PICKING THE CORRECT KEYWORD
Keywords are really the cornerstone of any SEO program. Your keywords play a large part in determining where in search rankings you’ll land, and they also mean the difference between a user finding your page or not. Selecting the right keywords for your site means the difference between being a nobody on the Web and being the first site that users click when they perform a search. Therefore, when you’re picking keywords, you want to be sure that you’ve selected the right ones. How do you know what’s right and what’s not? You’ll be looking at two types of keywords: brand keywords and generic keywords.
Brand keywords are keywords associated with your brand. It seems pretty obvious that these keywords are important; however, many people don’t think they need to pay attention to these keywords because they’re already tied to the site. Not true. If you don’t use the keywords contained in your business name, business description, and specific category of business, you’re missing out. If you don’t own them, who will? And if someone else owns them, how will they use those keywords to direct traffic away from your site?
Generic keywords are all the other keywords that are not directly associated with your company brand. For example, if your web site, Myntra.com, sells clothing, then keywords such as clothing, tank tops, cargo pants, and bathing suits might be generic keywords that you could use on your site.
Before going too much farther in this description of keywords and how to choose the right ones, you should know that keywords fall into two other categories:
keywords you pay a fee to use (called pay-per-click), and naturally occurring keywords that just seem to work for you without the need to pay someone to ensure they appear in search results (called organic keywords).
When you think about purchasing keywords, these fall into the pay-per-click category. When you stumble upon a keyword that works, that falls into the organic category. As you begin considering the keywords that you’ll use on your site, the best place to start brainstorming is with keywords that apply to your business. Every business has its own set of buzzwords that people think of when they think about that business or the products or services related to the business. Start your brainstorming session with words and phrases that are broad in scope, even if they may not bring great search results. Then narrow your selections to more specific words and phrases, which will bring highly targeted traffic.
Table 5-1 shows how broad keywords compare to specific key phrases
keywords you pay a fee to use (called pay-per-click), and naturally occurring keywords that just seem to work for you without the need to pay someone to ensure they appear in search results (called organic keywords).
When you think about purchasing keywords, these fall into the pay-per-click category. When you stumble upon a keyword that works, that falls into the organic category. As you begin considering the keywords that you’ll use on your site, the best place to start brainstorming is with keywords that apply to your business. Every business has its own set of buzzwords that people think of when they think about that business or the products or services related to the business. Start your brainstorming session with words and phrases that are broad in scope, even if they may not bring great search results. Then narrow your selections to more specific words and phrases, which will bring highly targeted traffic.
Table 5-1 shows how broad keywords compare to specific key phrases
Recall the information on Long Tail search. The keywords that appear in the left column of Table 5-1 are those at the broad head of search. These are some of the most competitive keywords available, and they typically require a paid keyword campaign to even come close to the top ranking. But that doesn’t mean you should discard them from your keyword options.
The amount of potential traffic that can be generated by these broad keywords is huge if you can rank high enough. Just keep in mind that it will probably take a lot of time and a large budget to land on the first page of results, not to mention in the number one spot. Conversely, the keywords in the right column are Long Tail keywords. They’re more specific and will probably draw smaller amounts of traffic to your site. The traffic that Long Tail keywords draw, however, tends to be qualified traffic, meaning those visitors are more likely to reach a conversion goal you’ve established for your web site.
The amount of potential traffic that can be generated by these broad keywords is huge if you can rank high enough. Just keep in mind that it will probably take a lot of time and a large budget to land on the first page of results, not to mention in the number one spot. Conversely, the keywords in the right column are Long Tail keywords. They’re more specific and will probably draw smaller amounts of traffic to your site. The traffic that Long Tail keywords draw, however, tends to be qualified traffic, meaning those visitors are more likely to reach a conversion goal you’ve established for your web site.
For example, people searching for ‘‘Tees’’ already know what they’re looking for. If your web site features those knives and information about them, and it’s properly loaded with the right keywords, then you’re more likely to land in the top search results; and when those searchers see you in the top results and click through to your site, they’re more likely to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter or mailing list, or help you reach whatever other goal you might have for that page.
Another advantage to Long Tail keywords is that it’s easier to achieve organic SEO with them. Specific key phrases tend to be in lower demand than broader, more popular terms, so a little work and attention to detail should help you rank well for these terms. Ultimately, it may result in less traffic than a broader term, but the traffic it does drive to your site should be much better targeted, which may work out better for you in the long run.
In short, as you consider the keywords that you want to use in optimizing your web site, think in terms of both broad words and deep phrases. They have different requirements and payoffs, but both will prove useful in your SEO efforts.
Image source: Google
Thanks for Reading
Image source: Google
Thanks for Reading
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