As Mark Twain once wrote, "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter -- it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." The selection of the keywords relevant to a product or service is a critical aspect of today's online marketing efforts. The difference between the right keyword and the "almost right" one can also be a "really large matter," because it can be the difference between attracting customers or getting lost among the competition.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization is the practice of building a website so that it will appear at or near the top of a user's search results page. "Black Hat" SEO practices include keyword spamming (repeated use of a relevant keyword) or using keywords that generate traffic but are irrelevant to the product or service the web site offers. "White Hat" SEO practices include using relevant keywords and useful content to attract visitors. Search engines may refuse to list sites that use "black hat" practices, because they often represent an attempt to circumvent the search algorithms. So stick with white hat SEO practices
Keywords and Customers
One of the most useful methods to generate keywords is for the marketers to place themselves in the shoes (or behind the keyboard) of the prospective customer. The marketer should ask, "If I were a user, what keywords would I enter into a search engine to find my product?" This method gives marketers the insight into how users find sites similar to theirs, including their competitors, and often gives the most accurate results.
Keywords and Competition
Another method some marketers use is to find the keywords that their competitors use to generate traffic. Marketers can find these keywords by viewing the page's source code. For instance, if a marketer found a competitor that sold Apple products, it could check the source code for a retailer of Apple products, the line in the source code that specifies the keywords may look like this: <meta name="keywords" content="iPhone, iPod, iPad, MacBook Pro, Apple">
Tools to Generate Keywords
Many SEO experts offer tools that can generate relevant keywords. Google, the world's leading search engine, and Microsoft, creator of the Bing search engine, offer tools to help users generate their own keywords based on their content. The web site Soolve.com allows visitors to enter a keyword, then shows all the search terms that other users of major search sites (Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Wikipedia, etc.) have entered related to that specific keyword.
SEO specialists must often walk a fine line when selecting keywords for their websites. Too many irrelevant keywords can dilute the site's message and fail to deliver a high ranking, while too few may limit the traffic that positive results can bring. The best practices include researching the effectiveness of competitors' keywords and understanding exactly how the customer would search for your product or service.
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