SEO : Defining SEO Keywords

The following exercise will help us compile a decent list of keywords relevant to our content. While it's hard work, it is invaluable.

This is possibly THE most important step in the search engine promotion process, as if we optimize our website for keywords that our target customers never actually type in, then we have lost the war before we've even fought the first battle.

If possible perform it with another person or two with you, in order to bounce ideas around. And have a thesaurus handy (or www.thesaurus.com)

Get a pen + a blank piece of paper and:

Think like the customer.

To find websites selling diet pills, our prospective customer might (obviously) type in:

diet pills

But he might also type in:

weight loss
lose weight
fat pills
diet advice
fat loss
best diet pill

Our prospect might also be concerned about safety or price ...

buy diet pills
cheap diet pills
diet pills cheap
safe diet pill
diet pill survey
diet pill tests

... or may want it quick or easy and therefore might type in:

quick diet pill
lose weight without exercising
quick way to lose weight
fat loss fast
easy fat loss

WHO our buyer is may affect the search terms:

diet pills for men
diet pills for women
diet pills for the elderly

 

and WHERE they are located:

diet pills New England
diet pills Birmingham

 

and even WHY someone would want to buy diet pills:

get fit
live longer
improve self esteem 

Then we've got misspellings, which happen a lot as we are all in a hurry these days:

diat pills
lipsuction
lose wieght

 

And just when we think we're *finished* compiling our list of keywords.... we take a look at our competitors listed in the Google search results for 'diet pills' and notice some more keywords:

slimming solutions
herbal diet pills
slimming pills
weight loss capsules
prescription diet pills
diet supplements
weight loss for men

And THEN we go a little deeper to look at keywords contained in the source code of some of the top sites (which we will show you how to do later) and find some more appropriate keywords that we missed:

slimming patches
dieting tablets
diet pills and patches
weight loss patches
slimming drinks
slimming gel
body wraps

Finally we might also want to attract people looking for substitutes or alternatives to our product:

liposuction

 

Now, wouldn't it be great if our site came up on the first page of Google every time anyone typed in any of these search terms!

That's our goal!

3rd party keyword generator tools

There are plenty of tools around that claim to define these keywords for you, but the author has never needed to use them. The profiling process as previously described (combined with any client input if the work is being performed for someone else) is normally sufficient.

The only one that IS worth a look is the Google AdWords Keyword Generator. Obviously Google want you to define great keywords then spend money on AdWords, but if you want you can just use the tool for free.

Just check 'Website Content' and enter your URL, and you're done.

The best thing about this tool is it analyses your current website and shows the keywords that Google thinks you are trying to optimize (quite an eye opener!)

Do... put your keywords into a spreadsheet or word doc as you generate them, and order them by how important you think they are (ie. how much traffic you think they will bring). keep your keywords to 2 or 3 where possible (as this is what people typically type) have a thesaurus handy take a break and come back to it later with a fresh mind ask family, friends, colleagues for their opinions test the keyphrase in Google, and log the amount of results in your spreadsheet for future reference. The author creates a list of around 50 keywords, then targets the top 20 refer to the information you uncovered in your Profiling exercise earlier, and repeat for different types of customer, typing in what you think they would type If you've got existing customers call them and ask what they would type in (or did type in when before they became your customer)

Don't... constrain your thinking - there's no such thing as a bad idea and you can prune your list later to take out the less useful ones start by looking at the competitors keywords! You need to think freely and come up with a better list than their's. Look at competitor keywords last.

thesaurus.com - great for keyword word alternatives / suggestions Google keyword generator and generator - keyword analysis of your site (or your competitor's)