords
Steps on How to Maintain Website Visibility
How to Integrate Search Engine Keywords into Website Copy
Choosing Keywords for Your Website
Keywords - A Key to Online Success