Keywords --- Key to SEO Success

Keywords are one of the most crucial tools for you, that is if you want to score on search engines. And believe me you do.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential for the success of almost every business. Majority of traffic to websites is brought in by search engines if search engines ignore your site, you are as good as invisible.

Key words

Keywords are words and phrases that web users put into search engines when they are looking for particular topics, services or products.

Optimizing your website so it turns up in the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) search engine ranking of pages, can spell success for you. Only if you choose the right keywords can you begin on the winning trail of SEO.

Deciding on keywords

How exactly do you choose keywords- this is a precise art:

First you must prepare a list of your product/services workings. Every word that describes product/service must be included. Not that all the words will be used but it’s handy to have a database.

Secondly you must identify your target audience. Choosing effective keywords is about putting yourself in your audience’s shoes. Research their tastes, likes-dislikes, their needs and requirements.

The next stage is to judge the value of the words and phrases on your list have as search terms. For this there are several software’s available like-

Wordtracker is the most popular and respected keyword research tool.

KeywordDiscovery have an extensive keyword database.

Google AdWords provide a keyword generation tool, to help you choose keyword variations.

In the last stage you must narrow down your Keyword choice to 2-3 words or phrases. Any more than this your web page will resemble crowded street.

Keyword Density

Keyword density is a calculation of how many times your keywords repeated in a page. The more times the keyword appears in relation to the total number of on page words, the greater the overall keyword density. There is no hard and fast rule for keywords but it’s best to keep the keyword percentage below five percent of the total number of words on the page.

A careful balance is needed too much and you end up on the crowded street, which users find exasperating and which search engines call spamming. (Search engines may penalize you for anything close to spamming).

Each search engine has a different mathematical equation concerning the density of keywords that is rewarded with higher search ranking placement. Different search engines have different criteria’s for keyword density. The best thing to do is use keyword density analyzers that calculate keyword density for given URLs.

Keyword Placement

Keyword placement refers to the location of the words on a Web page, some of the best places to put keyword are:

Page title

headings

As links

bold text

first 25 words on the page

URLs

META tags

In Short

Keywords are not a license to spill, using too many keywords or using them too often is the best way to loose customers and be kicked out by search engines. The best way to raise your SERPs is to research, plan and place your keywords carefully.