This article is written for blog and website owners who have limited to no knowledge of search engine optimization and keyword research. It’s designed to be an introduction to the subject and is not an in-depth explanation.
As I go through keyword research, it may be helpful to download this keyword worksheet. Also, you can listen to an audio file of our #SEOchat about keyword research with @5minutesformom moderated by @magsmac here.
Why Keywords are Important
They are a major factor in how search engine results are served up.
Search engines see web pages in terms of data and links. You see pictures and words.
When you navigate to a URL (i.e. http://adventcreative.com), your web browser asks the server where your site is hosted for the index.html file, which tells the web browser how to assemble the pictures and files stored on the server. The result is what you see in the image above.
Search robots browse the web in a similar fashion to humans in that they go from link to link requesting the information for websites. Within the HTML is a special section of information called the meta data. It’s designated to inform search engines about your site.
Meta Data Tags
There are four tags that you should know about. Here they are in order of SEO importance:
- 1. Title Tag - keep it under 60 characters
- 2. Description tag - keep it under 150 characters
- 3. Robots tag - should (usually) allow robots to index and follow
- 4. Keyword tag - use no more that 8 keywords (preferably 2-4)
- 4. Keyword tag - use no more that 8 keywords (preferably 2-4)
- 3. Robots tag - should (usually) allow robots to index and follow
- 2. Description tag - keep it under 150 characters
Search engines use the information in these meta tags to search your site and index, and cache your web pages for retrieval when relevant searches are queried. It’s important to note that most search engines, including Google, do not pay much attention to keyword meta tags. Still, I think it’s a good idea to have them if for no other reason than it helps you keep focused on your brand and the purpose of your website.
How to Pick Keywords: Basic Research
Use the keyword worksheet to make a list of all the terms that might apply to your site – ideally 100-500 words.
Use SEMrush to look at what words you might currently rank for.
Use the Site Keyword Tool to see what keywords might be pulled from your site’s copy.
Use the Google Keyword Tool to take those words and find synonyms.
Use seologs keyword difficulty tool to find out how hard it will be to rank for a term.
Rate each word’s quality and relevance to what you do on a scale of 0-100%. This is subjective, but it’s a worthwhile exercise.
Finding Relevant Keywords
Put yourself in the shoes of the people who might search for you. What would they type into a search engine? What kind of visitors will each word attract? Put yourself in their shoes and use those words as a starting point.
Finding Converting Keywords
Setting up a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign is probably the best way to get accurate data on search volume and how words convert to sales on your site. After all your research, you still are making your best guess on keywords. PPC campaigns let you compare words and feel out the competition. Testing is always better than guessing.
You can start a PPC campaign with Google, Yahoo, MSN and more.
Microsoft also provides a tool that estimates the online commercial intention.
On-Page Keyword Optmization
In my experience, I have found the best success with the following formula for keyword implementation:
SEO plugins for Wordpress - Platinum SEO is a great plugin for Wordpress that will help you optimize each page for search engines.
Off-Page Keyword Optimization
Focusing on getting links from 8-10 partner sites (i.e. offline relationships) and ask for a link that includes the primary keyword in the anchor text.
Tracking Results
SERPs stands for Search Engine Results Page. SEOBook.com has a great Firefox SERP plugin that can help you track where you rank for given keywords.
Feel free to contact me if you have more questions about keywords, and have fun.