Keywords
Search is powered by keywords. When a user enters a keyword in a search box, results are returned that match their query. The website results that are returned are primarily a reflection of that keyword’s presence in each website’s content and links. Web marketers, content writers and designers must have a firm grasp on the keywords that will attract their target audience and develop an appropriate keyword strategy designed to capitalize on the search engines keyword algorithms.
Key Element 1:
Keyword Discovery
To aid web marketers in identifying the appropriate keyword strategy to deploy, search engines provide these keyword discovery tools:
- Google Keyword Tool
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal - Google Insights for Search
http://www.google.com/insights/search/ - Google Trends
http://www.google.com/trends - Microsoft AdCenter Keyword Forecast
http://adlab.msn.com/ForecastV2/KeywordTrendsWeb.aspx - WordTracker
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/ - Keyword Discovery
http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html
Key Element 2:
Keyword Incorporation
Keywords can be incorporated into:
Site Architecture
- URLs.
Coding
- Metas
Title (~70 characters) – Keyword close to front,
branding at end
Description (for search snippet)
Keyword (optional, not used by engines)
- Heading Tags (H1, etc)
- Image Alt and Description
- Internal Linking
Content
- Body copy
- Bold typeface