You just built your new blog/website/whatever and you are extremely excited about it. The content is great and witty, your friends support you, you got some likes on Social Media, but the views aren’t quite the ones you expected. Nor is the paging rank in Google or any other search engine. What might be the problem, you ask? Well, it might be the lack of keywords or the way you use them.
What are keywords and why are they so important?
Imagine that the Internet is an enormous database, with loads and loads of files full of information, stacked together by some tag labels. You know, almost in the same way you file your important documents on your shelf or on your computer, but instead of using the same word and adding a number (for instance document 1, document 2), you have to find something more precise that perfectly describes your content. These are the keywords.
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Now that you found out what their deal is, you might start thinking why you should even bother finding very specific words. Well, it’s simple. Imagine this: you are in the front of your computer, you open up a random search engine and you type in something about replacement windows.
However, you only get results that link to websites about standard windows. This happens because the replacement window companies didn’t invest enough time and effort into their keyword research, thus ending up not being ranked high enough in the results page.
What to do and what to avoid when choosing keywords
First of all, you have to find ideal keywords. Well, this might sound very pompous, but it really isn’t like that. Like any other marketing strategy, you have to establish who you are writing for. Is there a market? Will there be anyone interested in what you have to say or offer? If yes, what search terms are you going to be using?
Not very easy, is it? This is why you should keep these pointers in mind when trying to do proper research:
1. Demand: In order to attain a wider audience, the demand should range from good to high for the chosen keywords.
2. Supply: It is recommended that the chosen keyword has a low supply so you won’t have to face a stiff competition when it comes to page rankings.
3. Suitability: The chosen keyword has to suit your website concept and should fit your content like a glove.
Other things you should have in view when choosing a keyword
Focusing on phrases: Don’t choose one-word keywords if they don’t describe your website or your content. Aim for the phrases. They might rank you higher.
Related words: You can always aim for synonyms. Lacking in inspiration? Just type your word in the search engines and you’ll soon get plenty of ideas.
Use them in titles: But make sure they aren’t too long.
What you shouldn’t do when choosing a keyword
Avoid vanity keywords: Don’t just add jewelry, for instance. The competition would be pretty high and difficult to outrank. Add specific words like “handmade jewelry” or “handmade diamond jewelry”.
Avoid repetition: Try to find synonyms for each keyword. If that’s not possible, try repeating only the context, not the whole word. For instance, if you write about pet supplies, use keywords like “pet food” and “pet equipment”.
Don’t abuse them: No, seriously, don’t try to stuff the same keyword in every title, in every tag or every meta description. This might hurt your content more than it will help it. And, more importantly, do not use unrelated keywords. For instance, if you write about Mexican food and you add a tag about the Eiffel Tower, you might have some issues.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that always need to research the keyword you are choosing. But don’t worry, there are plenty of programs that can help you with this:
These being said, good luck researching the perfect keywords! With Squirrly SEO plugin’s awesome Keyword Research feature, that’s easy to do. Click here to learn more about it.
