If you have a Web site – even a modest one – or use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, having the right keywords or keyword phrases is vital to success. Well-chosen keywords give you a better chance of showing up near the top of search results. But not just any results. What you want are the most relevant searches conducted by your best prospects.
Keywords are what tell the search engine robots what your business is all about. Experts at Network Solutions, a top domain registrar and web hosting firm, compare it to placing “bait” on your site. The bait attracts the search engine “spiders” that crawl billions of Web site pages and index what they find.
Here are steps to improving your keyword power:
• Gather your prospects. If you have a typical small-business site of 5-10 pages, you’ll want to end up with a polished list of perhaps 15 to 30 keywords and keyword phrases. A keyword phrase might include several words, but only counts as one. Develop a list of 30 to 60 and pare it down. Start with common sense. So-called “natural language” keywords tend to work best. These are the terms people would use in everyday language when talking about your products or services.
• “Spy” on your competitors. Check competitor Web sites to see what they use. Here’s an insider tip from Network Solutions: You don’t have to read their entire site. Keywords used on a Web page can be found on the site’s “Source” page, which you can easily see by clicking “view” on the toolbar at the top of your browser, then selecting “Source.” Once the source-page opens (it won’t look pretty), look for entries that look like this: .
• Use Keyword Services and Tools. There are several helpful (and often free) online tools and services that will help you find the best keywords and phrases for your business. Google AdWords offers free keyword help, while paid services such as Wordtracker (www.wordtracker.com) offer greater capabilities (Wordtracker also has a free version). Other free online tools include Keyworddiscovery.com, Wordpot.com, and Google’s tool at google.com/sktool.
• Focus on relevancy. If you market to a specific demographic such as teens, seniors, pet owners or fitness fanatics, aim for keywords that appeal to them. But unless you target a technical or professional audience of some kind, stick with natural rather than technical language. Resist the urge to use “bait and switch” keywords from related categories on the chance that customers for those products might also be interested in yours. The leads you get will be a poor fit and will probably click away immediately anyhow. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at editor@business.com.
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