Search Engine
Optimization:
Selecting the
Correct Keywords
To get listed correctly in the search engines
each page of your site that you want listed needs to be optimized to the best of
your ability. Since the keywords that you decide to target will be used
throughout the optimization process choosing the right keywords is essential. If
you choose the wrong keywords you will not be found in the search engines. If
you are not found in the search engines how will anyone find your site?
Since the keywords you choose to
optimize your pages with are so important we have put together some tips to help
you make sure that you make the right choices. You should utilize these tips
when selecting keywords for each page that you plan to submit to the search
engines.
1. Think "specific keyword phrases"
not "keywords". Why? Due to the extreme amount of competition for
general terms in the search engines, if your keyword phrases are too general it
is very unlikely you will rank well in the search engines. You stand a far
better chance to rank well for specific phrases where there is less competition.
The resulting traffic, since it is more highly targeted, should also be much
higher quality too!
| Here's an example for a site selling shoes: |
| Much
Too General |
Much
Better! |
-
shoes
-
men's
shoes
-
women's
shoes
|
-
imported
Italian shoes
-
men's
leather penny loafers
-
women's
aerobic sneakers
|
2. Try to
think like your target audience. What would they search for when looking for the
page you are optimizing? It is
very easy to fall in the trap of coming up with a short list of what YOU would
search for, but what about everyone else? They will not necessarily use the same
keywords as you. You should try to come up with as many keyword phrases as you
can think of that relate to the page you are optimizing. Try asking a few
friends and family what they would search for when searching for a site like
yours.
3. Check out
your competition for ideas. Do a search using keywords that you already know you
want to target and click through on the top sites that come up. Once on the site
view the source HTML code and view the keywords they have in their meta tags -
this should give you many more ideas! Make sure to only use keywords that relate
to YOUR site or page. To view the HTML code simply click the 'View' at the top
of your web browser then select 'Source', or 'Page Source'.
4. You should
develop a list of keyword phrases, following the tips on this page, for each
page that you optimize for the search engines.
*** Note :This article was
pulled from Microsoft Small Business Center. No Author available***
Skye
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