Selecting Keywords

When optimizing your Web site pages, you must first define the keywords for each of the pages for which you seek individual search engine indexation/ranking. The keywords are the words and phrases Internet users will type into a search engine when looking for Web content. When determining importance and ranking of indexed pages, search engines look for those keywords in such site elements as page copy, Title tags, and – to a lesser degree – Meta tags and anchor text on internal links.

Determining the most effective keywords is by no means an exact science; but in general, the keywords should reflect the main topic or message of the Web page in question, while at the same time mirror words or phrases actual search engine users might be using. Keywords should be used throughout the Web page content: in page body, Title tag, Meta tags, headings, alt attributes, and link anchor text.

The Traffic Blazer Keyword Generator (powered by Yahoo! Search Marketing) allows you zero in on the most opportune keywords by typing in suggested keywords and phrases. The Keyword Generator will return a list of related keywords and their current popularity (i.e., number of searches performed) over the last 30 days. The Keyword Generator is part of the Traffic Blazer Keyword Analysis feature.

When zeroing in on your Web site keywords, keep the following rules of thumb in mind:

• Keywords Should Mirror Actual User Behavior
  A Web page's keywords must match the words and phrases Internet users would type in when looking for the page in question. When a user types in a word or phrase in a search engine's search field, the engine will attempt to match indexed content to that word/phrase. If the page's content does not match the search words/phrases, the page will not be found by the users that are looking for it.
• Keywords Should Mirror Page Content
  The selected keywords should reflect the main subject of the Web site. Excessive usage of seemingly irrelevant keywords will be considered spamming by many search engines.
• Be Specific
  Keywords on a Web page should be as specific as possible. Generic keywords — "shoes" or "cars," for example — could be featured on, literally, millions of Web sites. More specific phrases — such as "handmade women's shoes" or "vintage British sports cars" — will significantly narrow the amount of Web pages that match those particular keywords.
• Use Imagination
  When defining Web page keywords, you should put yourself in the Web user's position. The trick is to imagine which words and phrases — besides the most obvious keywords — the user is likely to use when searching for your particular type of Web site.
• Indicate Location
  If a Web site has a particular significance to a certain geographic area, it is a good idea to mention the location in the Title tag, Meta tags, page body, etc.
• Keyword Popularity
  Determining the current popularity of your Web site keywords (i.e., the number of searches made for those keywords over a given amount of time) will give you and idea of how competitive the market ideally, your keywords should hit the right balance between being popular enough to generate significant traffic to your site and being rare enough to actually allow you a chance of securing your site's top ranking for them.