SEO 101: Keyword Optimization For Website Content

You want your website’s visitors to become leads, and you want those leads to convert into loyal customers, but it doesn’t happen magically, right?

Not really, but sort of...it happens through the alchemy of keyword research search engine optimization (SEO).

What are keywords?

Keywords are words or phrases used to attract and convert leads. When people search online, they use certain words or phrases to find what they are seeking. The more your website's keywords match your target audience's "language" the more likely they are to quickly find you online.

Search engines use keywords to identify what a visitor is really looking for, so broad, vague keywords won't do the trick. The key is knowing your target audience, researching the language they use to find products or services similar to yours and then creating and implementing a keyword strategy that speaks their search language.

Why should you use keywords?

Keywords are the foundation of your content, and they help visitors and potential customers understand the purpose of your web page. Using long-tail keywords (multi-word search terms like "Cheap Italian Restaurants") create better SEO for your website because it is specific to your business and website content. This will lead to low search volume and competition, making it easier to convert potential customers into leads.

Think about it: how often do you scroll past the first page of Google? … Exactly. Do your research to discover which words are the most popular with your target audience. 

Tips:

• Use Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool: It seems like cheating to use a search engine to figure out which keyword phrases work best for your audience, but it works. Enter your most common keywords and figure out which ones are the most successful.
• Know your competition: Don't put in the work to "win" a keyword that your competition dominates. Instead, tailor your content and keyword phrases to your specialties because that’s when your website will thrive at the top of first page search engine results.
• Work with phrase match, not exact match: As you’ll read later on, using your keyword phrases over and over again can actually harm your SEO. Google will send its “spiders” (a Googlebot that crawls through the Internet to fetch billions of websites for the Google Index) to mark your website as spam. Instead, use multiple, relevant and valuable words that will cause more targeted traffic to your website.

Where do you put keywords and when?

Begin with the top three spots that will generate the most search engine optimization and targeted traffic. First, place your keywords in the title. After all, it is the first line a search engine recognizes. Next, add your keywords to the first and last paragraphs. If the phrase appears more than once, the search engine will prioritize it as an organic result. Lastly, personalize your permalink or URL to contain your chosen keywords.

Tip: Open your blog comments. Don’t think about the negativity because no matter the content, if it has your keyword, search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo will recognize it, which will help optimize your page.

Who can use keywords?

Everyone can (and does) use keywords. Think about the last time you searched an unfamiliar topic. You typed in a certain phrase or word that you thought would give you answers. When you got to the desired content, you may not have noticed exactly where the keywords were, but the search engine recognized it, and you found what you were looking for.

When choosing keywords for your own company, put yourself at your potential customers’ keyboards. What do they want to know? What will they search to find it? This will help you chose an A+ keyword or phrase and avoid jargon, acronyms and abbreviations along the way.

Deciding, placing and researching keywords is not an easy feat, but it must be done.

Think about it like working out, cleaning out your closet or washing your dog.

Your first thought: I really don’t want to. Your thoughts when it’s done: I’m really glad I did that.

After becoming a keyword master, you (and your business) will benefit from all of your hard work.