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Drawing a Map to Your Site: Keyword Research

By Maury Wilks

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 29Jan2008
Word count: 569
Viewed: 329 time(s)

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Basically, keyword research provides the foundation for the map your consumers will use to find your site when they need it! Popular search engines search and index millions of sites everyday. Your goal in keyword research is to attach the right keywords to your site that search engines will cue and deliver to your consumers.

For example, let's say you are looking to buy a new set of coffee mugs. In a popular search engine, you will probably type something such as "coffee mugs". However, some consumers may type "coffee supplies" or "coffee gifts". If you own a coffee mug website, and have only attached the words "coffee mug" to your site, those consumers who typed something different will not immediately see your site in the search engine results. This wastes time and money in your internet marketing campaign.

So how do you create an effective keyword list? First, you can always pay someone. There are thousands of companies out there that specialize in internet marketing keyword research. But keep in mind that no one knows your business better than you!

If you are creating your own list, there are some easy steps to follow for a successful internet marketing campaign. First, come up with a small list covering the various services and products you can deliver. The key at this step is to not be too generic! If you use words that are too generic, then your site will not rank high in search engines. Take our coffee mug example. If one of your main words is "cup", then you're being too generic. Instead, a term like "buy new coffee mug" would be much more fitting. Don't be afraid to break out the thesaurus either!

Another confounding factor of keyword generation is that you don't want your site reaching the wrong consumers! If you own a coffee mug website, you don't want the word "yahoo" or "coffee beans" in your keywords. This will lead to frustrated consumers being led to your site when you don't offer the services they want. These consumers will not stay on your site and you will waste bandwidth resources and money.

When you have the list that you came up with, talk to your friends and family about what words may be good for your site. Also, look at what keywords your competitors are using in their meta-tags. When you have a list of about twenty keywords you want to use in your internet marketing campaign, we highly suggest using the free Google AdWords keyword tool, or a paid for Wordtracker tool to get more ideas and see how your keywords rank with other sites. If the keywords you chose are already being employed by a thousand other sites, then come up with something new and original that will get you above their ranking on search engines.

Your next task is to figure out where you want to put your keywords in your pages. Each page should have a maximum of 5-7 keywords. You're not limited to putting your keywords only in your meta-tags! You can also put them in your title and in "Alt text" fields in your various pages.

Effectively utilizing keywords will enhance your site's visibility. Fill in the gaps where your competitors miss, and you're certain to attract more consumers and business with your internet marketing strategy!

For more information on Keyword Research and creating a successful internet business, visit http://TheInternetBusinessAuthority.com

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