Earlier this week I talked about using keywords to drive traffic to your site. That post generated quite a bit of conversation in one of the marketing groups I belong too.
We talked about the fact that keywords are an important aspect of your overall website success. Choose them wisely. Research them carefully. Position them strategically. When you’ve taken the steps to plan and implement a keyword development strategy, you’re on your way to a website that sells.
We came up with the following list of questions that we hear most often regarding the creation and strategic use of keywords.
Question #1 What keywords and keyword phrases does your target audience use to find information?
Your audience and prospects are looking for your information. Your job is to determine what keywords they’re using to look for you. Once you’ve uncovered the low supply high demand keywords, you can position them strategically in your content and on your website.
Question #2 What keywords and keyword phrases does your competition target?
Finding low supply, high demand keywords is just the beginning. You also want to know what keywords your competition is using to target prospects. You can then use this information to further develop your keyword strategy.
Question #3 What strategies will you use to research keywords and keyword phrases?
Here are just a few options to consider:
- Test and track activity on your website
- Use keyword research tools
- Research what your competition is using
- Ask your audience, customers and/or website visitors
- Follow your intuition
- Look at trends
- Pay attention to popular terms on social networking sites
Question #4 What keyword research tools will you use to research and develop your keywords and keyword phrases?
Here are a few to consider:
- Wordtracker
- Google AdWords
- Google Suggest
- Yahoo/Overture
- Keyword Discovery
Question #5 What keyword tools will you use to analyze and research your competitors’ keywords?
Here are a few tools to consider:
- Adgooroo
- Keywordspy
- Spyfu
- Wordtracker
- Google Alerts
Question #6 How will you track keyword trends and popular search terms?
Here are some useful trend research tools to consider:
- Google Trends
- Google Alerts
- Twitter popular topics
Question #7 Where do you/will you use your keywords?
Here are some places to consider positioning your keywords on each web page:
- Above your logo
- In your URL (this one can be tricky)
- In your subheadings
- In your headlines
- Within your content
- In anchor text
- In your image/alt tags
Once you have your keyword research completed, it’s important to create a plan and a system to keep it organized. It’s also important to review your plan on a regular basis and update it. Keywords change and customers evolve. Keyword development isn’t a “set it and forget it” tactic. You’ll want to continue researching and planning on a regular basis.
Make sure your keyword research and development system is well organized and easy to plan from. Make it an important part of your traffic generation strategy. And create a plan to research and develop on a consistent basis. For example, on a quarterly basis, review your existing keywords. Research your analytics. Look for new and trending keywords. Create a plan to take advantage of that audience.
Keywords and keyword phrases are part of website success. They boost search engines, enhance navigation, attract eyeballs and motivate conversions. Keyword research and development is important to your success. Make sure to take every advantage.
