There are three categories of keywords.
In every tag and in your page content, the closer to the top and the beginning a word appears makes the impression of that word more significant on both search engines and on viewers. So ideally you want to find a single word to place at the front as your main keyword. Although you probably will not find a single word to describe your business, the point is to get your message down to as few of words as possible.
Next is a generalized format. Industry (or service) + location + distinguishing quality = page title. You can get quite far with this format, and while the service and location words are straight forward, it is the quality wording that takes some doing. This is where the research becomes important and to do that requires a fair dive into understanding the intent of each page's content. The wording has to clearly describe the page, you don't want viewers bouncing off your pages because the keywords are misleading.
I consistently run into SEO's who believe they are providing something of value by giving a client hundreds of keywords. What you NEED are those three words which are going to allow your website to rank well. It is actually much more critical than easily believed that your keywords...:
If you can come up with 3 to 5 main words with 2 or 3 more individual words for each page (as well as synonyms), then your keyword research has created something of real and usable value.
You should mirror your search keywords all over your pages and even into directories and advertising as well. If visitors follow your selected keywords to your website, then spend little time and leave quickly, Google will notice this action through their mysterious algorithms. When that happens, Google doesn't want to rank you well for those words as they do not appear to 'match'. Google tries so hard to rank the sites that the searcher of those words wants to see; and if your site is essentially lying, then no one is happy, ultimately resulting in less customers in your door.
The most honest, concise representation of who/what you really are, wins the long contest in relation to SEO. As an SEO specialist, I admit to finding the enforced honesty aggravating at times. The words must match the intent of the page. At the same time they must meet other criteria as well. The list of data points to consider, even with top of the line software, is still daunting. Here are just a few factors which software cannot really weigh well; a job requiring a clear understanding by a human, of the human intention of the page; and still appeal to the eye, mind and heart of an actual human web searcher.
When choosing your keywords it is tempting to make the assumption that you already know what your keywords are and what your competition is up to. It is also easy to begin your online business before any proper market study has been done. I want to emphasize how many times I thought that I knew which terms were most widely used, only to be surprised after some research.
And it is not only about most used words, or even most fitting words; but also those phrases should be in that 'sweet spot' between words already ‘branded’ by the competition and those which no one actually searches for.
This is important enough that I will say this again: I have repeatedly assumed the business owner knew the best keywords. I have assumed I knew the best keywords. It is an astonishingly easy thing to guess the keywords which you will never rank for, or words will not bring buying visitors to your offices. And it is even more surprisingly difficult to finesse the key phrases that you will not just rank for, but will get the attention of the guests that you want to visit your particular company.
This matters for so many reasons but think about this: Those phrases which you finally choose, will be built into your website from metatags to your main headers. A single choice phrase will also end up on your business cards and online advertising. These messages and keywords will be duplicated and then built upon for the remainder of your online efforts. Or should be anyway.
Do not hesitate to do your own keyword research. I can't suggest depending on that research entirely though. Still it is best if you get into the process because you will understand your business, service and competition better than any marketer can. Also, in the process you will discover many keyword phrases you had not thought of before. You may have heard of MOZ, online SEO experts? They have a 'beginners guide to keyword research', though it is not your basic amateur stuff. This should keep you busy for awhile.
I do not recommend depending on your own research. The reason I say this, especially if you are reaching for a non-local market, is because it is really complicated. There is really quite a bit to learn of the process and once you choose your words, lay them into the 'concrete' of your website, it is amazingly tedious to change it all.
If you really have the time for learning how to find and analyze for search keywords, then I do not want to discourage you as it is so revealing. The words people use can reveal exactly what people want and how many? With good software, which will take months to learn, the discoveries are simply astounding. If you get started yourself, then you may gain a sense of just how deep this matter can delve.
Uncovering those choice, unexploited keywords which are easy to rank for, yet still pull in attention from your customer base, will not be easily revealed by amateur analysis. Even with excellent tools, this job still requires artistic talent, And many hours of experience to do properly. If you really want to carve out a niche for yourself online, then professional tools and experience will reward you soon enough.
SEO meta tags are simply tags that a website builder adds to a website html to explain, or point out, what is important on the webpage. There is a 'title tag' for instance which needs a title encapsulating the whole webpage. Search engines create robotic programs that follow links, log pages and meta tags as well as much more. The metric they gather are used in conjunction with other programs that 'try' to present the page that each individual user wants to see.
While it is true that very few businesses ever get all the "i"s dotted before they make their first dollar, experience has cruelly taught me that not knowing exactly where you are going (business plan!), often spells disaster right at the start. And not knowing your keywords and message before typing a single word of your website, just creates mistakes that only amplify themselves across every page.
It is seriously not fun to try to change the keywords to fit the message after the page is already written. If it were only your meta tags, this would not be so hard, however website optimization is so much more. To optimize a web page properly one either has to change the page content to fit the keywords, or change the words to fit the content. Just because you want to rank for certain choice phrases, that does not mean the web page can without making the page elaborate on the keywords.
Should this be your situation, where you are convinced you want to redo your keywords, contact us here we can help you address this.
There are so many demanding reasons to do some comprehensive keyword study even before buying your domain name! If there are only half a dozen competitors in your area, then you won't need to go all that deep in your study to find rich rewards. But if you have some really big players to compete with its probably better to rank for keywords which they are not targeting. We provide excellent comprehensive reports which detail competitive keyword choices, which to use in your meta tags, your H tags and suggestions on how to use in your page text. We also point out mistakes you must avoid so your page does not appear to be stuffed with your keywords.
Although your keywords will play a crucial part in optimizing for online marketing too, on your web pages themselves, keywords and phrases are the whole foundation upon which you can build your website. It could appear that all you have to do is substitute the right keywords for the wrong ones, but there is flavor and intent which the keywords embody which may not blend well with your old content. Even a slight mismatch can be upsetting for your readers which will be reflected in the data which Google analyzes for your search keyword position.
The goal here at BnBSeo is to provide the tools and services, your business needs to thrive in online marketing today.
