It has been called a process, even an art form, but selecting the proper keywords for your website involves many hours of tedious research and a little conjecture.  Regardless of how you describe the process, proper keyword selection is the most important link between your website and potential clients, customers and visitors and it is vitally important to any search engine optimization campaign.

People searching for information enter specific keywords into the search engines to find what they are looking for about products, companies, services or whatever.  Keyword research allows you to see how people are searching for information, what words they are using and which phrases you should use in your content so they are directed to your website.  By gathering keyword data, you can gain valuable insight to searchers behavior and ways to create a user-friendly, informational website that converts visitors into customers.  So where to does one start their keyword research?

Start by washing away the common misconception that you already know what terms searchers use to find your website.  If you are just guessing at what people are looking for, you run the risk of getting it completely wrong.  Place yourself in the searcher’s shoes and don’t look for one right answer.  Successful keyword research should lead to numerous great answers.

When doing your research, don’t limit yourself.  It is easy to get trapped with a specific phrase you have your heart and mind set on.  In some situations, starting with a single word can open the door to a much larger range of potential keywords.  If you are not sure where to start, select a broad, non-specific term to start your search and discover a plethora of less competitive yet very effective keyword terms to develop your keyword list.  Bear in mind, many keywords and keyword phrases are so popular it is almost impossible to get a high ranking for them.

Once you have completed your keyword collection, and it should be a fairly extensive list, the next step is to research the keywords popularity and competition.  This can be accomplished through the use of several keyword research and analytic tools.  There are many keyword research tools available, like those offered by Overture, Google and Wordtracker.  To ensure the quality of your keyword data, analysis should be performed and cross-referenced across multiple tools.  There are also web analytics tools available such as those offered by Webtrends, Omniture and HitBox.  Using these tools will allow you to identify the most effective keywords for your optimization plan.

It is also important to target locally. Local targeting, including your location in your keyword search phrases, is very successful as many people mention specific locations when searching for services and products.  Also take the time to explore all niche opportunities. It is essential to identify what part of a market you’d like to focus on.  Don’t forget, getting ranked number one for a term that has nothing to do with your website is a giant waste of time and money.

Keyword research is the first step in the optimization of your website for search engines and to gain greater site traffic.  So get out there and start researching.  Discover new keyword opportunities and fix existing keyword uses.  Keyword research is an ongoing process.  Your customers and your website change over time.  It is important to monitor your keywords and tweak them accordingly.  Although keyword research is a tedious task it is well worth the effort.

Rafferty Pendery
CEO Studio98

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Tags: , Internet Marketing, keyword research, Rafferty Pendery, Raffy Pendery, Studio98

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