SEO is about getting your site to rank high for certain keywords and phrases, so the words you choose make all the difference. None of the tips and tactics you’re learning will make a bit of difference if you aren’t using the right search terms.
The first step is to determine the subject of your website, and of each page. This will give you your basic keywords. You may also want to include a few common synonyms.
Once you have a list of keywords and phrases it’s time to do some research and refining. You want to find out two things for each keyword: how popular the term is with searchers, and how many websites you are competing with.
Start by doing a search for the term. The results page will tell you how many pages contain the term in any order or position.
You’ll also want to determine how often your specific keywords appear:
- as an exact match – by using quotation marks around your “keyword phrase”
- in a page title – by putting allintitle:keyword in the search box
- in a URL – by putting allinurl:keyword in the search box
This will give you an idea of the competition for your selected keywords and phrases.
What Are They Searching For?
The next step is to do some “popularity” research. The idea is to find out what people are looking for, because it does you no good to rank high for a term nobody uses.
A good place to begin is Google Trends. There you can find out what terms people are searching for. And with the advanced features in insights for search, you can further refine your research by location, season, etc.
Finally, you have to make sure your keywords are used properly on your website. If you haven’t yet built your site (or if you’re planning a “website refresh“) you’ll want to decide on the right keywords – or make sure your web developer does. If your site is already up and running, you’ll still want to periodically check on the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.
Get the results you need. There are resources available if you need help. Contact me today and we’ll find them.