How to Choose the Right Keywords
April 12th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized
It is estimated that there are almost 1 million words in the English language. How are you to decide which ones will make the most effective keywords? Most people think that picking any ol’ words that are remotely related to their product will bring in traffic. Wrong! The right keywords are crucial to your site’s success.
Having the right keywords will make you more visible to both searchers and search engines. These keywords in return will increase traffic to your site (Who doesn’t want that?!). This fun process is called search engine optimization (SEO).
“Taking the time to select the right keywords is key.”
So why are good keywords so important, anyways?
- Increases chances of searchers finding your page
- Help search engines like Google and Yahoo locate your page
- Gives your page a top 10 position on the search results page
“Good keywords really help your chances of being found.”
It’s all a popularity contest
So how do you come up with the best keywords for your site? First, you have to think about what words your target audience will be searching. Having a brainstorm session about what people might be typing in to find your site is a good idea. Think long and hard of words that suit your product.
You want to use terms that are popular but not too competitive. It’s best to use keywords that people are looking for, but you don’t want to use ones that every other similar site has. For example, if your page is about women’s designer clothing, you want to use other keywords that are related to the topic like women’s fashions and designer apparel.
There’s a great tool to determine your term’s competitiveness called Google Adwords: Keyword Tool. Just type in your desired word, and it tells how you often the word is searched a month. Google provides a rank bar that indicates whether the competition is low, average or high. It will also give a list of related terms you can use as well.
“Use keywords that are popular but not too competitive.”
Not just words, but phrases!
Having single keywords may get the job done. Adding phrases that are associated with your product will increase the chances of being found on the net.
Keep it simple with the phrases. Google looks for the search phrases you choose, so “Luxury restaurants Pittsburgh” will probably bring in better results than “really nice places to eat at in Pittsburgh.”
Generic is good
When deciding on your keywords, think generic. When people are searching a topic they usually type in the general subject, not the brand name. This helps the people who haven’t heard of your brand find it.
Searchers use generic keywords in order to get broad search results. They then narrow their search by using other generic keywords. Finally, they use brand names as they draw closer to making a purchase.
So in this case, generic is better than brand name.
Because 2 is not a winner and 3 nobody remembers
What’s the importance of being ranked number 1 in search results? Well, 60% of people click on the first link, and the numbers get lower as you go down the page. The lower you are on the search results page the less of a chance you have of people seeing your site.
“60% of people click the first link in their search results.”
Turning browsers into consumers
By this point you’re probably asking yourself: how do I project how many of these people will be customers? There’s a little bit of simple math required. Don’t worry! I’ll walk you through it.
- Search your desired word on Google’s Keyword Tool
- Take the number that Google gives you as it’s monthly search amount
- Take that number and multiply it by 60%
- The number you get is your projected amount of viewers!
- You then assume that 1% of these viewers will be making a purchase
- Lastly, you take the project amount of viewers and multiply that by the 1%
Voila! You’ve calculated your projected amount of monthly consumers by using that keyword!
Determining the right keywords takes time and may cause a few headaches. Providing your audience with the right map to find you will benefit you both. Being creative and persistent will get you the keywords you need to make your page #1.
| Valerie Papale Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us. |