To Pick Your Keywords

by Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
NetMechanic, Inc.

Relevant, targeted keywords can get you to the top of search engine rankings and help you attract visitors interested in your web site's content and products. When your customers enter keywords to search, do they find you - or your competitors?

Learn how to choose the best keywords for your site.

Keywords Reflect Your Site's Focus

Develop your keyword strategy during the site design process when you are already focused on how to communicate the purpose of your Web site. Selecting your keywords is much like writing an extremely short mission statement. Ask yourself several questions:

The answers to those questions will help you select appropriate keywords because they force you to think about how your site's content serves its intended audience. If you already have an established business (online or not), go one step further and ask your customers what words they would use to find you. Don't limit your keywords to your products; people visit your site looking for information too.

For instance, suppose you sell home ice cream making supplies and attract visitors with interesting content about ice cream in general - like ice cream recipes. So your keywords wouldn't only be product-oriented (ice cream maker, rock salt, etc), you would also include keywords and phrases that describe your content (ice cream recipes, history of ice cream, etc.).

Research Keyword Popularity

Now you should have quite a few keywords and keyword phrases that succinctly describe your product or service. You're ready to research their effectiveness by answering 2 questions:

First, select several top search engines and find out how many results each of your keywords or phrases return. If you have a number of keywords and phrases to research, consider making a simple spreadsheet to easily organize your information.

Overly broad keywords rarely work well. With "ice cream" as a keyword, your site competes with many thousands of other sites for attention. However, the more targeted "ice cream recipes" phrase increases your chance of appearing near the top of the results list. If you really want to get specific, your site would always be at the top of a search on "okra ice cream" - if any users were to actually search on it.

Find out what keywords people actually use to query search engines before you make a final selection. NetMechanic's Search Engine Power Pack includes a keyword popularity tool that tells you how many queries are made each month at the popular GoTo/Overture.com search engine. You'll see how many people searched for a keyword, and all variations of that keyword.

Include Keywords On Your Page

Once you've decided which keywords are appropriate for your site, the hard work begins. You have to integrate them into your site's content in a credible way. Here are a few basic techniques to try:

Don't try to fool the search engines by repeating keywords in a meaningless way (ice cream, ice cream, ice cream, ice cream) or by using popular keywords that don't pertain to your content. They're wise to these spam techniques and often ban sites that use them. If a keyword is really pertinent, you should be able to legitimately include it several times on the page.

A Delicate Balance

Are the keywords you chose during design still effective? Maybe not. Search engines index new Web sites every day; you have to work to stand out in the crowd. Be prepared to modify your keywords as your site and competition changes. NetMechanic's Search Engine Tracker makes that task easier by monitoring your keyword ranking on search engines and emailing the results to you.

Keyword selection is a delicate balancing act that begins during design and continues as long as your site is posted. It's can be time-consuming, but it's also critically important to your site's success.