Using the right Keywords

Using the right Keywords is crucial to any website. If you use the wrong keywords you may get few visitors, if any, or if you do, they might not be the right visitors. It is therefore very important that you know which keywords you want to use before you begin you SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Your keywords are the terms that your potential visitors will use to find your website. Therefore using the keywords that give a clear idea of what you site is about is crucial.

First of all you need to make sure you know which keywords are searched for in relation to a site like yours. You don’t want to pick keywords that nobody searches for, or else you’ll end up getting little traffic. There are several tools that you can use to find out roughly the number of search there are for different terms. These include Google’s tool at adwords.google.com and wordtracker.com. You shouldn’t try to second guess which terms people use; just because you would use a particular term doesn’t mean that other will. It is not just about finding terms that generate a lot of searches; you need to make sure they are terms used by people who are looking for the service you are offering. In other words you need the right type of visitors. If you run a web design agency, you want visitors who are looking for a website to be designed for them. If they don’t want a website then they are of no good to you. You need to make sure the keywords you choose describe your services.

The most common searches are not always the best though. A very competitive term that many Internet users search for will be difficult to rank highly for. A less competitive term, which is still searched for in decent number, could be much more useful. It is better to get 20% of 1 million visitors, than 1% of 10 million.

Long tail keywords can be very useful. Long tail keywords are terms of more the two words. Research shows that those using long tail keywords are more likely to purchase something. They are looking for something specific, because it is something specific they are looking to buy. For example if someone types into Google ‘Ford Couga’, they are probably searching for this model of car because they are looking to purchase one. Therefore long tail keywords that match you services, but are searched for, could be of use.

Keywords relating to geographical location are something else that could be useful. People often search for services within their local area. This of course is dependant on what type of service you offer. When people search for restaurants for example, they are probably looking for a restaurant in a certain area. Therefore optimising for the term ‘Indian Restaurant Salisbury’ would be more beneficial than simply ‘Indian Restaurant’.

There are many things to take into consideration when choosing your keywords. You need to research your keywords very carefully, making sure the terms you choose are searched for, and could bring you the type of visitors you want.

Andrew Marshall ©