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How to Choose the Right Keywords
Search Engine Optimization
By: Stephen S Alison
Many SEO experts will tell you that they have specific ways of
choosing the right keywords for a website. Some do it using SEO
tools – software that compares possible keywords to see which
are used the most. Some will give you DIY methods with
spreadsheets. We say, however, that you should try every method
you can in the search for keywords. Here are some steps that
might help:
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Identify and create a list of keywords from meta tags, research
on your competitors, your highest-converting products and
biggest current traffic sources. For each term (typically
between 30 and 50 terms overall), narrow the field down to about
15 or 20, choosing the terms you feel are most relevant to your
website. Your higher ranked competitors are probably up there
for a reason so take a look at what they are providing.
Make sure that everything is directly relevant and try to
stretch yourself out into some unchartered water. The less
common that your key words are, the more likely you are to get
the search engine results for these key words |
We would recommend a piece of software called WordTracker to
find out how many searches have been done on a certain term. You
can choose to work with this information however you want –
spreadsheets are good, but you can use anything that will make
it easy reasonably easy for you to track these keywords. You’re
trying to find a popular word that has a low competition rate.
Although this is easier said than done, it’s very rewarding to
find an area where your site can succeed because of the lack of
competition. You should remember, though, that these search
databases are relatively small, and should be used for comparing
keywords against one another rather than for estimating their
true ‘market sizes’.
This keyword selection research should then be compared with
client experience of which keywords may be most profitably
optimized, as well as any current ranking on the target
keywords. Data from PPC campaigns can be helpful for this. The
outcome should be a focused list of, say, 15-20 keywords that
are both strong performers in terms of search volume, as well as
solid candidates for successful optimization.
When determining how profitable your key words are you should
look into your web sites statistics and see what key words were
used for what number of sales. This is called your conversion
rate. The more sales that are associated with a certain key
word, the more valuable that key word is. It is important to
account for all of the variables, however. If ten people come
across your site through a certain key word but only one of them
buys an item this key word isn’t as profitable as a key word
that one person finds your site through and still orders a
product. It is important to work percentages into your decision
of worth of a key word. Your “conversion rate” is the number of
sales divided by the number of visitors.
You probably know who your competitors are, so go to their site
and open the source code of a few of their pages (select ‘View
Source’ from your browser’s menu). Look for the <META
NAME="keywords"> tag to see which keywords they’re aiming for.
Their keywords are often garbage, but if you look around at a
few sites then you can often find keywords you hadn’t thought
of. It is not good practice to simply copy and paste a list of
key words. It would even be conceivable that you would be
charged with copyright infringement for such activities. Whether
or not you get charged, it is morally wrong. Looking through and
coming across a few extra relevant key words is one thing.
Steeling an entire list is something else completely.
Another approach is to type in the keywords you have in mind and
look at the current top results. Analyze their pages for
keywords, descriptions and content – this will give you some
idea of what kind of keyword density you should be looking at
for your keywords. If the sites that come up are a different
kind of business to you altogether then you’ve probably chosen a
dodgy keyword – remember that you’re trying to get relevant
traffic, not just any traffic.
The general rules that you need to keep in mind when selecting
key words are:
1. Try to select unique key words that your competitors have not
thought of.
2. Optimize for your most profitable key words. How many sales
does the key word generate? How much profit is made for each of
these sales?
3. Make sure that the key words are very relevant to your site
so that people who find your site through your key words will
not immediately leave.
4. Try to assemble a list of key words that covers your site
very will so that you aren’t leaving anyone or anything out.
Search Engine
Optimization Techniques -
The Basic SEO Rules for All
Websites. Search engine optimization isn’t rocket science, but
it can feel complicated at times. To have a successful campaign,
just follow these simple rules detailed here – they apply to all
websites.
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