In our previous article we have touched upon the significance of Search Engine Optimization for the success of a website, since the majority of traffic that passes through it is brought in by search engines. We have, therefore, stressed the importance of the use and placement of targeted keywords in the website content, page titles and website meta descriptions.
As always, balance is vital. Abusing keyword usage will end up being counter-productive and will result in the website being blacklisted by Search Engines. Search Engine Optimization involves directing efforts towards improving a website’s ranking in search engine search listings. Your aim should be to place as high as possible in search engine rankings as this will greatly increase your exposure to prospective visitors, and consequently, your potential sales.
Choosing the Right Keywords
Before even inserting keywords in your website text, tags and anchors, you should first identify those keywords that best describe the company’s/website’s products and services while keeping your target visitors in mind – the age group and type of visitors you would like to attract, what search keywords they are most likely to use that fit in with the description of the services and products you are offering.
In a nutshell, when selecting the keywords to utilize throughout your website:
- Choose keywords that best define your products & services
- Choose keywords that would be utilized by potential customers in their search engine searches. This might involve some customer research.
- Take into consideration the keywords utilized by your competitors by examining their keyword tag.
- Identify obvious spelling mistakes.
- Identify synonyms (similar words) that might be used interchangeably.
- Pinpoint geo-specific terms.
- Utilize a keyword tool after having put together a suitable keyword list. This will enable you to discover additional terms that might have escaped you. It also helps you determine which terms are the ones most often used by people who are browsing the Internet for products and services like the ones you offer.
Strategic Placement of Keywords
Having identified the keywords you would like to use does not mean you can now set about inserting them anywhere and everywhere the mood strikes. The text, tags, page titles and page descriptions should make sense and be relevant to the particular product, service or image the text is describing.
If a Search Engine feels that you are overusing keywords it will treat your website as spam and disregard it in search engine results.
The writing up of website content, with its accompanying tags and titles, is the next very important step after the identification of keywords, that will result in a greater flow of traffic to your site.