One thing that continually confounds small business owners is selecting the right keywords around which to optimize their websites, blogs, press releases, email newsletters and social media campaigns. SEO professionals have sophisticated keyword research tools that help them select those phrases that dive the most traffic and have the least amount of online competition, but how does the DIY marketer manage?
There is a common sense approach to selecting good keywords — and for this no tools are required.
Brainstorm, but keep it simple. Start by describing your business without using any of your business of industry’s lingo. How would you describe your business to a friend not familiar with the kind work you do? Often these types of discussions will introduce keyword ideas you hadn’t thought of before.
Don’t spread yourself too thin. You don’t need to optimize every single page on your site or item in your e-store to begin with. Start by selecting the products or services that drive the most profit. Identify two of three phrases relating to that particular product or service and once you have those phrases ranking well, you can start to expand your research to include additional keywords.
Be specific about what you’re selling. Avoid single keywords; try to use more descriptive phrases when optimizing your pages. We call these “long tail keywords” and they really help your prospects find the exact thing they were looking for. The screenshot above shows some frequently searched phrases related to “silk flowers.” Modifier words like “wedding,” “wholesale,” “petals” are easier to rank for than the broader “silk flowers” phrase, and customers who are planning an event, or looking to buy in bulk, or hoping to find only petals are more likely to visit your site.