Why keywords are so important

Summary: Understand what keywords are is essential, understanding why thy are so important is critical to your online success

Keywords are so important because they are the basis of any search process, how would the search engines match the words someone types in when doing a search if websites did not optimise their sites to these words or phrases.

The whole process goes much further than the optimisation of a site, think about writing a blog or article, once again if you do not link your blog entries or article content to the words and phrases people are using to search, you are unlikely to get you content displayed when someone is searching.

It really does not matter whether you are trying to get on page one of the search engines or get your Pay Per Click Ad displayed unless you match your content with the search terms people are using to find what you have on offer.

Tips on keywords

Learn how to find keywords

Keywords, keyword phrases, and keyword search are are topics of concern, especially when writing relevant content for an article or other web content. It is important to use relevant keywords or keyword phrases in order to attract high traffic from the search engines and earn the writer some recognition as well as some adsense money. I’m “learning the ropes” as I go.
Admittedly, keywords and keyword phrasing have been a major concern of mine and sometimes I spend more time searching for relevant keywords than I do writing relevant content. Luckily, I have found some very useful tools in helping me find relevant keywords, which I will share with you shortly, but first I want to discuss what exactly keywords are and how I incorporate them into my articles and web content.
Keywords are an article writers best friend. Keywords are words or phrases that a person would type into a search engine to find relevant content. Successful keywording will drive targeted traffic to your content through the search engines.
4 Things To Remember

Prominence

Make sure to place your keyword or keyword phrase close to the beginning of your content and expecially in the title. It should also be in the first sentence or at the least the first paragraph. Search engines will usually display the title or first sentence in the search results and if your keyword or keyword phrase is not in there it will not get high ranking.

Density

Your keyword or keyword phrase should make up at least 3% but no more than 8% of your total content. This is known as keyword density and is very important as it affects page ranking in almost all search engines.

Frequency

In theory, the more often your keyword or keyword phrase is used through out your content, the more relevance the search engines are likely to place on that keyword and rank your content higher. The trick is not to abuse your keywords and just throw them anywhere. Search engines can determine if keywords are just being stacked to get relevance.

Proximity

Use your kewords through out your content and do not use keywords that have no relevance to your content. Be sure to use them in the first and last paragraphs. Build your content around your keywords and keyword phrases.
Finding the right keywords or keyword phrases is king
What to look for when searching for relevant keywords

Keywords help searchers find your content

Below, I am listing several free tools you can use to research relevant keywords. When you are researching keywords or keyword phrases keep a pad of paper near you and pay close attention to these 3 criteria for relevant keywords:

Number of Searches

This is literally the number of searches per month that a keyword or keyword phrase has been searched for. The higher the number of course means there are a lot of people searching for it. Wrap your keyword or keyword phrase in quotes. This will give you a more relevant search number for your keywords.

Competition

When you find a keyword or keyword phrase you are considering, type it into a couple of search engines to find out how many results come up. If the reuslts show up in the millions then you can rest assure there is a ton of competition. Type in all of your keyword phrases and write down your results. When you find the lowest amount of results then you have found the phrase that has the least competition.

Profitabillity

Using Google Adword’s Traffic estimator you can research how much a keyword is going to cost per click for the advertiser. Compare this number to the number of searches for you keyword. This will give you the potential profitablility of that keyword.
Free Tools for keywords
Keyword Density – SEO Tools – Search Engine Optimization, Google Optimization
Receive suggestions for popular key-terms related to your current ones, from the SEO Chat Keyword Suggestion tool. You will also find dozens of useful SEO tools here to help you tweak your content for better placement in search engines.
Google AdWords: Traffic Estimator
With this tool you can research traffic volumes and estimated costs per click on keywords and keyword phrases. Very useful when setting up your own adwords campaign.
Google Insights for Search
With Google Insights for Search, you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, time frames and properties
Wordpot – Free Keyword Tool
Free web based Keyword Generator for finding niche keywords. Use wordpot’s Free Keyword Tool to get a higher ranking in the search engines.
Free Search Term Suggestion Tool by KeywordDiscovery.com
A free search term suggestion and keyword research tool to offer a more reliable alternative to the original Overture suggestion tool.
Free Keyword Suggestion Tool From Wordtracker
Use the free keyword suggestion tool from Wordtracker to help your website rank higher in the search engines.
Google AdWords: Keyword Tool
This is Googles Adwords Keyword tool. It’s useful in finding how much traffic a certain keyword or keyword phrase gets each day.
http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/
Learn which keywords you should be targeting to increase your website rankings, traffic, and profit.

 

Keywords to Use and to Avoid

                                                       Using keywords can make or break a resume.

Keywords To Use: If you submit your resume to apply for a job on-line, chances are the first screening step will involve keywords.  Here’s the good news:  it is very easy to know which keywords to use.  They are listed directly in most job descriptions.  Be sure to read the job description closely and then incorporate keywords interspersed throughout the job description in to one of the following sections of your resume:  Summary, Qualifications, Objective, Skills, Experience (within a job bullet) or Leadership.

Tip: Be sure to write these keywords exactly as they appear on the job description.

For example: If you are seeking an electrical engineering internship, and you see a posting with the following description:  “Students with knowledge of basic electromagnetic principles, transmission line matching, and exposure to basic Junior/Senior level microwave/RF circuit design courses are encouraged to apply.” You would then want to make sure your resume includes keywords such as “basic electromagnetic principles”, “transmission line matching” and “microwave/FR circuit design” if you have knowledge and/or experience in any of these areas.  And don’t despair if your knowledge of these principles is purely academic.  You should incorporate skills and knowledge gained through work experience, personal hobbies and classes in your resume.

Keywords To Avoid: Avoid flowery adjectives and vague soft skills such as “team-player”, “proactive” and “results-focused”.  While it’s appropriate to use these types of adjectives in your cover letter to highlight your strengths and as a lead in to specific examples, it’s better to list specific experiences on your resume that illustrate you possess these qualities.

Remember: While anyone can claim to be a proactive results-oriented team player, wouldn’t it be more effective to list a class project where you led a team of classmates to a successful outcome?  For a complete list of keywords to avoid, check out this article entitled, 50 Keywords That Can Ruin Your Resume.

Please let us know your thoughts on using keywords in resumes.  We’d love to hear your comments on which keywords to use and which ones to avoid.

How to Choose the Right Keywords for Your Business

For those of you that don't know by now, keywords do matter.

That doesn't mean to choose a keyword like "Real Estate" because you are a real estate agent and you sell real estate. You would spend the rest of your life competing for a search result ranking that might make page five (if you're lucky).

And you might think you're clever and choose "Real Estate Denver CO" because you sell real estate in Denver, Colorado.

Guess what? Instead of taking a life time to rank high in search results pages, it may take a decade. (And if you're a rock star who publishes at least two posts per day, it will still take a year.)

SEO companies promise page one rankings (and often the #1 spot) by tomorrow, but even if that is true (which I'm still waiting for someone to video blog their success of that), you would have to pray that the views of your website are converting to business. Are they?

So your website success (earning business from the people who view it) starts somewhere. Where exactly is that "somewhere?" It starts with keyword research and you have to be both very smart and creative about the keywords you choose. Some tips:

1) Know your customer. And I mean know them well — all five senses (maybe avoid what they taste like, though). You've probably heard that you must know your ideal customer's wants and needs, how do they react to the emotional umcomfortabilities that create their needs and wants? Yep, you must know that!

2) Listen to how your customer communicates. What words do your ideal customers use to speak or write? Those are your keywords right there! (I now feel complete but also compelled to explain further.)

3) Test the words your ideal customer uses. Now that you know what your customers say to express their needs, see if there is enough search volume for these phrases. Search "google external keyword tool" for a free method of checking the search volume for these phrases. You can also use Wordtracker (not sure if it is free) or an inexpensive software called Market Samurai. It's what I use and it serves me well. When you select your tool, determine how many searches is enough for your business to prosper from.
4) Wordsmith the phrases that you select. You may have thought "Real Estate Denver CO" was a great keyword phrase because it has a specific location included in it, but other real estate agents have also done the same thing. Instead, get even more specific (and creative). People searching real estate online may be in the market to buy a home. Why not compete for the search term "buying a home in Denver?" (You may be surprised.)
5) Use your smarts. Your final step is to analyze the key words/phrases that you've creatively crafted. Analyze and assess the relevancy of the phrases. Do they represent the language and communication of the community that represents your ideal client? If you were a good business person and listened to your ideal client speak emotionally about what they need, would you hear them say the keywords that you selected? If not, it's time to go back to being creative and come up with new ones.
Going through this process will help you select the right keyword for your business — ones that reflect the needs of your ideal clients. Also, ones that provide the comfort that your clients are seeking, which means sales for you!

Key Words and Mind Mapping

Realizing that 90% of the words printed in your books and spoken in lectures are non-key words, and once you gain the contextual meaning they supply, you only need to record key words when Mind Mapping¨. That means you save 90% of your time taking notes and you also save 90% of your time revising your Mind Mapped notes. Not only is the time factor beneficial, but you will actually remember more. When you take notes in sentences, the non-key words are interrupters and prevent you from making a strong connection between the key words.