Importance of keywords
Most techniques to improve your search engine rankings have one thing in common -- keywords. Choosing appropriate keywords is extremely important. Think about it: Keywords are what lead search engine users to your site.
Choosing the right keywords is the first step to better search engine positioning. Analyze your business carefully and think of all the words that relate to your company or product.
Let's say you sell puppy food . What words would you search for when looking for the same product? Ask your colleagues and friends to think about the same question. This is perhaps the most important stage in your war for a spot in search engines' top 20.
As you think about keywords, consider the following:
- Who needs your service?
Think about who will use your services, then target them with keywords. For example, people whose dogs are about to have puppies will need puppy food, so you can add phrases like " dog pregnancy " and " puppy health " to your list.
- Include variations of your keywords
People will search for your site using all sorts of keywords. Making your site easy to find means including misspelled, capitalized and plural keywords. Always include the longer forms of keywords too. For example, use " domestication " as well as " domestic ."
- Avoid wrong keywords
Do not use "stop words" -- particles like "and" and "the" and common words like "Internet." Remember, the more specific your keywords are, the better the chance that people who find your site through search engines will actually benefit from its content.
HTML Title
Text of the page Meta description
Meta keywords
ALT tags
Comment tags
URL name
Alphabetical priority and its influence
Whether a file name starts with A or Z can have a surprising effect on a site's search engine rankings. Some small search engines still use alphabetical priority as a ranking factor. Directories such as Yahoo! And Open Directory Project list sites in alphabetical order.
Be careful choosing keywords. If all your keywords don't relate to your sites content you risk being penalized for spam. Don't include "MP3" and "Pokemon" in your keyword list if you sell puppy food. Sure, it will drive up traffic temporarily, but it can also get your site rejected from important search engines.
Keywords
- Choose appropriate keywords -- it's critical
- Include variations of keywords, such as misspelled versions
- Avoid stop words
- Place keywords throughout your site
You know that keywords should go be in your HTML title and Meta tags, but did you know that you also need to place them in heading tags?
 
|