Website Marketing Club

Keyword Research Made Simple

Dec 9, 2009 Writing and Speaking

To achieve top search engine rankings you can gain an advantage by focusing on keyword research. After working with dozens of clients on competing effectively in a given niche, I’ve discovered how powerful the right type of keyword research can be for creating improved rankings and traffic. When competing in a difficult niche, the keywords you choose can make the difference between long term success or failure.

To be successful with keyword research you must go beyond the concept of competitiveness. After finding a keyword that doesn’t have much competition, the next step is to research the type of traffic you can expect from number one rankings with your chosen keyword. Using the Google keyword tool or other traffic estimation software is a good way to see what type of traffic can be expected. Don’t spend any time on keywords that can’t generate enough traffic to make things worthwhile.

After finding a keyword or keyword phrase that isn’t all that competitive but receives an sufficient amount of traffic, you should spend time researching your competition for that keyword. An effective technique is to visit each of the top ranked sites, competing for the chosen keyword, and analyze them. Pay particular attention to the Google Page Rank of competing sites and number of inbound links. If sites are well established and have been online for a long time, it may be difficult to achieve a higher ranking.

After you’ve selected the keywords you want to compete for, it’s time to enhance your web pages using the chosen keywords. Begin by enhancing your meta tags, page titles, and copy, including your keywords where appropriate. By including your keywords in this manner, you’re telling search engines what your web site is about. This allows search engines to rank your site for appropriate keywords. In addition to the on page factors, Google takes into consideration a variety of off page factors to determine web site ranking. Off page optimization involves attracting links from third party websites. Focus your efforts on link building through article directories, web site directories, blogs, social bookmarking sites, and other sites.

When working to build links to your web site, you should plan to implement link building strategies on a regular basis. Focus on getting authority links from sites within your given niche. You should also be focused on sites that have an established age, Google PR, and other authority attributes. When attracting in bound links, do so in a manner that is slow and steady. Building links too quickly can have a negative impact on your web site as search engines may believe you are arbitrarily building links. Once you’ve determined the right keywords and have taken care of your on-page optimization strategies it’s time to focus on off page strategies to improve rankings.

Top search engine ranking secrets are finally revealed. Visit the Internet marketing forum to discover how today’s leading seo experts achieve top search engine rankings. Be sure to check out our SEO training learn seo program available for a limited time.

Tags: google, internet marketing, keywords, marketing, search engines, SEO, web sites, Writing and Speaking