Choosing The Right Keywords
SEO or search engine optimization is a method of your improving web content in order
to theoretically make your web pages rank higher on search engines like Google. This in turn will make your site more successful, resulting in more money from advertising, more website traffic from clients and prospects, and more sales for your business.
The basic premise of SEO is built on keywords. Keywords or key phrases that are likely to be searched for are used throughout your website content. This tells the search engines what your web pages is about so the search engine can lead web surfers back to your site more effectively.
Choosing the right keywords for your website is the first critical step in your affordable SEO program. Here are some tips on choosing the right keywords.
*Don't Overdo It
The most important tip that many new SEO converts have to learn is not to over use their keywords. Using the same words over and over again on one web page greatly affects the quality of the content itself. For the most part, when writers try to squeeze in a thousand keywords in a 1,500 word article they end up with something that makes very little since. Search engine robots have become attuned to this method of trying to sneak your way to the top of the rankings with a bunch of gibberish. Sites that practice this technique are often kicked off of popular search engines. This black hat SEO method is now referred to as "keyword spam" and is a kiss-of-death for your website.
When it comes to keywords, most experts would advise that you use a keyword density of 1.5-2% at the maximum. Some even argue that less than this is fine. It is OK to use several different keywords in order to make your site more readable and keep your keyword density at an optimal level.
If you don't want to count up all the words on your web page and then to do the math to figure out your keyword density, there are a variety of tools available that will do this for you. Simply enter your URL or paste in your body copy and the tool will do the calculation and figure out your keyword density.
*Use the Best Keywords/Phrases
Using the best keywords that you can find is one of the most effective ways of creating optimized content. But defining the "best" is not always easy. Just because a keyword or a keyword phrase has a ton of monthly searches, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good match for your web page.
There are other things to take into account other than monthly searches when choosing your keywords. For instance, how many competing web pages are also vying for this keyword? What is the strength of the competition? How many back links do they have? How well connected are these competing sites? Are these keywords "buying" words or "research" words? What is the goal of your particular web page? What is the overall goal of your website? How does this key phrase fit into your goals?
*Phrases are Better
Though people often use the term "keyword" in relation to affordable SEO practices, it is a rather outdated term. This term implies that web designers need to seek out only single words for their content. This is not true at all.
People rarely look for one word searches, and when they do, they are usually at the very beginning of their searching process. Besides the fact that getting a decent ranking with a one word key is like winning the lottery, prospects who are further along in their buying cycle typically use multi-word keyword phrases. You're better off optimizing your site for phrases rather than single words.
For example, if you use "dogs" as a keyword, you are going to be competing with a billion other sites and attracting searchers who are very early on in their searching cycle. Searchers who use such a broad term as "dogs" are usually still in the research phase of their searching. They haven't quite figured out yet how to search for exactly what they want.
However, if you use "mobile dog groomer Naperville Illinois" as a key phrase for your site, you are narrowing down the competition and attracting prospects who are closer to knowing exactly what they are looking for. In other words, quick, specific phrases work a lot better for affordable SEO and website optimization than single words.
*Place Your Keywords Properly
Sprinkling well written phrases throughout your website content is the basic method of keyword optimization. There are some places where these terms are worth a little bit more, however. If you use terms in titles, headlines, subheads, and the opening paragraph, they are worth more points in a sense. Keep this in mind when writing the copy for your website.
While it often seems as if you'd have to pay a king's ransom for search engine optimization service, it is possible for a small business owner to perform his own affordable SEO without breaking the bank. Just follow these simply keyword tips and you'll be well on your way.
by: Karen Scharf
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