Another important part of your business’ search engine optimization (SEO) is including keywords. It is best practice to optimize your website using keywords. This means that in the background, and within page copy, each of your web pages include words and/or phrases that relate to the page contents, and are also commonly used search terms in your industry.
When selecting keywords for your site, here are some criteria to keep in mind:
Conduct research to discover which words are popular in your industry. Use keyword research tools like Google AdWord Keyword Tool.
Research your competitors. Make a list of your main competitors and go to their websites to see what keywords they are targeting. Looking at your competitors’ keywords will help broaden your list of ideas.
Think like a customer. Identify your target audience and put yourself into the shoes of a customer when you create your initial list of keywords. Think about which terms you would use to search your company in Google.
Understand long tail keywords. Long tail keywords are a combination of three or more words or phrases. These may boast lower search volumes, but they generally attract more relevant traffic, are typically less competitive, and easier to rank well on.
Once you have implemented keywords into your website, it is essential that you monitor them and make adjustments where you’re not seeing the results you had hoped for. During the analysis stage, you may notice trending keywords or phrases, along with new keywords your competitors are using.
Keywords are the backbone of your SEO, so it is imperative that you spend time selecting thoughtful, relevant keywords, and change them as often as needed to ensure they are performing well and driving traffic to your website.
Keywords don’t stop at your website either. Utilize your keywords wherever possible: blogs, social media and web page copy are a few of the areas where keywords are beneficial. The more you use keywords within your content, the easier it will be for your target audience to find you.
