Choosing Keywords

Choosing keywords during the beginning stages of formulating an SEO or PPC strategy may be the most important part of your campaign.  If you want your website to rank high in  search engines, you need to have the right mix of keywords in your website. For example, if you are a relatively new site, you would probably want to target keywords with little to no competition so you have a shot at ranking for them. Targeting keywords with historical search volume, is also a must.

There are many schools of thought regarding keyword strategy, but these always involve testing and adjustment.

Where to Find Keywords

One solution to finding the right keywords is to make enquiries among your friends and associates about the kinds of keywords they might use in finding your site. You should then utilize keyword intelligence tools on the net. There are numerous SEO tools that you can use to find estimated keyword search volume and competition, including the Google AdWords tool.

Implementing Keywords You Choose

Choosing a target keyword for each page of your site and then using it in strategic places, including in your domain name, is a great first step in getting your site optimized.  Again, you want to make sure that the keywords you have chosen are bringing relevant traffic. One good way to  measure this is to look at “non-paid” keyword traffic in your web analytics program. You will be able to see the time on page and bounce rate associated with each keyword. For those keywords with a consistently high bounce rate or low time on page, you may want to reconsider and better align the target keyword to the page content.