How To Select Keywords For Search Engine Optimization

Selecting the correct keywords can make or break your website. Potential customers search the web for desired sites, and if your website doesn't have the keywords they're looking for, they'll miss you.

Determining keywords is an art; it's best to work backwards. What would a customer search for if they were looking for your site? You literally have to put yourself in the consumer's place and let go of your preconceived notions about what you think your keywords are. You should remember when writing your site that you need to use words that are not only related to your content, but are popular search words as well. This is called keyword optimization, or choosing the most searched keywords related to your content.

Spend some time listing all of the words and phrases that are related to your website content. Get ideas from everyone you can think of and list them all. Visit competitors' sites and see what meta tags they use. After this research, you are ready to develop your own keyword phrases.

There are several sites designed to assist you in keyword optimization. Here are a few of the free ones:-

The Overture Keyword Tool (http://www.inventory.overture.com (http://www.inventory.overture.com/) ) lists searches related to the keyword you provide. This took is great for expanding your list.

Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com (http://www.wordtracker.com/)) helps identify keywords that will help your ranking on search engines. Wordtracker also gives you other keyword combinations that you may have overlooked.

The Keyword Suggestion Tool (http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/) This is a handy little tool will show you the results of your query from both Wordtracker and Overture for determining which phrases are searched most often. Enter a search phrase below to see how often it's searched for, as well as get suggestions for alternate (but similar) keywords.

A great website is not so great if no one finds it. Remember to research your keywords carefully from the consumer's viewpoint and then sit back and watch the traffic roll in!

Nice advice here, my question is does it pay to focus on just a few keywords or is it better to focus on a broad range?

Focus on a smaller group

How do you view competitor's meta tags?

View the page source in your browser

Thanks Danny!

great information :)

Isn't there a tool out there that will show you how much is being bid on keywords?? I can't seem to find it, if anyone can share I'd appreciate it.

thanks

This really is great advice. I'm working hard at seo'ing my new site. I just hope I'm doing it right :rolleyes:

I use overture to select a keyword. Sometimes I use special stuff in google toolbar

Wordtracker is not a free service, isn't it?

I just completely redid my meta keywords. First, I think I fixed a problem since it seems this was wrong:

word1 word2 some long phrase word3

And it should be:

word1,word2,some longer phrase,word3,some other phrase,word4,word5

format in the vbulletin admin tool.

A quick question. Can you have too many keywords? I grabed the most search for terms for several topics related to my site. Also, does the ordering of the words in the vb admin matter? Do search engines care more about the words and phrases at the front of the list?

Thanks!
-Raymond

nice piece of information.

and just to add up, Selection of keywords is also like trial and error. if the group of keywords you choose do not work out, you can try other key terms ;)

I just completely redid my meta keywords. First, I think I fixed a problem since it seems this was wrong:

word1 word2 some long phrase word3

And it should be:

word1,word2,some longer phrase,word3,some other phrase,word4,word5

format in the vbulletin admin tool.

A quick question. Can you have too many keywords? I grabed the most search for terms for several topics related to my site. Also, does the ordering of the words in the vb admin matter? Do search engines care more about the words and phrases at the front of the list?

Thanks!
-Raymond

Raymond brought up some interesting questions here, quite a while ago, and I'd like to know the answers as well. Anyone care to take a shot at this?

Nice info,Are Prominence and density still work or a great content will do?

This is my first post around these parts, but I hope it will be an appreciated / helpful one.

I've been working as an SEO for just over a year now, a friend got me to help out when his client list became to big, and I now work full time as a director in a company that has just received some funding to help us really take our project to "the next level" so to speak.

I really appreciated the help I read on this forum on a recent project, where I launched (still in the process) a forum for a client, which had to be optimised. I even found the designer for the skin right here as well, and she has done a phenomenal job!

So my message is this, when it comes to choosing the keywords you want to search for, make a firm decision and stick with it, and ultimately, the advice and recommendations you get are only worth what you pay for them. Sure Overture can give you some good information, as do some of the other free sites, but if you put in a little investment first, you are sure to get better results later ;)

Personally, I use Wordze for looking up search trends etc, they have many tools already written for you, giving you direct reports on others in your market, saving you doing all the donkey work and putting it all together yourselves.

I look forward to joining this community, and can't wait to get my teeth stuck into some of the more interesting threads, for now though, I have a forum to launch!

A quick question. Can you have too many keywords? I grabed the most search for terms for several topics related to my site. Also, does the ordering of the words in the vb admin matter? Do search engines care more about the words and phrases at the front of the list?



Its believed that 10 or so is the right number. Yes, you should always try to place them in order of priority.

Selecting a keyword for seo is very important , it should be popular and related to your site....

Yup, Its really important any ways since overture is already out on the web. Any new suggestion?