Keywords should be the focal point of all of your internet commerce from your website content to your pay-per-click advertising, even your blog. Think of your keywords as a form of branding. They shape, or more accurately create, the identity of your website for the search engines and the people using them to search. Keywords are the beginning of it all.
Even if you don't know what a keyword is and and haven't spent one moment selecting them, keywords exist on your website. Basically, the keywords are the words that people are searching for. When someone goes to a search engine and types in something, their search term - it can be a single word or multiple words - becomes a keyword. If the search term (keyword) exists in your site, theoretically, the person will find your site. I say theoretically because your page could be number 1 million out of 3 million pages.
That's why keywords are so important. If you haven't chosen them and made an effort to use them, then your page isn't optimized and your page will be at the bottom of the pile. If your page isn't optimized, it's not going to get the kind of exposure you want it to get. How important are keywords? Think of it this way. Pretend you sell birdseed for exotic birds including Amazon parrots. If your page only uses the phrase "birdseed for exotic parrots" and never uses "Amazon parrots" every time someone searches for "birdseed for Amazon parrots" you lose a sale. Keywords are dollars lost or made depending on how you choose them and use them.
How do you go about determining your keywords? The answer is, it depends. If you hire a professional like me, we do it for you. Of course, you will need to be involved in the process because you know your product better than anyone. But, I am paid to find the keywords that work best for you. There are a number of tools I use to make the process run smoothly and to assure that I get words that will be useful to you and your website. Some of the tools I will use include:
If you already have a website and are updating it, a good place to start is your website. Hopefully the company hosting your site provides you with analytics so that you can look at who is visiting your site. One of the analytics should be the keywords (often called search terms or search strings) that bring people to your site. Look through these terms and see what words people are using. Do some of these words surprise you? If so, you are not alone. Often business owners find that what people are searching for is different than what you think they are looking for. It may be the same product, but it's the words that are being used that are important.
| Resume | Home |
| Samples | Why the name Mohawk Lakes |
| Search Engine Optimization |