Using the correct keywords in your web-site content can mean the difference in whether you come
back in search engine results as one of the first 20 web sites (which is optimum) or buried under
other web sites several pages into the results (which means hundreds of results were returned before
your site). Studies show that searchers rarely go past the second page of search results when looking
for something online.Take into consideration for a moment the telephone book Yellow Pages. Say you’re looking for a
restaurant. The first thing you’re going to do is find the heading restaurant, which would be your
keyword. Unfortunately, even in a smaller city, there might be a page or more of restaurants to
look through. However, if you narrow your search to Chinese restaurants, that’s going to cut
in half your time searching for just the right one. Basically, that’s how keywords work in search
engines and search engine optimization. Choosing the appropriate keywords for your web site
will improve your search engine rankings and lead more search engine users to your site.How do you know which keywords to use? Where do you find them? How do you use them? The
answer to these questions will save you a great deal of time when creating a web site. Where you rank
in search engine results will be determined by what keywords are used and how they are positioned
on your web site. It’s critical to choose appropriate keywords, include variations of those keywords,
avoid common (or “stop”) words, and know where and how many times to place them throughout
your web site.Used correctly, keywords will allow you to be placed in the first page or two of the most popular
search engines. This tremendously increases the traffic that visits your web site. Keep in mind, the
majority of Internet users find new web sites through use of a search engine. High search engine
rankings can be as effective, if not more effective, than paid ads for publicity of your business. The
business you receive from search engine rankings will also be more targeted to your services than it
would be with a blanket ad. By using the right keywords, your customer base will consist of people
who set out to find exactly what your site has to offer, and those customers will be more likely to
visit you repeatedly in the future.To decide which keywords should be used on your web site, you can start by asking yourself the
most simple, but relevant, question. Who needs the services that you offer? It’s an elementary
question, but one that will be most important in searching for the correct keywords and having
the best search engine optimization. If you’re marketing specialty soaps, you will want to use
words such as soap (which really is too broad a term), specialty soap, bath products, luxury bath
products, or other such words that come to mind when you think of your product. It’s also
important to remember to use words that real people use when talking about your products.
For example, using the term “cleaning supplies” as a keyword will probably not result in a good
ranking because people thinking of personal cleanliness don’t search for “cleaning supplies.”
They search for “soap” or something even more specific, like “chamomile soap.”In addition to the terms that you think of, people also will look for web sites using variations of words
and phrases — including misspellings. It might help to have friends and family members make sugges-
tions of what wording they would use to find a similar product and include those words in your key-
word research as well as misspellings of those words. An example might be “chamomile.” Some people
may incorrectly spell it “chammomile,” so including that spelling in your keywords can increase your
chance of reaching those searchers. Also remember to use capitalized and plural keywords. The more60
Part II SEO Strategies
75002c04.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 9:35 AM Page 60