Keyword Research – The Hot & Sexy Basics
The search for keywords is the foundation of any SEO work, and is paramount to making sure that any actions implemented to increase the visibility of a business on the Internet, are successful. There are many ways to increase visibility on the Internet, but choosing the correct keywords is the most basic bread and butter function. Failure to identify the right keywords is like printing posters using toilet paper.
Keywords are the base from which the great search engines program their search algorithm. Like building a car, they must all start their designs with round wheels.
What is a good keyword?
A good keyword should be selected based on several criteria. Firstly the chosen keywords for your SEO efforts must meet a demand of Internet users. In other words, there is no point in adding keywords such as “left handed feather dusters”, if nobody is searching for them. On the flip side, you will have a lot of competition if you are choosing words that are searched for quite often. Every middle-large company (almost) has a website, and each is a potential competitor in the race for positioning.
Ask yourself, is it worth your while competing for the most popular keywords? Are your customers really using it enough to warrant its use?
Relevance is very important. What is the advantage of position if it has nothing to do with your industry and your offer? Remember that SEO is not only synonymous with positioning, but also targets. Why keyword for nose reduction surgery if your website sells tea cosies? On a more serious note, there are a lot of websites using popular keywords to rope people in, on the sad belief that traffic=sales. It doesn’t, it never will and it’s annoying. Don’t do it.
How to search for keywords?
The methods are many and varied:
- The keywords you can think of.
- The keywords you would type into a search engine if you were looking for your service/product.
- Go to your competition’s website, on IE, click view on your menu bar and go down to source. In the website’s programming you will see your competition’s keywords. Have a good look, and you will often see them listed and separated with commas.
- Utilise the tools provided by search engines: Google, for example, offers a search that will tell you more about the requested keywords. Try their adwords service.
- Start typing your query into Google and look at what appears on the drop down menu as you type.
Trial and error works well too. You will be surprised at the little nooks and crannies in search engines that offer you more traffic
