Optimize My Search

Selecting and Using Keywords

I have written about how you should reasearch keywords before. Choosing the keywords that your website will compete on is the most important decision you will make and will have a direct impact on a search engine optimization operation. Properly selecting the keywords for your site can provide a solid foundation to build on. Of course the opposite is also true. If you jump right into a highly competitive keyword field, you could end up struggling mightily to withstand the weight of the competition. You need to find a good balance and adjust as your website gets more popular. Here are some items that you should consider in picking out keywords.

Get Specific

Of all the concepts out there about picking a keyword this has to be the number one priority. To general a keyword invites unwanted competition; to specific a keyword can also not generate enough visitors to make it worthwhile ranking high. Let’s say your site is about blue widgets that enhance the characteristics of all other widgets. Using widgets as a keyword would be to general and the competition for top spot fierce. Blue widgets (if that was a unique design) would make for a better keyword. Anything more specific may not hold any value for ranking high. Always do the research!

Anchor Text

Anchor text is the words used in the incoming links from other websites. The first benefit to having links is the potential visitors you will get to your website. The second benefit is that Google and the other major search engines see links as votes of confidence from one site to the other giving your website a boost in the rankings. When getting these inbound links don’t forget to take advantage of keywords that your site might be targeting.

For example, this site would have the anchor text of SEO Articles that would help both visitors and search engines to understand what my website is all about. By using keyword rich anchor text in you back links, you’ll have better opportunities for your website to rank higher in the search engine results for your keyword term.