Page Critic Guide

Researching Keywords

The first step to a successful online business is to conduct proper keyword research. It's the most important thing you can do to ensure the success of your web site. Target the wrong keywords and all your efforts will be in vain. Choose the right keywords, and you'll see your traffic skyrocket. Therefore, think long and hard on what keywords people are likely to use to find you. Make lists of keywords and then combine them into two- or three-word phrases. For example, you rarely want to target a single keyword for two reasons:

1. The keyword is probably highly competitive and very general, making it difficult, if not impossible, for you to score a top-10 ranking.

2. If you're lucky enough to get a top-10 ranking for a very general keyword, you may have a lot of traffic to your site, but that traffic won't convert to sales. Aren't you ultimately after traffic that converts to sales?

1. Determine your target audience. Who are you targeting with your Web site? Most Web sites have more than one target audience. Choose your keyword phrases and write your Web site content based on your target audience.

2. When choosing keywords, it's crucial to FOCUS. People learn quickly that if they type in "real estate" or "properties," they'll get listings for real estate from all over the world. A better use of your time is to PAIR the generic keywords with something more specific. Then, you're targeting your page after your target audience, which may bring you less traffic but more qualified prospects and a lot less competition.

   WebPosition is designed to monitor your rankings on a broad array of keywords and informational pages very quickly. However, we're continually dismayed by people trying to monitor their positions on keywords that people are highly unlikely to use. For example, we had a well-meaning customer send a list of his keywords for the "cheap airfares" that his company sold. His list went something like this:

   cheap
   flights
   "cheap flights"
   quote
   discounted
   airfares

   The word "cheap" alone does nothing to target his audience. It has to be paired with other words like "flights" or "airline reservations" to have any meaning. It's the same with "quote" and "discounted" -- too broad. Pair them with one or two other words. Statistically, most people search for two- to three-word phrases to avoid getting back too many unrelated matches. Keep this in mind when you design your pages.

3. Use Wordtracker to research your keywords; it's the best online service for conducting keyword research. A basic version of Wordtracker is integrated into WebPosition for your use free of charge. For more in depth research, you might consider subscribing to Wordtracker's enhanced service.