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Choose the Right Keywords
The first step in any successful search engine
optimization campaign is to choose and incorporate the
right keywords for your site. It can make the difference
in generating the greatest amount of targeted traffic to
your site or just getting more hits for related queries.
People who search on your keywords will find you if you are
listed higher in the returned list of sites on each search
engine... simple
concept. But, single keywords alone don't mean much, since
research shows that most search engine queries are a
combination of key phrases that people use to narrow down
the most pertinent sites returned for exactly what they're
looking for. People don't search on single keywords alone,
unless they are looking for a name brand or high profile
site that's well known through other avenues of advertising
and marketing.
Let's say your site is about Siamese cat breeding and
boarding. Just targeting the keyword 'cats' is too broad and
competitive to bring you any real results from people who
might contact you to make a purchase. Your targeted
market is people who want to buy (what?) or board (where?) Siamese cats. You
might brainstorm some key phrases that will attract people
who are in the market for your product and services. Make a
list of what your targeted visitor might type into a search
engine to find sites similar to yours:
-Siamese cat breeders (your competitive market)
-cat boarding (another competitive market)
-Siamese cat boarding Tuscaloosa (more specific-type of cat
and location is
important for your products and services)
-registered chocolate point Siamese cats (very specific)
-show quality Siamese kittens (more specific targeted
key phrase)
Now you have an idea of how to come up with some specific and
general keyword phrases in your site that will bring you the
traffic that you desire and key phrases that you can compete on by
incorporating them into your pages.
Take only one or two key phrases and re-write one page of
your site to include them. If you don't already have a page
that you can re-write, create a new one and name it 'siamese_cat_breeders.htm'
or whatever page extension you're using, .php, .asp, .html,
etc... Also make the page title the same in your code
<title>Siamese cat breeders</title>
In this page, put a heading on the first paragraph as
'Siamese Cat Breeders' and make sure you use the same key
phrase in your page text at about three times for every 100
words. The top search engines are looking for 'content rich'
pages of 200-400 words. Put the page in your site map and
link to it from the menu in your other pages with a
descriptive link to your page using your key phrase 'siamese
cat breeders'. Follow the same pattern for your other key
phrases either re-writing or creating new optimized pages
for them only using one or two key phrases per page. You're
halfway there to getting more targeted traffic now.
If your site is already indexed, the search bots will pick
up your new page and keywords on their next return visit. If
your site is not yet indexed, you would submit it after all
your pages have been optimized. Give the search engines a
week or two and then monitor your progress by going to each
search engine and typing in your key phrase to see if you
come up in the top thirty results. Tweak your pages if
necessary to adjust your rankings for higher results.
Of course, tracking and monitoring multiple key phrases and
tracking your results in multiple search engines would be
very time consuming. This is where most people fail to rank
higher, since they just don't have the time, resources and
know-how to adjust their pages for the optimal results, let
alone track their progress. That's where SEO consultants
come in. They've already done the research and they have the
tools that can show you how to get the best possible results
for your site by making suggestions, giving tips and
tracking reports to help you optimize your site and get
maximum results.
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