Search Engine Optimization, Your Website

Are you choosing the wrong keywords for your website?

Identifying and researching keywords is a crucial aspect to your website.  If you’re targeting the wrong keywords, your potential clients may not be able to find you, or will navigate to your page when they have something completely different in mind.  This article will help you identify your keywords by determining which keywords will generate the best traffic to your website.

What’s a keyword?

In order to identify your keywords, first you need to know what a keyword is.  When a potential client uses a search engine, they will enter a keyword or a keyword phrase into the search box.  Say, for example, you own a window store in Columbus, Ohio with one of the best selections of energy efficient windows in the city, and potential client Sally Surfer is looking for new windows.  If her keyword phrase search of “energy efficient windows Columbus Ohio” is similar to the keywords used by your website, hopefully she will be able to navigate to your website.

How do you know what keywords are right for your business?

While you may think you know what words your customers are using to find your website, that may not be the case.  As the site owner, you know a lot about the industry you work in and the words you would use to find your website. 

However, your client is probably less familiar with the industry jargon and may go about searching for your site with completely different keywords.

The first step is to brainstorm and create a list of potential keywords you think customers might be using to find your website. Additionally, use your friends who aren’t in the industry as resources.  They may have a completely different take on what they would consider keywords for your website that can be a good gauge of what potential customers may think as well.  You can even take a peek at what are some of your competitor’s keywords.  Going back to the window example, your list could include window, windows Columbus Ohio, energy efficient windows, energy conserving windows, etc.

After you have compiled a list, make use of a keyword research tool.  One such tool offered by Google is the Google Keyword Tool.  This tool will help show you what terms are searched for most commonly on Google and can help you narrow down the list that you have compiled of keywords.

 

Remember, just because a term ranks the highest in search volume doesn’t mean it will be the most helpful in getting a potential client to navigate to your website.  While “windows” might be a popular search term, your website could appear farther down the search results list, or even worse, this general term could be leading customers to your website when they are really interested in Microsoft Windows.  While you might have a higher placement in the search results with a more specific term such as “energy efficient windows”, this search term is less common.  To overcome this dilemma, it is best to use a combination of terms that are broader and more highly searched for along with the more specific terms.

Once you have identified the four or five keywords you want to focus on, you are ready to start implementing them into you site!