We’ve discussed the importance of keywords in Part One of this SEO How-To series, but we didn’t get into how to really choose the right ones for your website…
Choosing the right keywords is essential for SEO success. Keywords are like a funnel to your website. The right keywords filter in qualified traffic, the customers who are looking for you and your service or product.
Successful keywords fulfill two criteria:
- Relevant
- Search-friendly
Relevancy is a given, but coming up with keywords that are search-friendly can be challenging. On one hand, you want your keywords to have sufficient search volume; but on the other hand, if that search volume is too high, the competition for that term may be too great for your website to make it in the top results, as broadly searched terms bury smaller sites under big-name, national competitors and the Wikipedia’s of the web.
It’s a fine line that you can balance if you choose the right words…
Make Your List and Check it Twice.
The first phase of creating a successful keyword list is to brainstorm as many ideas as possible. The following ideas are from Search Engine People Inc. founder Jeff Quipp:
- List root brands and product/service names (e.g. lawyer)
- Brainstorm variations of product and brand related keywords
- Talk to clients to determine what terms they use in search
- Study competitors’ sites
- Add geographic variations (e.g. Miami lawyers, Dade county lawyers)
- Add descriptive variations (e.g. personal injury lawyers, slip and fall lawyers)
Diversify and Conquer.
People don’t search things the same way. Some might use questions, some might take a straightforward approach through different variations, and others might strictly search with a geographic location. So when choosing a keyword list, it’s important to remember to consider the different possible ways people might search for you.
For example: when searching for a Spanish tutor, some search options might include:
- Spanish tutor new york
- Learn to speak Spanish
- I want to learn Spanish
- Learn Spanish fast
- Private Spanish lessons
- Best way to learn Spanish
Diversifying how people might search to find you opens you up to a larger audience, while still using phrases that are relevant and search-friendly.
Check Up on the Competition.
When you have your list of possible words and variations, type them into your favorite search engine and see who comes up on the first page of results. If the results show businesses like yours – your competition – then you’ve chosen a good word. If the results aren’t showing your competition, or like-minded businesses, then that keyword is probably not the strongest choice.
Analytics are Your New Best Friend.
Once you have your list strong, competitive keyword candidates, enter them each into the Google AdWords Keyword Tool.
This tool not only helps you generate more keyword possibilities to add to your list, but also shows you how each word stacks up in terms of search volume (global and local), the CPC (cost-per-click) rate and the competition. You can now weed out which words are too competitive and which don’t really garner sufficient results.
Your keywords play a tremendous part in your SEO success, and following these simple ensures that you’ll choose the ones that your customers are searching with – the ones that get your business found!
For more on how to effectively use keywords within your website copy, click here.
