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Keyword
Optimization Guide for Search Engine Positioning
We all know it and we all do it. Whenever the typical web user
needs to find something on the web, he or she will almost always
instinctively go to one of the top search engines and run a
search. Then, he or she will have a look at the first 30 search
results returned (usually the first three pages of results),
hardly ever looking beyond that. If nothing looks appealing,
they will run another search using a variation of the keywords
they used on the first search. Again, they will look at the
first 30 results. If they still find nothing of interest, they
may switch to a different search engine and repeat the process.
This, believe it or not, is the typical web navigation behavior
of at least 86% of the 110 million all web users out there. The
question is, does your web site capitalize on this behavior? If
the answer is yes for you, then no matter what a user searches
for that has any relation at all to your products, they should
find you even if they hadn't thought of finding you! That
translates to a very high amount of daily traffic to your site.
Is this what is happening for you?
We bet the answer is no. Very few web sites really capitalize on
this behavior. However, you can learn how to do so. For this
tutorial, we shall assume that you are in the business of
selling wedding gowns. You have a web site that does a good job
of displaying your wedding gowns, but like most other web site
owners, your web traffic is really low and clients are simply
not finding you. You have done everything you can think of, but
your pages hardly come up on the search engines. What next?
Well, get ready to learn one of the most effective online
marketing strategies.
We know that the web user will think of a keyword or phrase and
type that into a search form on an engine. That is his or her
first step, and so it should be ours. This is a very important
step! Get a piece of paper or open up your text editor and keep
writing all the keywords and phrases that you think of as you go
through the steps outlined below. Selecting the right keywords
or keyword phrases will skyrocket your traffic. Research has
shown that most people use phrases of 2 to 3 keywords when
searching. People have come to learn that just typing in one
keyword in a search will get them thousands of records that they
just do not need. Therefore, they combine two or three keywords
in their searches.
Your list should end up having about 50 or more keywords and
phrases. You must write down every word that a person might use
to look for your site PLUS words they may use to look for other
related information or products. This is no easy task. It
involves some research and a fair bit of thought. Remember,
thousands of people out there looking for wedding gowns may not
all think alike, look for wedding gowns directly, or even
realize at the time that they can get wedding gowns on the net!
To get a good list, here are the steps that you should go
through. Keep your pen and paper handy so that you keep writing
as you go along each step.
1. Think! Brainstorm! Sit down for several minutes and think!
Write down whatever keywords or phrases come to mind. Then look
at your list and see what other word combinations you can make
out from the keywords you have already written down.
2. Look at your products and services and see what words
relating to them will pop up in your mind. Write the names of
each product or service that you deal in. These product names
will also be part of your keyword list.
3. Ask your family, associates, clients, and friends what words
and phrases they would most likely use to search for products or
services like yours.
4. See what keywords your competitors use. See what keywords are
featured on their pages and in their meta tags.
5. Be specific AND general in scope. Think of words that also
describe things related to what your site is about. For example,
if you sell wedding gowns, also think about other things and
words related to weddings, such as honeymoon, bridal registry,
wedding rings, engagements, and other wedding accessories and
services. The idea here is to capture people who may be looking
for other things related to weddings, whether they are directly
looking for wedding gowns or not at the time. Chances are that
someone looking for any wedding related information will also be
interested in knowing about wedding gowns. Get the idea? This is
a very powerful way of getting more targeted traffic to your
site.
6. Do not forget misspelled words. People often misspell words
when they enter their search terms. Include commonly misspelled
words or phrases as part of your list.
7. If your site deals with a particular region, remember to
include that in your keyword list. E.g. 'Los Angeles wedding
gowns' if you deal in wedding gowns within Los Angeles. A lot of
people will search for wedding gowns, get a big list of returned
search results, and decide to add the words "Los
Angeles" (or wherever else they may be interested in) to
get more specific search results.
8. Use the long and short form of words, e.g. consult,
consulting, and consultants.
9. DO NOT SPAM! Do not use keywords that have nothing to do with
your web site. Do not list the keyword "sex" or
"free pics" just because they are frequently searched
for if they do not have anything to do with your web site. You
will only get traffic that is of no use to you anyway because
surfers will come to your site and leave angrily when they
realize you just cheated them. Also, search engines are on the
look out for such deceitful practices and can sometimes ban your
pages for spamming. As long as you stick with keywords related
to your core business, you will be fine, but do not go way out
of line.
10. Now its time for some research. You now need to look at what
people are actually searching for on the various engines and get
more phrases for your list. Here is a list of sites that will
help you out with that. When doing your research at these sites,
remember steps number 5, 6, and 8 above - people often misspell
words, they use different word forms, and they may be looking
for a whole lot of different stuff all related to your products.
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SEARCH
ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
