Picking the right keywords is essential to the success of your website. Keywords are what tell the search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing exactly what your site is about. If you want to rank high and drive lots of traffic to your website, you need to carefully plan out what will work for you!
What Keywords Do You Choose?
‘What keywords do I use?’ is a common question asked by both professional web marketers and small business owners. After all, choosing the right keywords can make or break the success you have with your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. The best way to answer that question is to pick words that best describe your business, services or product.
If you own a small business, like a flower shop, your main focus should be on the term ‘flower shop’. Sounds easy right? The problem is, there are probably dozens of businesses in your area going after the same search term and the competition for real estate on the top page of Google will be fierce. This is where you need to be creative and focus on longer search terms such as ‘local flower shop in the heart of the city’ or ‘shop for flowers online or have flowers delivered’. The possibilities are endless.
Think Like Your Customer!
When picking your keywords you need to think like your customer. Think about what they would type into Google when searching for your business, product or service. They might search for something like ‘Where do I find the best Italian restaurant in New York?’ or ‘Italian restaurant in New York’. If you have content that is geared towards those search terms, you will likely have more success with your overall rank.
The main tool many marketers use is one provided by Google. It is a free service and you simply need to sign up using a Gmail account. You are able to see how often a specific term is searched and what some of the most popular search terms are. You can try this tool here: https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
How Do You use Keywords in Your Website?
The entire goal of using keywords is to write naturally and put them where they belong. Each page should be specifically tailored towards one or two keywords you want to use. If you offer free delivery, write about the free delivery your business offers. If you have the best food in town or the best staff, write about that. There is no way to fool the search engines or your potential customers. The more naturally you write, the better you will do.
How Often Do You use Your Keywords?
The typical accepted rule is to not overuse the keywords within your website. As mentioned above, you need to write naturally about your product or service and the keywords will come to you. If you try to force it your customers will notice and so will the search engines. An accepted rule of thumb is to use you keyword between 3% and 5%. Any more than that is considered ‘keyword stuffing’ and you will be caught and will not rank.
There is no ‘trick’ to where you actually put your desired keywords. By writing naturally and talking about how amazing your business is and what’s unique about your products or services will go a lot further than trying to cheat.