All Keyed Up – How to Use Words That Pay Off
You have decided that you want a website. But, how do you get it to be seen by search engines? The key is keywords. An adage on the Internet is that content is king, that is with the proper keywords in place. To learn a little more information about keywords and how important they are to your website – read on.
What’s the purpose of keywords? Keywords are specific, targeted words that people search with when looking for information. The search engines and directories will use the keywords found on your web site to place your site into a certain category. You will need to be sure that the keywords that you use are relevant to what you want to tell or sell to a customer. For example, if you have an adoption site and you want to sell books about adoption – then you might want to include “books about adoption” as a keyword phrase.
The search engines use certain mathematical calculation software to figure how and where a site ranks based on keywords and phrases. It is an algorithm. Based on this, it looks for certain criteria. Value to a site depends on how many times a keyword or phrase is used, where the keywords are located on your webpage, and finally how the tags on your site use the keywords. Different search engines use different algorithms. The purpose of choosing tightly defined keyword content for your site is so that you will get the spiders and crawlers to rank you higher in the engines and directories.
To find the best keywords for your website, there are several approaches to take. The most important part is to determine what a visitor might be looking for. Look around at other sites similar to yours and see keywords they are using. Ask yourself if it makes sense to use similar keywords for what you are selling. If it does, then you can be sure that your review of other websites is on target. By targeting good keywords, you will hit a home run with traffic and increase profits.
There are two ways to come up with a keyword list to use for your website. Take pencil in hand and write down every word or phrase that you can think of. You will have to begin with the basic words. For instance, if you are selling hats, include words like hats, color of hats, popular color of hats, and then expand from those such as formal hats, seasonal hats, hat accessories etc. Do not be afraid to use as many keywords as you think appropriate. Think not only of what you would search for but try to anticipate what others would search for as well. Use between 60 – 100 solid keywords and phrases and you will be well prepared for a spider or crawler to grab your website and rank it!
Many times, you will need a little extra help with finding the perfect keywords for your website. Take advantage of all of the special software on the market for keyword research. The software today is easy to use. You can often find niche markets that you have not previously thought of. Paid subscription plans will allow you access to millions of search engines too. Often it is the best way to research, especially for niche markets that are very profitable. The subscription plans are not that expensive and the hundreds of keywords that you can get from it are worth it.
Finally it needs to be stated that you’ll need to follow the rules with keywords, or your site will be dropped from the search engine ranking and directories. Don’t try to keyword stuff your site pages. Also, do not attempt dirty design tricks such as fake pages. The software will detect the hoax and it will cost you more in the long run. Site redesign, time in keyword regeneration, loss profits and a ruined reputation just are not worth it. Using them might initially draw your site up quickly in the search engine ratings, but once caught, you will lose those rankings. Follow the rules from the start and be honest, it is the best policy to follow. You’ll know when you succeed that all your hard work paid off.
