Learn to Find the Best Keywords for Your Site
In the last post (What is Search Engine Optimization? Part I) we discussed how search engines have a checklist of characteristics they like to see in a site, much like you might have a checklist when looking for a new relationship.
One of the most important characteristics search engines are looking for is the proper use of keywords, or the main concepts for your website. Keywords are what people search for when looking for something.
How do you know which keywords are right for your website?
Start by deciding what your website is about. Maybe you sell ice cream toppings. So, ice cream toppings and ice cream topping might be your main keywords, to start out with.
But, you also want to come up with similar phrases. Toppings for ice creams, for example, or ice cream supplies. You want to consider who could use your product, and what they might be looking for. Maybe they own an ice cream shoppe, and they’re looking for supplies. Or, maybe they are just looking for toppings for their own personal use, buying sprinkles and chocolate sauce to make sundaes at home.
Now that you have a few general keywords to work with, it’s time to get specific. What kinds of toppings do you sell?
- Sprinkles (rainbow, chocolate, pastels, specific colors?)
- dip tops (cherry, chocolate peanut butter)
- sauces (butterscotch, chocolate, caramel, strawberry)
- sundae toppings (hot fudge, caramel, pineapple, cherries, crushed nuts, Spanish peanuts…)
- Milkshake flavors (blue raspberry, coffee, banana)
Each of these become keywords as well. Do you sell ice cream store supplies, such as mixers or small freezers? You can get more keyword ideas from there. Do you sell mostly in one particular area? For example, if you supplied ice cream toppings to Miami, you could add keywords like “Miami ice cream toppings” to your list.
Keep brainstorming. Even a simple website has dozens of possible keywords. Once you’ve completed your list, start looking for groupings of words. For the ice cream toppings, you could divide by type of topping (dip, sprinkles, sauces) or by flavor (fruit, chocolate, ect.). Create pages for each grouping, to give yourself a better opportunity to use those keywords. Don’t try to put them all on every page, though. Stay on topic; keywords are important but not as important as how easy the content, or writing, on your site is to read.
Search engines will go through your site, counting words, to learn what your site is about. If the words used most often (outside of words like ‘the,’ ‘if,’ and the like) are your chosen keywords for your site, you stand a much better chance of being ranked in the top search engine result pages (SERPS). That’s a really good thing.
The most obvious way to use keywords are in the content of each web page on your site. There are, however, a lot of other places to use keywords, and there are techniques that can help you make the most of every keyword you use.
That’s coming in Part III.
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