Keyword Selection
Keywords and phrases are the foundation of search engine optimization (SEO). To find out which keywords will be most important for you, ask one powerful question: What do people type in the search box when they look for companies like yours?
What’s in the Search Box?
It doesn’t look that powerful when written on paper. In fact, it’s a very simple concept to skip over, but as you drill down to what people really put in that little box, you’ll see all kinds of things pop out at you that you may not expect.
As service business owners it is imperative that we find out the right keywords. I come from a long line of homebuilders and contractors and although technical building skills weren’t passed down to me, the terminology and imagery have been ingrained in my skull. One thing I know from my upbringing: if the foundation of a house is not level, the house will fall. If the foundation isn’t made correctly it is not a question of if failure occurs, but how quickly.
The Right Keywords = Success
What does that mean for your search engine optimization? If your keywords are “off”, your search engine optimization and online marketing will fail. Again, it’s not a question of if it fails, but how quickly. I’ve seen businesses literally go years without an optimized website. Those companies waste thousands of dollars on domain names, hosting, and web design without getting anything in return. Can you afford to do that in this economy? Can you afford to do that in any economy? Of course not. Don’t make the same mistake. Use the right keywords in your search engine optimization efforts and give yourself the chance to get more clients through Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
3 Common Keyword Selection Mistakes
- Putting Keyword Quantity Ahead of Quality – Concentrate on attracting the most qualified visitors to your website. Factor in both the quality of the prospect searching for you and the quality of the keyword or key phrase you select.
- Keywords Aren’t Specific Enough – Most prospects use phrases with a long tail that specifies geographic or industry-specific content.
- Keyword Stuffing – I see a lot of amateur web designers stuff their titles and headings with every keyword they can think of. Google, Yahoo, and Bing will penalize you if you don’t spread it out.
