To put it simply, keywords are the driving force of any search engine optimization campaign. Keywords are also considered one of the major drivers of the Internets growth over the past decade. By now, SEO companies know that keywords are what consumers, that means all of us, type in when searching for products, services, and just about anything else on major search engines. When starting an online advertising campaign, here are several ideas to help you decide on the right keywords to use for your business.
1. The easiest way to choose keywords is by acting as the consumer. With the help of family and friends, list down 3-4 ways you would search for your website. Tabulate the results and those that overlap are the terms that are more likely to be searched on first. This will also give you an idea of the competition there is in the internet marketing world. Search these terms and find out if your website within the first 10 pages. While doing so, note the results on the first page and compare it with your website to know how you fare in the competition.
2. Keywords don’t just mean words. Sure, they imply important words that people use to search in Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. But keep in mind that keywords are often phrases that describe a company’s website, services, and products. Focusing on key phrases is, thus, important when coming up with a selection of profitable keywords. As Michael Mothner puts it, it should answer the question, “What products or services do you sell?”
3. Stay away from “vanity” keywords by focusing on specific keywords to rank higher on search engines. Root keywords such as “jewelry”, “fashion”, “cellphones”, or “books” are not profitable because from an SEO point-of-view, Google will only rank highly authoritative sites and websites who incorporate these keywords in their website addresses. So unless you own the domain name of Jewelry.com, Fashion.com, or Books.com, then stay away from these vanity keywords. The best option then is to concentrate on specific keywords. Taking the example above, online jewelry stores will profit more from selecting “fashion jewelry”, “CZ jewelry,” or “bridal jewelry”. SEO campaigns will be more successful if you focus on specific keywords that are appropriate for the business, service, or product you provide.
4. Keyword repetition is okay as long as there is variation. Be cautious however, and make sure that the keywords you choose match the content on your website. This will mislead users and Google may end up penalizing you. Ideally, you would want different sections of your website matched with specific keywords and that SEO and PPC campaigns should be effective enough to drive relevant traffic to these web pages.
5. The most important thing when selecting keywords for SEO campaigns is that it should these keywords should be used as a guide when creating content strategy. Keywords are reflective of consumers’ interests and search engines’ way of thinking so it should be dynamic and use this knowledge to provide the best possible user experience.
Selecting the right keywords for any kind of business therefore is very crucial not only for SEO, but for other internet marketing methods as well. These include PPC management and social media networking.