A lot of webmasters and site developers underestimate the power of choosing the right keywords and key phrases to use on their website. While it pays to be both relevant and honest, it involves much more than simply plucking five keywords out of the air and using them over and over again on your site. Let’s take a quick look at how to take advantage of online tools that will help you to tap into consumer trends -- and how to optimize your website for your specific market.
It is important to have an understanding of keywords and key phrases - and how they are used by site developers and consumers alike. When you visit your favorite search engine - like Google or Bing - or you visit your favorite social media networking site - like Twitter, Facebook or Four Square - you search for the things you are interested in reading about using keywords or key phrases. The words and phrases that you choose to type into the search bar will determine what type of websites or pages you receive as a result. The more fine-tuned your search, the more relevant your results will be.
It is important for website owners to design a site that features the keywords and key phrases that are relevant to the searches that will be conducted by their target audience base. The better your ranking in the top keywords and key phrases used by your customers and potential customers, the more likely your site will be found among all your competitors! Can you see why keyword strategies and site optimization are so important to today's website owner?
Choosing the Right Words and Phrases
The process of choosing the proper keywords and key phrases to associate with your website is an on-going process that will need to be tweaked and updated over time. It can be tough to know which keywords and key phrases you should start off using, but as you check your statistics and measure your website's progress in the search engines and social sites, you will be able to fine-tune the words you use and improve your ranking and results.
As demonstrated in this article, it is important to ensure that the right people are finding your website so you can improve your sales conversion ratios and spend your time and efforts selling to visitors that are interested in what you have to offer. Some developers think that the goal is to get a bunch of traffic to the website, but the real key is to get a bunch of targeted traffic to the website. Targeted traffic increases your chances of making a sale and of winning long-lasting customers for your business.
Taking the time to choose the best keywords and key phrases will not only help to boost your website in the search engines, but it will help you to get the most out of your advertising campaigns. When working with pay-per-click (PPC) programs like Google's AdWords, a basic understanding of which keywords and key phrases perform the best for your site will boost your results. Additionally, knowing the demand for your product or service and having a grasp on current industry trends will help you to go even further.
Developing a Solid Keyword Strategy
Here is a simple 3-step guide to developing your own keyword strategy. Remember that it is important to review your choices on a regular basis to determine whether your selections need tweaking or changing in response to the results you are receiving via the search engines, social networks or your PPC advertising program.
First Step - Choose 3-5 Relevant Keywords
You have to start somewhere - right? Think about your business and what you have to offer. Then think about your customers and what they might type into the search bar to find your website. What are you selling? What do you offer? What market or industry are you in? What does your business have that no other business has? It is important to understand that your keywords should not be your brand name - unless you are a very large major corporation that is already well-branded within the market. Choose words and short phrases that really define the heart of what it is that you sell.
Second Step - Focus on Relevance and Difficulty
You want to avoid choosing very general words and phrases such as "marketing," "consulting" or even "Web design" - at least on their own. Because general keywords like these are so saturated in the market, it makes it near to impossible to get a good ranking within the search engines using them. Instead, you should focus on less competitive keywords and key phrases that are more specific to the type of business that you do; the services you provide. Longer phrases that contain identifying markers are referred to in the SEO world as "long tail keywords" and can be a huge asset in helping you to reach your customer base.
To help you expand upon your keyword and key phrase prowess, use these free online tools:
Google's Keyword Tool - https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Hub Spot's Keyword Grader Tool - http://www.hubspot.com/products/keyword-grader/
Wordtracker's Free Keyword Tool - https://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
SEO Book's Keyword List Generator - http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-list/generator.php
Third Step - Optimize Your Website
Once you select the primary keywords and key phrases that you are going to be using to market your website, be sure to incorporate them into your website using basic search engine optimization techniques!
