When you type a search term into Google® or Yahoo!® odds are many thousands or even many millions of websites pop up on a series of results pages. Rest assured, the ones at the top are using well executed search engine optimization (SEO) and/or Pay-Per-Click (PPC) strategies to yield those highly desired results.
So, how do you get your page to turn up at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) or your PPC ad to encourage clicks? A cornerstone of the effort is the selection of keywords. (The terms "keyword" and "keyword phrase" will be used interchangeably throughout this document.)
Keywords tell search engines what your website or page is all about. The object is to place “bait” that will entice search engine spiders to search and index the site, but the keywords and surrounding text must also serve as a compelling and useful resource for flesh-and-blood readers. Many keywords are common sense choices but many are not, and those words still need to be implemented properly to have the most impact.
Whether you are looking to optimize your business website to rank higher in search engine results or preparing to launch online marketing efforts with a PPC campaign or other marketing approaches, you will first need to cultivate the keywords that will identify and bolster your brand. This document explores how to get started on keyword development, a valuable cornerstone of any SEO or PPC campaign.
Getting Started on Keywords
Assuming you will have 5-10 pages on your website, you'll need a final keyword list of between 10 and 30 keywords for your entire site. In order to give yourself as much choice and flexibility as possible, begin with a list of potential keywords that is at least twice that and pare it down to the strongest words from there.
Coming up with such a long list of strong potential keywords can seem daunting at first. A Web professional with experience in search engine optimization (SEO) or PPC can use analysis of your site and your competition to generate a large list from which you can choose keywords to use in your optimization efforts. There are also other techniques you can use to begin compiling your list.
Common Sense
Since natural keywords work best, it only makes sense to start your keyword search in a natural way. Begin by making a list of words or phrases that describe your business or the products you sell in about 2-5 words. Suppose, for example, that you operate an online pet supplies store: What is your overall focus? What specific products would you like your site to focus on?
Without self editing, jot down everything that comes to mind, even if some words and phrases seem silly at first. If a keyword doesn't feel right to you or doesn't read the way you'd like in your text, you don't have to use it, but the brainstorming session can spawn many other great ideas.
Competitors
Check out the websites of your closest competitors to see what keywords they're using to attract visitors. The keywords used on a Web page can be found on the Source page. View it by hitting the View button on the toolbar at top, then hitting Source. Once the source page opens, look for this type of entry: <"KEYWORDS" content="Online Pet Supplies, Pet Products, Pet Clothes"> The phrases in quotes after the “KEYWORDS content” notation are the keywords designated for that Web page.
Knowing what words are currently working for your competitor can give you leg up on developing your own keyword list. This also gives you an opportunity to find out what potentially powerful keywords they're not using, and capitalize on those keywords.
Keyword Research Tools and Services
Once you've compiled your initial list, there are a number of keyword aids available to help you find overlooked keyword opportunities, identify which keywords on your list are the most relevant and most often searched, and ultimately narrow down your list to the strongest keywords.
Some keyword analytics tools such as Google® AdWords cost nothing to use; however, they may not offer all the analysis you need to determine how much competition there is for each word. Programs such as Wordtracker offer expanded capabilities, but come at a cost and still require some skill to use properly. For many people, the assistance of an experienced website developer offers not only full keyword research services, but also proper implementation of those keywords into search engine optimized content.
Identifying Your Strongest Keywords
Now that you know how to kick off the process, it helps to know what types of keywords to focus on for the best results. Your list will include keyword phrases that share some important characteristics:
• Natural
• Relevant
• Specific
• Strong-Performing
• Consistent
Let's examine each of these concepts briefly.
Natural A major trend these days – it really isn't so much a trend as a return to good, basic writing practices – is to ensure that text and the keywords within it read as naturally as possible. This may seem like common sense, but for a long time keywords that were extremely appealing to search engine spiders weren't so pretty to the human eye.
In fact, to this day some of the keywords that perform strongest when tested aren't necessarily the ones that roll off the tongue fluidly. For example, a person trying to find Fido a chew toy may type the phrase "pet toys" into the search bar and then tack on "large dogs" to narrow the search further. However, working the phrase "pet toys large dogs" into a natural-sounding sentence can be tricky. (If your research indicates this is a great keyword to use to get the search engine spider's attention, use it; the phrase can be interrupted with a period or a prepositional phrase if necessary, as in "pet toys for large dogs.")
If you are producing your own text, you may wish to choose keywords that most closely resemble how you describe your business to others. This will just naturally result in keywords that describe you best and that you can work into you text in a natural, readable way. If, however, you are concerned with using the most powerful keywords possible and still having natural-sounding text, consider hiring the services of a professional SEO copywriter who is trained in SEO practices.
Relevant
There are a few characteristics that qualify a keyword as relevant. Choosing words that meet the following criteria for relevance will help ensure that these keywords will have the most impact:
The keywords target your desired audience.
Do you cater to a certain demographic: women, men, teens, technical experts or others? Choose keywords that you believe will appeal to individuals that fit the profile of your average customer. For example, if you sell pet supplies and you wish to target dog owners, consider keywords that capitalize on this, such as "toys for large dogs," "extra large dog collars" or similar phrases.
Keywords that consist only of phrases people would use to find you.
Never "bait and switch" by using keywords that don't apply to what you offer. While it may be tempting to reel in visitors to your dog toy page with keyword phrases such as "leather saddles" or "horse supplies"on the off chance that they also own dogs, resist the urge if you don't actually sell these items. Yes, you want leads, but you want legitimate, qualified leads, not ill-fitting prospects who'll promptly navigate away from your site.
Keywords are in a "language" that your target audience would understand.
Unless you're targeting trade professionals or an audience with a high level of specialized or technical knowledge, if possible stay away from keywords that contain highly technical language. Try to anticipate who will be looking for your offerings and use the language they are likely to use. If you sell very complex equipment or services but to an audience without sophisticated technical knowledge, consider what words they might use to convey what they're looking for, as well as how they might use your product or service.
Specific (but not too specific)
There's a tremendous amount of competition for attention on the Internet and for those coveted top spots on the first page of search engine results. So, it makes sense a keyword shouldn't be so general that use of that term leads searchers to 10 billion competing sites. When brainstorming your keyword list, consider phrases that are precise enough to direct searchers to a specific product or service you sell. Using our fictional pet supplies store as an example, some good potential keywords might include:
jeweled dog collar
large dog collars
paw print dog pillow
female cat collar
large metal dog dishes
ceramic cat bowl paw print
Too many adjectives, however, can work against you. Consider the following list of potential keywords:
pink and white striped large female dog collar
cat dish with faux pearls and diamonds
While these may describe actual products in your pet store, they're impractical. First, users who are still in the research stage of buying may not yet know exactly what they want, and will use more general search terms to find related products. Others won't necessarily use all these descriptors to look up the product. In general, a desirable keyword phrase should be between 2-5 words long, but not so long that a potential visitor is unlikely to type the phrase into the search engine to find the product.
Strong-Performing
A common misconception among beginners to keyword research is that a good, strong keyword is one that yields millions of results on the search engine results page(SERP). What those millions of results actually represent are the millions of pages you must compete with to get your website in front of the potential customers who are searching for you.
A better measure of a powerful keyword phrase is the number of times the term is searched, balanced against the amount of competition for that word. The most powerful keywords are searched often and have little competition. For example, a phrase that gets just 500 searches per month but has almost no competition is generally a better option than a phrase that is searched 2,000 times per month but is competing with a million other sites that have optimized with that keyword phrase.
There are a number of free or low-cost programs such as Google® AdWords that can help a beginner brainstorm and choose appropriate keywords. However, choosing keywords that strike the best balance between these goals is both an art and a science. Professional website developers base their selection of keywords on a customer's needs and references, their existing site, as well as on professional analysis of search engine traffic and keyword competition.
Consistent
When you've compiled your final list of keyword phrases, you may notice patterns in your list: some of the same words, similar terms, etc. This indicates that you may be on the right track with your keyword choices. Search engine spiders love consistency. Common threads and similarities between keyword terms, as long as they all remain relevant to the purpose of your site, give the search engine spiders a strong indication of what your site is all about.
Geo-Targeting with Keywords
Geo-targeted keywords are keywords that focus on specific cities or geographical regions: for example, "dog collars in belleville illinois" or "belleville cat toy" or "st. louis area pet supplies." Geo-targeting is a terrific keyword option for businesses with one or more brick-and-motor locations who wish to reach customers near those store locations. It can also be a powerful tool for national corporations who want to appeal on the local level, such as in major metropolitan areas where they provide service.
Choosing geo-targeted keywords is more complex than simply adding a city name or regional designation to the keyword. Remember, while the keyword phrase is indeed specific, it should also still be natural and relevant, and must still perform well in keyword analytics. With some common sense techniques and a few technical tools, you can be well on your way to building a keyword list you can use to optimize your website and get started on an effective online marketing campaign.
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