Secrets to A Good SEO Keyword List
As an entrepreneur, you are probably bombarded with e-mail messages every day with someone telling you how they “get your site to the top of the search engines.” Well, if you’re like most business owners, you don’t have the money to pay for a search engine optimization (SEO) service.
Well, SEO does not need to be difficult. It just takes some time.
To start, you want to create a list of good, SEO keywords. And whether you are doing your own SEO, or working with a professional, here are some things to keep in mind when developing your list:
- Use Your Common Sense.
First, put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What keeps them up at night and how you can solve their problems? Make a list of the keywords you would search for as a customer.
Also, make a list of all the words you would use including industry jargon, phrases and simple terms you want people to use to find your site via the search engines.
- Look at the Competition.
What words are your competitors using? Visit their sites and see which words they are using. You’ll want to make a list of their top keywords and incorporate the appropriate ones into your keyword list.
- Discover The Really Good Words.
Now that you have a list of words you think your customers will look for, common sense terms and a list of what your competitors are using, it’s time to find out what words your customers are actually searching for.
To do this, check out one of these free services:
- Google Keyword Tool, www.google.com (Type “Google Keyword Tool” into Google, and it will give you the link)
- WordTracker, https://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
- Keyword Discovery (Free trial), http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/
Simply enter your top keywords, and these services will give you a report of the words people are actually searching for related to the keyword you entered.
When you get the results for keywords with the most searches, simply add these words to overall keyword list.
Make Choices.
Once you have your comprehensive list of keywords, review all of the information. Then, make a list of your top 25 words as a starting point. Use these keywords in your online copy, and track the results via Google Analytics or another program.
If you see that some of your keywords are not getting a lot of attention by your customers, replace them with the words that do. You can also incorporate new words into your online copy from your overall, keyword list.
The key is to monitor the popularity of the keywords you are using on a regular basis. This way, you can make changes quickly for the best results and really give customers, and the search engines, what they are looking for!
For more information about SEO copywriting, please write to me below or get your free reports at www.rembrandtwrites.com.
May 18th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Doing your own SEO is a complex web. I do my own and have a very good track record. However when I speak to other business owners they draw a blank stare. They have no idea what I’m talking about. It’s incredibly frustrating because of all the “Recipes” for success and all the talk about back linking and then the Google updates wipe out 6 months of work. I’ve helped several of my fellow business owners and they are doing well today. I have way too much knowledge and not enough outlets!
May 18th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Hi Melanie - I like what you say — think about what is keeping your customers up at night! That is such a great way to look at the process of SEO. Also — more than likely if they are up at night, they are googling for help - win/win for everyone! Rachel
May 19th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for your note. If you really think about the needs of your customers in all of your copywriting, you’ll be headed in the right direction!
Melanie, rembrandtwrites.com
May 20th, 2011 at 9:04 am
No disrespect intended but there is a bit more to it in the real world.
Honestly, if you are trying to get ranked for a competitive search term it takes a whole lot more than having that term on your page and waiting for “some time”.
Visiting your competitor’s sites to see what words they are using does not really lead to much unless you really know what you are looking for (and it is most certainly not meta keywords - groan!).
As for using keyword tools like Google’s or Wordtracker, you have to know how to actually interpret the results and also how to measure which particular keyword phrases are likely to lead to the desired action, whether that is a subscription to a newsletter or request for info, whatever.
Do you know how to differentiate between exact match counts and broad match counts in keyword tools? Do you understand the significance? It is truly huge!
There is so much to getting ranked it is not funny, with over 200 factors in the algorithm you can’t just write words and hope for the best…
May 20th, 2011 at 9:38 am
Hi Angie,
Thanks for your comments, and I agree with you. There is a lot to SEO, and this blog was meant to be an introduction to small business owners to help them get started.
However, I’ve had great luck getting many of my clients to the top of search engines by creating a good keyword list in this manner and providing valuable content. But you’re right. If people really want to use SEO to the optimum level in all of their online efforts, it’s important to work with a trained specialist.
Melanie, rembrandtwrites.com
May 20th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Thanks for your response Melanie, much appreciated and I’m sorry if I appeared a little ‘reactive’!
I’ve learned a lot about SEO over the years and want to see others get the right info, I now appreciate you meant this as an introductory article.
Best wishes.
May 20th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Thanks Angie. No worries. Any information entrepreneurs can use to be more successful is A-OK with me!
All the best,
Melanie
May 24th, 2011 at 6:04 am
Hey thanks melanie for sharing such a great article..
May 24th, 2011 at 6:37 am
Thanks Shane. Glad you liked it. Look for more articles on SEO copywriting soon.
Melanie, rembrandtwrites.com
May 24th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Great advice for all. Keywords are definitely the foundation for any website and for any business for that matter. One of my favorite tools is Google keyword suggest. That’s the list that drops down when you start entering words into the Google search box.
Great place to get keyword ideas and suggestions based on very current trends and search volume. Not very deep research, but fast and free!
May 24th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Hi Arnie,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, Google is definitely a good place to look for keywords. With a little research, you can start a great keywords list at no cost!
Melanie, rembrandtwrites.com
March 18th, 2012 at 2:45 pm
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