It’s true – a well-chosen keyword (or two!) is the fundamental secret to effective search engine optimisation for your online content, web pages and product offerings.
In fact, keywords are known as a crucial backbone for all your other SEO offerings. Get the keywords right, and your products and services can, in many ways, sell themselves.
The power of a well-chosen keyword is immeasurable. Good keywords effectively match the needs of customers and clients with your products, services and information quickly and directly.
If you’re new to SEO, keywords in their basic form are the key words and phrases people enter into search engines – to find answers, products, organisations, goods and services. These words are matched with the words optimised on your online content, bringing customers and clients directly to you.
But do we spend enough time choosing our key words carefully? How do we summarise our content, product information and features into a few simple words that will appeal to our publics? How do we craft a good set of keywords that lead to hits and conversions?
1. Make a list –
Start by making a good, solid list of key words relevant to your online offerings. Try to summarise your business, your web pages, your products and consumables into a few phrases in order to find your primary keywords.
Do your research by typing search subjects, or questions relevant to your organisation and industry, into different search engines to get a feel of what words people use to find related content.
2. Update and grow your keyword list –
Don’t simply settle on a single list of keywords once-and-for-all. You should be continually adding to your keyword list, freshening it up from time-to-time, adapting to market changes and customer needs. Do your research regularly, and make your keywords continue to work for you by keeping them relevant.
3. Break away from the pack –
Some keywords are over-used and actually make it harder for you to stand out from your competitors. Use relevant keywords, but try getting a little creative to get noticed in the online world. Think of the most common, relevant keywords for your industry – then opt for similar words that are used a little less to help you gain more cut-through.
4. Use keywords strategically –
Integrating your chosen keywords into your web pages has to be strategic – don’t plaster them wherever you can within your content – this makes your online offering unreadable and unappealing to your customers and consumers.
You’re armed with the power of a good list of key words – use them strategically within your web pages to enagage readers and enable them to interact.
5. Share your keywords –
Share the list of key words and phrases that define your online offerings with your teams. All your web copywriters should work them organically into their content, and website builders should be aware of the list in order to integrate your keywords into titles, meta tags, the URL, anchor text and more.
Keywords should never be an afterthought – they are a crucial foundational investment that leads customers and clients to discover your online presence, enabling you to grow your reach and conversions.
Take the time – choose your keywords well!
