Complexity and search engine optimization seem to go together like cheese and onion. Part of the complexity is due to the diversity of factors which have to be taken into account when implementing a tailored and multifaceted campaign. Part of the complexity stems from the fact that the discipline is in perpetual motion. What worked yesterday for a site, may not work well for it in the relatively near future. However, the potential costs associated with not undertaking SEO usually hugely outweigh the risks. The answer is to acquire the services of a specialist firm who can ensure that your continuous campaign addresses the specific needs of your site. However, the best quality specialist firms will actively encourage your participation and facilitate your understanding of the process.

At Searchengineoptimization.co.uk we are fully conversant with our area of expertise. Our focus is on what matters to the prospects of the sites of our diverse clients and we ensure that we are never disorientated by the transformations in search.

When it comes to keyword selection, there are various considerations to bear in mind. It makes sense to come up with a list of keywords relevant to your sector. Depending on the nature of your firm, it is necessary to strike the right balance between optimising for competitive and less competitive keywords. It is crucial to get some long tail keywords in the list because research indicates that as users we are searching with longer phrases than we used to. It is important to include different word orders and alternative spellings. However, while there may be a degree of consensus with regard to keyword selection, there are areas where disagreement is commonplace. These areas of disagreement divide experts in the field and because keywords are a SEO staple it is useful to look at this further.

One area where practitioners hold divergent views is that relating to the number of keywords which should be focused on. The answer, such as it is, must be based on the size, function and features of the site under scrutiny. However, even this does not mean that any two experts will agree about the correct approach to take with the same site. It seems that those experts who suggest optimising for a very limited number of keywords are missing an important trick. Nevertheless, optimising for too many keywords is a big mistake if it means that readability is adversely affected. Almost everyone knows not to go into dangerous waters with keyword density, but too many keywords can endanger the experience of site users. Search engine optimization is always about balance and it is often the case that balancing the needs of the search engines and the wants of users is central to the task.

There is also a further consideration to reflect on. It can be the case that using keywords sparingly can pull users on to a few selected pages of the site. On the other hand, optimising for more keywords on more pages can bring traffic in on a broader front. It is important to think about which strategy suits your tactics in relation to conversation rate maximisation.

If you have not heard of keyword spy then prepare to get excited. Keyword spy is one of many search engine optimization tools which is used to identify competitor activity in terms of keyword usage for pay per click (PPC) campaigns. Whilst many people may argue that keyword research can be done independently, the benefits of using a tool such as keyword spy is that results are almost instant, whereas conducting your own competitor keyword research can take a lot of time and effort.

Another added benefit of using keyword spy as one of your search engine optimization tools, is that it gives you a lot of inside information which you would not normally be able to discover so easily. By more in-depth information, we mean the actual costs of competitor PPC campaigns. The process of using this tool is simple, you are presented with a search box in which you can search for whatever subject or website name you desire. You will then be provided with a simple list of results. These results are in the form of keywords, and besides each one are various details of their PPC campaign.

There is a ranking result which tells you how much per click the company paid for that specific keyword. Granted, this is an approximate cost but all the same, a very good inclination and insight into what rate your competitors are trading at. The other factor, which it informs you of, is their advertisement rank. This is basically a measure of the performance within SERP’s, against the price per click rate.

Before the vast desire of intrigue takes over, it is important to remember what the true purpose of keyword spy is. As interesting and insightful as we all know it is to check out our competitors’ movements, the theory behind this tool is to enhance the effectiveness of your own PPC campaigns. If you can see what keywords are working well within competitors’ PPC campaigns, then you can consider whether to incorporate some of these into your own strategies. Similarly, if you see keywords which are under performing then you know to either not include these, or perhaps delete them if you are using them already.

The results you are given may also enable you to discover alternative ways to promote your website and offer different avenues for you to get your advertisements and web links into. It can also contribute towards improving your page ranking with SERP’s and increasing your click through rate (CRT).

Where the cost element comes in is fairly obvious. By having a good idea of what your competitor’s internet and online costs are, you can see how much you are spending, and if this is acceptable. By using keyword spy against companies with a similar turnover or profit as your company, as well as relevance, you can get a true insight into spending habits.

Keyword spy offers both paid and free trial versions of the software, so even if you are still a little dubious, there is no harm in trying it for free.

You have probably heard a lot about keywords and how they are necessary when you are using SEO on your website. The key is not only knowing that they are there but knowing how to use them, and use them well, in the website. Keywords are the gateway to people seeing your website. It may not seem like that but when you consider that keywords are what people use to find something online, they are what search engines look for when listing a website and they are what you need to use in the content of the website, they really do make a difference. If you want to start doing better with your website, you need to learn how to use keywords to start seeing more of the success that you want online.

Picking the best keywords to use may not happen the first time that you are using search engine optimization and you may have to try a lot of words before you find any that work for you. This is because you don’t always know how people are going to be using words when they are searching for something online or what the search engines are going to be looking for. The only way to find the best keywords to use is to try them out and, if they don’t work, try using new ones.

Keyword Variations

There are a few ideas that you can use when you want to have the best keywords that you can use in the content that you have on your website and in the links that you post. One of the things that you may want to try is changing around the order of the words when you are using them. Sometimes, the order that you may use when you are doing a search is not how someone else will use them. You need to try and think what other variations of the words people may be using when they are looking for something online.

You also may want to try using them differently in the content and in the links that you gain from other sites. As long as you use the same words in the content of your website as you use in the links that you are posting online, you can change them when you want and see what works better. It is important though that you change them everywhere that they are used because search engines need to be able to find them easily on the pages on the website.  If they do not, they are not going to list your website.

Keywords that are performing well in searches are a great place to start. There are ways that you can find out what keywords are doing well in the searches and use the ones that are related to the content and to the products that are on the website that you have. You can start by picking a few that you see are always being searched for and see how you can use them to include in the content and in the links that you create.

Descriptive Keywords

Choose keywords that are descriptive. Part of the reason why you want to do this is because if you choose keywords based solely on what is most popular, it is going to be tricky to make your website get noticed as there are so many. You may want to take the keywords that are popular and then alter them to what best fits your website and the products that you have. Adding on a keyword or two to the sets can really help you see the traffic that you need get to the website. Don’t give up on keywords if you are not seeing improvements right away. It can take search engines a while to get through your website once you have posted it and posted links to it.  So it still may take time for it to show up in the listings. If you are not seeing any kind of action on the search engines and it has been quite a long time since you have posted those links, you may want to find out what is not working and consider changing your keywords to try and find better ones to use that are going to give you the results that you want. Look for helpful ideas online when you are ready to get started with search engine optimization.

Everybody in the world of search engine optimization knows the importance of keywords, but rather than just check keyword relevance and page ranking on your keyword links, a good SEO company will look a little deeper at your keyword effectiveness. It is important that as a company you can understand the uses and benefits that your keywords can bring, even if you are hiring external services.

Monitoring keyword effectiveness is crucial if your search engine optimisation strategies are going to work well for your website, it is also worth noting that just because your keywords work well one week, does not mean that they will work well the next. Changes in user trends, competitor websites and search engine sophistication can all change the way in which your links are displayed within search engine results pages (SERPs) so ensure you keep on top of things. This is particular important if your web pages refer to any current or news related information, as real time searching can also have an effect on your results.

The density of your keywords is one of the most important aspects to look at when creating content with keywords in mind. The way in which density is worked out is basically a comparison of the number of keywords and the number of overall words within the entire content. Whilst a lot of companies will cram keywords in, search engines do penalise for this and really, it is a little unnecessary. A good SEO company will know that you do not need to repeat keywords a vast number of times, it is much better to focus on a few select key words and phrases and include these on a set number of occasions. Keyword cramming could result in your page being penalised within popular search engines, which is a shame, particularly if your keywords are very relevant and generally work well for you.

Not quite as detrimental as the density but still used as it is easier for search engines and companies to measure, is the number or frequency of your keywords. This basically means that no matter how long your content is, the number of keywords within the content will be counted. It is important to get a good level of keywords within your content, but at the same time you still want your content to read naturally and smoothly and not look obviously like it is written around keywords.

There is no hard and fast rule in the world of keyword content as to how many keywords you should include but there are guidelines which a lot of companies use. For a 500 word piece of content you would probably not want to include more than five or six keywords or phrases, otherwise it would look too packed and may be frowned upon by search engines. Although all this is important, there are no keyword police who are going to come after you and scrutinise your keywords, the best advice is if you make it natural and make it relevant, and your keywords will work hard for you.

As far as SEO goes, one of the first rules of thumb is identifying and including the right keywords. There are many search engine optimisation tools and techniques available to help you identify these keywords and get them into your links as easily and naturally as possible. SEO does not stop there though, and having happy customers when it comes to those using your website is just as important from a business perspective, so the content needs to go a lot deeper than just relevant keywords.

Anybody who knows anything about website production and maintenance will stress the importance of content. Content is what informs visitors to your site of your product or services and keeps them interested in what you have to offer. The terminology within actual web content is referred by some people as ‘carewords’. However there is a debate that this is an unnecessary term and they are in fact, just keywords.

The way in which a careword works is that they are aimed at what a visitor to a site wants to read as opposed to just a bait to attract them to your site or get you a high search ranking. Carewords take into account the mindset of the consumer and the feelings they have surrounding your brand or service. The reason these words differ from actual keywords is that they are more targeted and even more natural, plus they do not always bear a direct resemblance to search results.

An example of how you could define carewords could be that your website offers catering services. If somebody is searching for a catering service, then there are other factors that would also be on their mind. For instance, they could be looking at catering for a wedding or a birthday party, so your carewords could consist of phrases such as ’scrumptious and original wedding catering services’ or ‘catering services for your perfect wedding reception’.

Examples such as this often come under scrutiny and are accused of being nothing more than long tail keywords. The difference is that the carewords do not always have to appear within search engines as their purpose is not to attract, it is to sustain. Although long tail keywords are usually more descriptive, they are still designed with the searcher in mind. Carewords are designed with the reader in mind and the easiest way to do this is to imagine what a visitor to your site would like to read about.

For the catering example for instance, somebody visiting the site will want to read about delicious hot and cold buffet food or catering options for all budgets. ‘Delicious hot and cold buffet food’ would not be used as a keyword here, as it is unlikely someone would search using this phrase. However, it is more pleasurable to read and is more likely to keep a consumer interested. Carewords are designed to communicate with people on a personal level, not just a targeted and tactical level.

In a world where search ranking and number of click throughs appears to be the only thing that matters, it is questionable as to whether companies actually care enough about the quality of their clicks and are more concerned with volume. With many a search engine optimization company boasting their ability to get you a number one search engine position, this seems to be the only thing that some SEO companies are concerned with.

A lot of people would argue that quality is better than quantity, which is where long tail keywords come in. Keywords can be described as either short tail or long tail, with a long tail keyword consisting of four words or greater. Short tail keywords are more commonly used and are great for getting a higher position within search engine results pages (SERPs). They are also effective at driving traffic to your website, but is that traffic valuable?

Just because you get a lot of clicks to your website it does not mean that visitors stick around and use the site or make a purchase. Long tail keywords are designed to narrow down the search for people so that they are provided with a more specific set of results as opposed to a larger selection of similar results. When creating long tail keywords you should think carefully about the specific and precise ways in which someone would search for your product or services.

For example, your company may offer discount designer shoes. If you use these three words as a keyword, then there are likely to be hundreds of other results appear along with your website in the SERPs. If however, you created some long tail keywords such as cheap Kurt Geiger ladies designer shoes then you are providing a search result that matches the searchers request almost perfectly. Of course, the number of search results which your site will appear in will be less; however the ones which you do appear in are more likely to click to your site and make a purchase.

With SEO long tail keywords being so specific, you will need to create multiple variations of them. In the designer shoes example you would need links to different brands, gender targeting and also multiple variations on the word ‘cheap’ or ‘discount’. It may sound tricky at first, but it is fairly simple to work out, all you need to do is identify as many different ways as possible of saying the same thing.

With the use of long tail keywords comes more web pages within your site to link to. This bodes well from a search engine point of view as a site with multiple pages often appears more robust and trusted. The other positive thing about long tail keywords from a search engine perspective is that the relevance of the keyword and the page could not be more accurate. This means you are offering a very natural and ethical link which can result in a higher search ranking.

Whether you are embarking on SEO strategies yourself, or hiring a professional search engine optimization company to do it for you, knowing how to identify and choose the most relevant and competitive keywords for your content and links is extremely important. Keywords form the backbone of your searches and are what the search engines are looking for. There is a fine line between having a sufficient amount of the strongest keywords for your site, and cramming as many keywords into your content as you can, and any professional SEO company or individual will know this.

There is no disputing that the relevance of your keywords is one of the most important things, not only because they drive traffic to your site but also because you want to conduct ethical search marketing methods. To discover the most relevant keywords for your site, you must put yourself in the position of the consumer. Consider what they would search for if looking for your company and look closely at your website. Ensure that the keywords used are an accurate portrayal of what the consumer will find when they click through to your site.

Of course, the other main use of a keyword is to encourage online traffic to your site. There is a lot of debate as to whether choosing more obscure keywords is easier to get a higher ranking as there will not be as many other competing sites using them. This may be the case in terms of your rank position within search engine results pages. However, there is also a valid reason why they are not popular keywords. Ranking high is one thing, however getting consumers to click through or actually search for that particular word in the first place will not be as frequent as more common keywords, so consider this carefully when choosing yours.

That being said, how do you differentiate your SEO keywords from competitors without choosing ones which are so obscure that they’re never searched for? Granted, the problem with common keywords is that you could end up on page four within search engine results. This is where keyword phrases come in. There are some words which you have to include due to the nature of your business and it is highly likely that all your competitors will use this word too. However, simply adding bespoke twist or specific company angle to your keyword phrase can make you stand out above others. It is worth doing as much competitive research as you can when choosing keywords as other similar sites are your main threat.

Keywords should also be enticing and inviting. If you rely on purchases from your website then consider keywords which will encourage a consumer to do so. Consider the customer’s intentions when conducting their search. If someone is looking for a place to buy a certain product, then including the word ‘buy’ in your keyword phrase will show them you are more than just an information site about the product or service and turn a search into a purchase.

Using specialist SEO services can ensure that an online firm avoids some basic errors during an ongoing campaign. Making substantive progress up the search engine results pages is getting more and more complicated due to revolutions in the sphere of search. Furthermore, as more sites are having high quality SEO applied to them, the chances of making significant independent advances in competitive sectors are sadly on the wane. While most individuals may know a little about the potential benefits of content, links and keywords, lots of them are not fully aware of the ins and outs of employing relevant tactics effectively.

An example of an area of some potential confusion is that pertaining to keywords. The vast majority of individuals with a smattering of knowledge which relates to SEO are conscious of the requirement to use keywords in content. Most of them have had their attention drawn to the potential perils of keyword stuffing. However, even among people informed to this level, there are common ‘blind spots’ which can lead to negative results if they do not receive corrective assistance. When it comes to keywords, it is crucial that a comprehensive strategy is put into action.

Imagine a site where a DIY approach is put into practice. The site owner may select some keywords relevant to the industry. These keywords may then be inserted into the copy on the homepage of the site, as well as the meta tags, and are the search terms that you want to target most in the search engines. Although the importance of these individual things, your SEO copy and meta information, directly to SEO success are debatable, the search terms that you want people to find you with are vital to your search engine optimisation performance.  Poorly researched keywords which may sound like common sense to you, may simply be ineffective because nobody searches for them, or so many people search for them online that they are highly competitive and your chances of getting onto the first page of results within months or even years are greatly reduced.

This is in part because the major search engines like Google have observed that user behaviour is altering in a significant manner. Due to the plethora of choice on the net, the modern consumer often makes quite specific searches. For instance, a site which sells stationery will not just get potential consumers who have typed in ‘stationery’ or ‘stationery items.’ With the increasing frequency of long tail search, queries like ‘cheap stationery items’, ‘green fluorescent marker pens’ and ‘black roller ball pen’ may easily come into play. Using merely five keywords is not going to facilitate the maximisation of profit in the new environment.

Keywords then, are not as straightforward as they may initially appear. The best way to perform keyword research is for an online firm which knows its sector intimately to collaborate with an experienced SEO company. Between them, they can generate a relatively long list of keywords. The next task is to put keywords in the content on the site. They should also be introduced in the articles which frequently update the site. It is vital that the keyword list is used in a flexible fashion over time.

A lot has been written about the need to be flexible with regard to the implementation of search engine optimization. Incremental improvements to a site can help in the push for sustainable better rankings in the search engine results pages. The skilful use of SEO tools, for instance, can highlight where changes to a site may prove beneficial. However, flexibility should entail delivering continuous improvement by leaving what is working well in operation and should never involve reckless experimentation. Changing your SEO strategy every week is  not the answer. Effective SEO takes time to bring results and usually the  more competitive your industry, the longer it takes, so don’t lose faith in your search engine optimisation campaign if you don’t see results within a month. However, small adjustments can be made after time which could be key in getting your rankings to improve.

As keywords are a basic ingredient of the standard SEO recipe (along with content supply and link acquisition), it arguably makes sense to look at how they can be employed. Keyword research is an important part of the baby steps of SEO and it is often engaged with at a very early stage in the campaign. Coupled with the fact that getting a great keyword list together is far from simple, this means it is an area in which flexibility is often necessary.

Assembling a keyword list is so tricky because establishing the most important phrases in a sector is inherently problematic. It is a difficult matter of dealing with unknowns. The first fluid unknown is the unpredictable behaviour of human users. The second unknown is the activities of the major search engines. The search engines provide very limited information to the SEO industry but it is possible to discover monthly search volumes for many keywords -  a great factor in whether they are worth choosing for your campaign or not.

Devising a keyword list is often done by a SEO company in consultation with an online firm. After all, the client should be knowledgeable in relation to their specific sector and target audience. However, their potential customers may be typing odd combinations of words and misspellings when they are searching for goods and services online. Research has shown that few firms are aware of all the relevant terms applicable to their sector. But there are search engine optimization tools to help you discover things you may not have previously considered.

If results are proving less than satisfactory, it is important to focus on what is and isn’t working. Patience, together with a flexible attitude, is crucial. For instance, it is difficult to get the balance right between reacting and overreacting. It is important to bear in mind that the efficacy of keywords can alter substantially over time. Users may start using longer terms in their searches (long tail keywords), or they may even mix up the word order in phrases. It is also the case in some sectors that novel terms come along. On the other hand, some keywords will keep working away fine and drawing in the right traffic.

While it would probably be quite foolish to adjust a keyword list each week, the above facts highlight the possibility that regular maintenance of the situation could be an astute move. How often it is necessary to make changes is dependent on the nature of the specific site concerned and is related to the sector in which it operates.

Sometimes when individuals consider the search process, they mistakenly imagine that users always type in a keyword, check out a couple of sites at the top of the search engine results pages and get what they were seeking. Research indicates that users are quite regularly disgruntled with the results of their first search. If a user is not content with the initial search, they will often alter their search terms and have another go. Users will often make several attempts to get precisely what they want. This has considerable implications, especially with regard to the employment of appropriate keywords in the context of a continuous search engine optimisation campaign.

While some individuals focus their keyword efforts in a rigid manner, others are more open to a flexible approach. Although the selection of a good blend of short tail and long tail keywords can lead to positive outcomes, the fact that users sometimes search more than once throws a different light on what has to be done. To underline this central point, it makes good sense to move from the abstract to the concrete.

Consider a firm which is operating in the concrete floor polishing industry. Their site extols the aesthetic and practical virtues of properly polished concrete floors. A blog, seeded with keywords, ensures that regular additions of content do their work with the search engines. However, imagine if a user enters the term ‘concrete floor.’ This is a competitive keyword and the user is not satisfied with the first set of results. The user then moves on to search for ‘floor polishing’, ‘concrete floor maintenance’ and ‘concrete floor polishing.’ From the perspective of the firm, it makes commercial sense if their site features in as many of the relevant search engine results pages as possible. For example, ‘floor polishing’ may lead the user to sites which offer services relevant to other types of floor, so if a concrete floor polishing firm can be visible in this wider context it may attract attention from the margins of its target audience (which could be of utility in the future).

Advertising can work very well through the power of suggestion. Using related keywords effectively can mean that searchers have more encounters with a site. The frequency with which a site features in repeated but different searches can be a significant factor in contributing to the level of success attained by relatively basic SEO. The more times the site appears, the more likely users will visit it. Of course, converting traffic into conversions is far from straightforward and SEO will always be a complicated and multi-faceted field of changing knowledge, but the skilful use of related keywords can be a boon.

Search engine optimization has got to the point where it is possible to be baffled by information overload. It is quite easy to neglect the basics while being dazzled by the ‘shock of the new.’ Content, keywords and links can still help contribute to positive results, if used with intelligent persistence. Related keywords are worthy of attention in many specific cases and should arguably be viewed in this wider context.