Choosing Keywords That Perform

By Alex Fischer

Keywords need to be a priority for the online segment of your marketing campaign.

Search engine optimization is a booming market with stiff competition. As Web users increasingly rely on search engines to find what they're looking for on the Web, it's crucial that you improve your site ranking by using effective keyword phrases. A top listing on a major engine can mean considerable growth for your company, so keywords should never be an afterthought. Rather, keywords need to be a priority for the online segment of your marketing campaign.

It's important to figure out how visitors locate your business on the Web. Keywords or keyword phrases are the terms that Web users enter into search enginesÑand they're what search engine spiders pick up on your Web pages. There are several steps you can take to determine what users might be searching for.

Begin by typing all the words and phrases that come to mind when describing your business. Put yourself in a user's mind and imagine what they might search for if they were looking for a company similar to yours. For example, if you own a bed and breakfast in Oregon, you might consider:

• Washington bed and breakfasts
• Seattle Washington lodging
• Accommodations in Seattle
• Seattle Washington inns

To get the best results from your keywords, use phrases that get specific to your business.

To get the best results from your keywords, use phrases that get specific to your business. Simply using ÒaccommodationsÓ would be far too broad. Not only would you run into trouble with competitive bidding in pay-per-click search engines, your site visitors would be less likely to convert into customers. Research shows that most users type two or three words when they begin their searches.

Location is a natural way to specify your terms. When you are brainstorming keyword phrases, try to think of keywords that apply to the geographic area that your product or service serves. City and state names aren't the only options: regions and landmarks can also be helpful differentiators.

Once you have your keyword list, try it out.

Once you have your keyword list, try it out. First, enter your terms in search engines and see what comes up in your results. Does your site come up in the listings? How are your competitors' sites ranked? Actually performing a search yourself is a good way to double-check that the list you created is appropriate for your business and target market.

Next, stop guessing and find out what customers are really searching for. One of the most popular free tools is Overture's Search Term Suggestion ( http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ ). Enter your terms in the field and you'll get the number of searches performed on those terms in the past month. It also suggests related terms and shows those numbers as well. For example, ÒWashington bed and breakfastÓ was searched 15,862 times. That's likely to be a competitive set for bidding in PPC engines. Narrowed down, the tool suggests ÒWashington state bed breakfastÓ (searched 2761 times) and Òbed and breakfast in Seattle WashingtonÓ (searched 112 times) among others.

The suggestion tool is free for general use, but Overture is a PPC engine, which indexes sites that pay for listing. (See Marketing on Search Engines to learn more about starting an SEO campaign.) Wordtracker.com and Google Sets both offer similar functions and may offer insight on word choices within various themes.

Selecting effective keywords for your site requires a thought-out mixture of properly defining your products and services and a little search engine savvy.

Selecting effective keywords for your site requires a thought-out mixture of properly defining your products and services and a little search engine savvy. Whether you decide to start a PPC program and pay for ranking or simply use key phrases throughout your Web site, keywords are absolute musts for today's small businesses. Once you have the delicate balance between being broad enough to bring in a large amount of people and being specific enough to be sure those visitors are qualified you'll be well on your way to improved ranking and greater traffic.