Keyword Advice
Online "experts" are always offering conflicting keyword advice.
This is because different keywords are good for different
reasons. Once you know the factors involved, you can decide
which ones are best for your web site.
I have a page of my backpacking site optimized for the term
"dirtbagging." I think I get half the world traffic for that
keyword, but that only means ten visitors a month. I was new to
online marketing when I put up that page. Obviously you need
decent keyword demand to get much traffic, but demand is just
one factor.
My Keyword Advice
1. Make sure there is enough total demand for a keyword. This
will vary according to the nature of your site. If you are
making a few cents per visitor an average, you need more traffic
than sites that average a dollar per visitor. I won't optimize
for a keyword that is searched less than a few hundred times per
month.
2. Look at keyword demand/supply ratios. Last month there were
289,000 searches for "fishing," but with 35 million results
showing up on a Google search for the term, can you compete?
Probably not. A Keyword term like "bass fishing tips," with
3,700 searches, and 31,000 results is a more likely winner.
3. Consider total supply. Google shows 300 results for
"dirtbagging," 15 times the 20 monthly searches for the term.
Still, it is easy to get on the first page of results for the
term. A keyword with a demand of a million, and a million search
results has a better ratio, but can you really get on the first
page of search results? Whatever the ratio, you have to be able
to compete against the total supply. Nobody will find you on the
tenth page of results. 4. Consider the type of keyword. Good
search engine placement is one thing, but what type of visitor
are you getting? Who's more likely to buy something or click on
your affiliate links, a searcher for "fishing stories," or
"fishing poles?" You'd probably make more money with the second
term, even if it had half the traffic.
5. Look for keyword variations. My site
www.IncreaseBrainpower.com was optimized for "brain power." I
later found there was even more traffic for "brainpower." I have
since optimized for both. By the way, both spellings are in the
dictionary. Look for odd search phrases too, but be careful
about optimizing for misspellings and bad-grammar keywords, if
it might hurt the reputation of your site.
5. Consider the value of keyword ads. If you rely partly on
pay-per click advertising, like Google's Adsense program, for
revenue, you may want to consider the ads that will be diplayed
for a given keyword. Ads for "surveilance cameras," pay four
times as much per click as those for "hidden cameras."
6. Consider your interest and expertise in the topic
represented by the keyword. Do you want to write a page on that
topic? Can you deliver what a searcher of that term is looking
for? Giving real value while doing something you enjoy - that's
my final keyword advice.