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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
What is keyword research and why is it so important?
 Keywords,
as they pertain to search engines, are words or phrases that
describe the content of your Web site and are used by potential
customers when they are searching for a Web site just like yours.
Keyword
research—sometimes referred to as keyword discovery—is
the process of discovering the actual words and
phrases people enter into the search engines when they're searching
online. Keyword research is important because it reveals the
words you must use if you want Google
and Yahoo to deliver your Web pages to pre-qualified audience of potential customers.
When we talk to our clients about optimizing their Web site or
driving traffic to certain pages of their site, the term
keyword research crops up again and again. That's
because without comprehensive research results at our fingertips—we're
working in the dark.
Look at at the connection between the keywords potential customers
use when searching the Internet, and the keywords used on a Web site:
Why is it so easy to get your keywords wrong?
This is how organizations end up using the wrong keywords on their Web
site:
- They make assumptions about their keywords.
- They use a product's name as the keyword for the product.
- They believe the words they use and the words their customers use are one and the same.
- They choose their keywords without considering their target market's
needs.
- They use only the broadest version of each keyword.
- They fail to analyze the competition they're up against for each keyword.
Keywords can be divided into types, and the types
that will work best for you will be determined—among
other things—by the nature of your
business, and the amount of competition your have.
Here are some common types of keywords:
- The Broad keyword – a word that describes an entire industry or concept: dog supplies, pet products.
- The Modified keyword – a broad keyword with another word, or two, added to
it to make it more specific: organic dog
supplies, natural pet products.
- The
Long-tail keyword – a keyword with multiple modifiers: chicken
flavored organic dog food.
- Popular keyword – a highly competitive keyword that many people search for on the
Internet: dog care.
- Niche keyword – a keyword that is relevant to a
narrowly defined group of potential customers: dog psychic.
- Seldom-searched keyword – a keyword that is not commonly searched, but is
very relevant to some businesses:
holistic dog care.
This is the process we use to determine the correct keywords for
SEO projects:
- We interview you to establish a list of starter keywords.
- We determine which keywords, if any, are already driving
targeted traffic to your Web site.
- We use keyword discovery tools to find keywords your customers are using.
- We assess your competitors' Web sites to see which keywords they are using.
- We look at their pay-per-click campaigns to see which keywords they are buying.
- We analyze each page of your site in order to allocate appropriate
keywords.
- We calculate how popular each keyword is and how much
competition it attracts.
- We eliminate the words that are unlikely to attract qualified customers to your site.
With relevant keywords used appropriately on your Web
site, you can look forward to attracting more of the kind of Web
visitors you want—the kind who become customers.
Any questions?
Please feel free to
contact us for more info on search engine optimization.
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