Find Best Keywords For Your Site

Keyword optimisation is probably the most important thing that you want to concentrate on with regards to search engine optimisation (SEO). Unfortunately, not many people know this, or do enough to optimise their sites' keywords. Before I knew the importance of keyword optimisation, I used to pluck any keywords that seemed relevant to my site, insert them into my title tag and meta tags, then submitted my site to the search engines. And then wondered why I didn't really get much traffic.

Well, now I've learnt something: make sure you don't rush, and you have to do your due research to find out what exactly are the keywords that are best for your site.

To do this, take a good look at the first page of your website, and really try to get a feel of what that page is about. Is the theme clear and defined? Or are there too many conflicting topics on that single page?

Your readers and the search engines prefer a single themed page that focuses on one particular topic, so try to keep to a subject. Split your page up into multiple pages if you find it to be too long or too complex.

Once you've done that, try to find the keywords of your page. These are the words or phrases that can best describe your content. Put yourself in your readers' shoes: what kind of words or phrases would they use if they wanted to find a page like yours through a search engine? Make a list of these keywords and keyphrases, and don't worry about making it as long as you want, you can scratch off all the excess keywords later.

Your goal is to try to find the one or two keywords that are best for your site, and optimise your site for them. Also try to remove those highly competitive, single-word keywords such as "books", "dvds", "mp3", "toys", "computers". You don't want these keywords, because it is so hard to get a good ranking with them. Hundreds of thousands of other websites are targeting these highly popular keywords, and it is simply not worth your effort.

Remember, it is always better to rank 5th for a less popular search term than to be ranked 500th for a highly popular search term! Choose keywords or keyphrases that still have searches done for them, but are not that competitive.

To have an estimate on the popularity of a search term, use a free service such as Overture's keyword suggestion tool to get a rough guide on the number of searches done. Run your list through the free keyword suggestion tool and Overture will be able to tell you how many times a particular term was searched for during the last month. This keyword suggestion tool is great to get a general idea of where your keywords stand.

You may also want to consider WordTracker, which is a paid service, but gives you a much clearer picture on which keywords are better to optimise for. WordTrack does offer a trial option, so you can make use of that to try out their service, or search for good keywords if you just have a small, one-time website project.

Once you have an idea of the popularity of the keywords and keyphrases in your list, consider scratching off the less commonly used terms. You might also discover some new terms with those tools as well, and you can add them to your list.

And that's it! You should now have a list of good, medium-popularity keywords and keyphrases. Make sure you repeat this process for each of your pages, and have a slighlty different list for every page that you have.

Alvin Poh has been specialising in web development, content distribution, advertising and marketing strategies since 1995. His goal is to provide practical information based upon his years of experience to help webmasters, website designers, and self-employed people achieve their goals in today's competitive Internet. At his site, you can learn how to make money online.

---

Googles PR System Explained

The complexities of Google's PR (Page Ranking) System have grown... Read More

SEO Expert Guide - Page Optimization (part 5/10)

In parts 1 - 4 you learnt how to develop... Read More

Whats with the Competition? Ever Heard of Cooperation?

I attended the SES Expo in San Jose, CA the... Read More

Keywords are the ?KEY? to a Popular and Profitable Web Site

Keyword Research will reveal answers to 3 critical questions:1. Is... Read More

Linking Strategies to Skyrocket to the Top of Google

If you don't know already, one of the key success... Read More

Now More Than Ever...You Need To Optimize Your Site for Search Engines

As the economy begins to recover in certain parts of... Read More

Designing a Better System for Search Engines

Designing a Better System for Search Engines and Information Distribution,... Read More

Google: The Ultimate Web Writer?s Style Guide

Indulge me for a moment.Forget that Google is a search... Read More

Over Optimization and the OOP - Does a Penalty Exist?

If you have questions about whether or not the Over-Optimization... Read More

Page Rank - A Quick Overview for Beginners

Page Rank (PR) is a specific value for a website... Read More

The Unethical SEO Myth

"The use of black hat SEO techniques are completely unethical."... Read More

5 Qualities to Look for in a Search Engine Optimization Program for Your Website

These days with millions of websites out there, you need... Read More

Crash Course in Getting a #1 Google Ranking

First, here's the rundown of some of the terminology I'm... Read More

Dealing With Search Engine Stress In A Home-Based Business

As a member of several search engine optimization forums, I... Read More

SEO #3: Getting Listed In Google in Under 24-Hours!

Yesterday you should have read the second course out of... Read More

Increase Web Site Sales with a SEO Proposal - Part 1

You can easily get confused by all the search engine... Read More

Adding Content To Your Site Every Day

If you have been a webmaster for more than a... Read More

The First Search Engine Marketing Method: Content That Meets Customers Needs

For your business web site, good search engine rankings and... Read More

Everything You Wanted To Know About Google -- But Were Afraid To Search For!

(A Reflective look at the little search engine that soared!)All... Read More

The Easiest Way to Your Google Sitemap

Google Sitemaps is a new tool for website owners and... Read More

Do the Robot!

Everyone should realize that the search engines (sponsored ads aside)are... Read More

Being dumped by Google? Learn how to avoid becoming a victim next time around!

After Google latest update nicknamed "Florida", many webmasters discovered that... Read More

Search Engine Robots - How They Work, What They Do (Part I)

Automated search engine robots, sometimes called "spiders" or "crawlers", are... Read More

How to Improve Your Search Engine Rankings

When people think of search engine optimization, they immediately think... Read More

Google Sitemaps Explained - How To Use Google Sitemaps

Three Ways To Index Your Site With Google Sitemaps [Difficult,... Read More

Ten Critical Website and Search Engine Promotion Mistakes

When it comes to promoting your website, you might think... Read More

Search Engine Optimization: Get the Low-down

Been hearing the words Search Engine Optimization lately? I know... Read More

If Content is King, then surely Relevance is Queen!

There has been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing in... Read More

A Way for Search Engines to Improve

Wouldn't it be nice if the search engines could comprehend... Read More

Google, Adsense, SEO, and How It All Works

Google uses an algorithm to determine the search engine results... Read More

Whats Link Popularity?

Link popularity is just one of the ways you can... Read More

Does Google Hire Mad Scientists?

Online search giant, Google, often tests the waters for new... Read More

7 Simple Steps to Spy on Your Online Competition and Acheive a High Page Rank

My Grandfather ran a small Grocery Store and when you... Read More