Choosing the Best Keywords for Your Website
So you have someone doing SEO (or search engine optimization) for your website. He gives you a long list of the best keywords that were trending the day that he checked. Good. He scans your website pages to make sure each one is rich with appropriate keyword saturation. Check. And he gets a few links for you on other websites. Check and mate. Except…
The first problem is, like anything to do with SEO, the process takes time. Even the best keywords aren’t the end-all, be-all of SEO. The second problem, in direct proportion to problem #1, is that during the time it takes for you to rank well, the Google algorithms indubitably change.
Why SEO Matters
The reason you do SEO is to ensure that you get on the first page (or least on the second page) on a Google search using the best keywords. You’re trying to reach consumers who may not know about you yet. They’re searching for you based on your product or service or location, not your name. Experts have coined this an “organic search.”
If someone puts your company name in a Google search box, you ought to get top billing in the results. You have a big problem if you don’t. For example, we once had a client who got the content for his entire website from Wikipedia. He copy-and-pasted articles directly. As a result, you couldn’t find his site through Google with a guide dog. The company was penalized for plagiarism by search engine algorithms.
Algorithms are written by people who like to think they’re smarter than the average geek trying to beat the system. And they often are. Google algorithms play such a huge role in determining whether your future clients can find you that they almost hold your fortunes in their hands. And the best keywords in the land won’t help you if you break too many ethical rules of Internet conduct. The client in the example above now ranks high on the first page because we’ve delivered fresh, unique content.
What’s a Writer to Do?
Ultimately, the algorithm writers at Google are in the business of servicing their own clients. Their aim is to give people a positive experience. When a person types in “best burger in town,” they don’t want to see links to a site selling new cars that call themselves “best burger cars in town.” That doesn’t even make sense. But, if “best burger” is the number one trending keyword, an unscrupulous SEO expert may try to slip it in to beat the system.
The best approach, therefore, is to think like Google. Your customers are their customers. Treat them as such. On your website, give people the answers they’re seeking. They’re looking for you, so make it easy from them to find you.
You could keep an SEO guy on staff or on permanent retainer so he can continually keep up with trends and algorithm changes. Or you could address your potential clients on your website with unique, valuable content. As long as you’re giving people (and the search engines) good reasons to check out your website, you’ll get decent rankings eventually.
Just Follow Basic Rules for the Best Keywords
The best keywords are those that help your potential customers find you. If you truly are a burger shop, then imagine hungry tourists and locals salivating over the best burger in your town. Use “the best burger in town” as your primary keyword phrase, follow a few key rules and you’re good; you’re using common sense.
- Never publish content copied from anywhere else
- Publish new content often (weekly if possible)
- Use the keyword phrase in its original intended entirety
- Sprinkle the content with one percent saturation (5 times in a 500-word webpage, for example)
- Place the best keywords you develop in the title or subtitle
- Put the keyword in at least one subhead
- Make sure the keyword’s in the last paragraph, too
- Put the keyword in the URL whenever possible
- Place the keyword in the meta-description, the bit of text that shows up in a search results page
Be nice to people who are looking for your product or service, and they’ll reward you with their business. SEO is not some technical behemoth that you can’t penetrate unless you know a secret handshake and the absolute best keywords. It’s just people trying to help people navigate a huge, huge mega-marketplace. When all else fails, revert to the golden rule and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
And if you need help with new, unique content that won’t insult your customers, contact Ray Access. We’ll take your best keywords and seamlessly insert them appropriately throughout your website pages.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.