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What_Are_Keywords_And_What_The_Heck_Do_You_Do_With_Them
| What Are Keywords And What The Heck Do You Do With Them?
by Karon Thackston © 2001 http://www.ktamarketing.com
When I first began my online business, I honestly thought that
the moment I uploaded my Web site to the host it would magically
appear on every search engine in existence. Some of you are
giggling. Others are saying, “You mean it doesn’t”? No… it
doesn’t.
Let me explain. In one way, search engines operate in a similar
fashion to your telephone directory. They both list companies by
category. When you got your business telephone number you were
probably asked what category you wanted to be listed under.
Search engines use much the same logic. Rather than categories,
they use keywords.
You must consider which keywords your site visitors will use to
find you and then incorporate those words into your Web site
tags and – more importantly – your copy.
If your site deals with dog grooming, the key phrases could be:
dog grooming, pet grooming, dog bathing, grooming and boarding.
Your keywords need to be those that most people would think of
when searching the Internet for a site such as yours. How do you
figure out the most effective keywords? Let me recommend
Wordtracker.(http://www.wordtracker.com).
This site has been a lifesaver for me! All you have to do is
type in the keywords you think your visitors will use. It will
provide all the other possibilities that go along with it. Also,
it will give you the exact number of times that keyword was
searched for on the Web.
Now that you’ve decided on your keywords, where the heck do you
put them? As a Web copywriter, I’ve learned that the words I
wrote had a direct bearing on my client’s search engine success.
That meant I had to write a message that made an emotional
connection with the target audience, promoted the product or
service AND included the necessary keywords that would help get
them good rankings. Whew!
Let me tell you what I’ve found that works. These very basic
guidelines will help you get more mileage out of your keywords.
1. Most Importantly - Include keywords in your copy. Of course,
you’ll need to use your keywords within your copy. Excellent
places for keywords include: the very top of the page (above
your logo), the headline, sub headlines, the first paragraph,
and the last paragraph.
Keep in mind that search engine spiders are stupid. They are
looking for the exact keywords, not something that’s close. If
you really want to be listed under the key phrase of “dog
groomer and border”, then that specific and exact phrase must
appear repeatedly throughout the copy on all pages of your site.
Be sure it is included in the first paragraph, in the first
sentence if at all possible.
2. Put keywords in your META tags. Whether you’re using
FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Go Live or any other site design
program, there is a tab (usually at the bottom of the screen)
that takes you to the HTML code. After you’ve gotten your design
finished, save your page and click the HTML tab.
The site title is what shows up in the blue bar of the browser
screen. Something like “dog groomer and border offers loving
care” will do. Notice it doesn’t include the name of the
grooming company. It includes a very short description of the
business, including keywords.
Now, we’ll do something similar for the keyword and description
tags.
For the keywords description we’ll type in: “dog groomer and
border dog grooming, pet grooming, pet bathing, dog bathing”.
For the site description, we’ll type in a short,
attention-getting sentence. This is what your visitors will see
when they search for your company and the listings appear on the
screen. It can normally be 25 words or less. This also must
include your keywords and phrases. Something along the lines of
“Dog groomer and border. Our dog groomers take exceptional care
of the special pet in your life.” Notice it gives an advantage
for using your service (you take care of the pet), as well as
using three of your keywords.
HINT: You can include a different site title, description and
keywords for each individual page if you choose to.
3. Put keywords in your ALT tags. If we added a photo of a dog
wagging his tail, we could include an ALT tag that says, “Dog
grooming for the special pet in your life” or another phrase
that includes our keywords. Because ALT tags consist of words,
the search engines can read them just like they read your META
tags. When they read the keywords within the tag, it increases
your keyword usage and your chances of getting higher
positioning.
4. Include keywords in your domain name and page names. Perhaps
you’ve found that “groomer” is your most effective keyword. You
might try to get a domain name such as dog-groomer.com or
groomer-and-border.com. Including keywords in your domain name
gets you extra brownie points! Likewise, include keywords in all
your page names.
When you create page names that include keywords, you get an
additional boost to your rankings. You might consider naming
pages “special_pets” and “groomer_pricing” or “dog_services”.
Your URL for the pricing page would be
www.dog-groomer.com/groomer_pricing.html.
While keywords aren’t the sole factor to obtaining high search
engine rankings, they are the predominant factor. By placing
them in these strategic areas, you will increase your chances of
being found on the ‘Net.
About the author:
Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be,
too! Karon is Owner and President of KT & Associates who offers
targeted copywriting, copy editing & ezine article services.
Subscribe to KT & Associates' Ezine "Business Essentials" at
join-buinessessentials@lyris1.listenvoy.com or visit her site at
http://www.ktamarketing.com
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