What is a Keyword?

Keywords are the words that web surfers enter in search engines to find websites. It's pointless to optimize your web pages for keywords that nobody uses in the search engines.

For a successful online marketing campaign, you must target the right keywords. The keywords you use should be relevant for your website and web surfers should be searching for your keywords.

If you target the wrong keywords, your website promotion efforts will be in vain and you will waste a lot of time and money.

Which Keywords are Good Keywords?

A number 1 listing on Google can be totally pointless if it is for the wrong keywords.

If the wrong people or too few people search for that keyword then your SEO efforts will be in vain. The keywords that you choose are the most important factor that decides whether you succeed or not.

If you target the wrong keywords, you'll waste a lot of time, energy and money.

BE CAREFUL: Think twice before you start.

Many webmasters think that they already know the best keyword for their websites. If they haven't done some research, they are usually wrong. There are several reasons for that:

• You know your business much better than anybody else. You know the special terms that are used in your branch and you know what you should search for when you're looking for products like yours.
• Your customers don't know as much as you. They don't know your terminology and they might use totally different keywords. For example, a recent study found out that many people search for the keyword "nose job". If you optimize your web page for the keyword "rhinoplasty" then these web surfers won't find your site.
• Did you consider the intention of the searcher? Just because a keyword is used very often on search engines it doesn't mean that you'll get many customers. People who find your website through a special keyword might not be interested in purchasing.
• It's very important that you take some time to find the best keywords for your website. The time and efforts that you invest in finding the right keywords will pay back in no time.

There are three different keyword types: keywords for browsing, keywords for comparing and keywords for buying.

Keywords for browsing

During the first research phase, web surfers use general keywords to find information. For example, a web surfer might be interested in an MP3 player. The keyword that the web surfer might use in search engines could be:

• mp3 player

People who use keywords for browsing are usually looking for information only. Keywords for browsing usually have a very high search volume. Getting a top 10 ranking for these general keywords is very difficult and nearly impossible.

It is unlikely that a web surfer who uses such a generic keyword will buy something.

Keywords for comparing are usually the keywords that work best for search engine optimization. People who use that keyword type are looking for a solution to their problem and they are ready to buy. To get best results with your search engine optimization efforts, you should concentrate on that keyword type.

Keywords for comparing

In the second research phase, web surfers narrow their selection because they now know what type of product they want. For example, the web surfer might have found out the he is interested in an USB stick MP3 player with 1 GB flash RAM. The keywords of these web surfers are more specific:

• mp3 player 8 GB
• mp3 player usb stick
• mp player under $100
• trekstor mp3 player
• samsung mp3 player

People who use keywords for comparing are more ready to buy. Comparing keywords are probably the best keywords that you can target for your search engine optimization campaign.

They often have much lower search volume than general keywords but they will lead to more sales and it is much easier to get top 10 rankings for these keywords.

Most people use a two to four word phrase in a search, so phrases are very effective. Single words cannot be promoted effectively because they are not very targeted. Internet users who use four-word searches are more likely to purchase goods or services than those using fewer words (source: Oneupweb Research).

Keywords for buying

During the last research phase, web surfers know what they want to purchase. They are just looking for the website with the best offer. For that reason, these surfers use very specific keywords:

• TrekStor i.Beat move 8 GB Video MP3 Player
• TrekStor i.Beat move 8 GB  free shipping
• SanDisk Sansa Clip 1 GB

People who use keywords for buying are ready to buy. However, these keywords won't help you much if you offer competing products.

The best keywords for search engine optimization

Keywords for comparing are usually the keywords that work best for search engine optimization. People who use that keyword type are looking for a solution to their problem and they are ready to buy.

To get best results with your search engine optimization efforts, you should concentrate on that keyword type.

1. Do not use single word keywords

Single words cannot be promoted effectively. For example, it is not likely that someone looking for "free accounting software download" is going to type just "software" into the search box.

Avoid the most popular keyword phrases because you'll be competing with millions of other pages for a search engine's attention. It is unrealistic to think that a new website could rank number one on a popular phrase like "mp3". More established companies who have been on the Internet for several years will have the big advantage of a high link popularity.

People who whose multiple word keywords are in the compare or buying phase. They are more likely to purchase goods or services than those using fewer words (source: Oneupweb Research).

2. Multiple word keywords make your website more relevant

Search engines analyze all pages of your website and put them in a context. Start with multiple word keywords and then extend your keyword list. If you're selling MP3 files, you should optimize your web pages for keywords such as "independent bands mp3", "alternative grunge mp3", "80s pop music mp3 download" and similar keywords first.

If your website has many rankings for these keywords, search engines will find out that your website is relevant to the mp3 topic. As soon as search engines consider your website relevant to this topic, it will be much easier to get high rankings for keywords such as "mp3 download" or even "mp3".

How can we help you?

Keywords from your competitors

If your competitors have many visitors and high search engine rankings then they have probably chosen good keywords. For that reason, it makes sense to analyze the websites of your competitors to find new keywords. We will analyze the top 10 sites for your particular search phase/keywords.

Create long tail keyword combinations

A high number of the overall searches on search engines is for unique keywords that have a very low search volume. For example, not many people might search for "flower shop in southern knoxville" each month. However, if you are a flower shop in southern Knoxville then this single search might bring you a customer.

These long and much targeted keywords are called long tail keywords. We can help you to create long tail keywords quickly and easily. You can use these keywords for your AdWords ads. Long tail keywords are usually less expensive than general keywords.

Powerful keyword tools (misspellings, combinations and much more)

What can happen if you don't do this correctly?

If you target the wrong keywords, you will lose a lot of time and you will lose a lot of sales.

You will invest a lot of time in optimizing your web pages for keywords for which your website cannot get high rankings at this time. Or you will invest a lot of time in optimizing your web pages for keywords that don't convert to sales. In both cases, you won't get many sales.

It is very important that you choose the right keywords that lead to high search engine rankings and sales. Make sure that you choose the correct keyword type.