Your Keyword List: The Most Important List You’ll Ever Make

by smallbizbee · 6 comments

Yesterday we talked about the importance of your business having a web presence, and making sure your website is optimized for search engines. A big piece of optimization is having the right keywords, and today Corey Perlman, author of eBoot Camp: Proven Internet Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Businessis here to share his tips on creating an effective keyword list.

The Most Important List You'll Ever Make

(For the purpose of this article, when I refer to Google, I am also referring to other major search engines such as Yahoo, MSN and ASK.)

How does Google decide where to rank your Web site on any given search query? Well, the exact formula is as top secret as the ingredients that made up my diet coke I had with lunch.

But Google is very open about the criteria they use to evaluate a Web site and today’s topic covers one of the most important factors in improving your Web site’s overall Google ranking!

Feed the Googlebot

Late at night, when we are fast asleep, Google’s spider (named “Googlebot”) goes to work. It creeps from Web site to Web site in search for words to feed on.

It doesn’t like the taste of common filler words like a, the, to, and, it, but, etc. Instead, the spider is looking for unique words that are specific to the site it’s searching and explains exactly what that Web site is all about.

These specific words are called keywords. The spider returns this information to Google so it can produce relevant Web sites when these certain words are searched.

Help Google Help You

Our goal is to help Googlebot find the words WE WANT him to find. The more control we have over our keywords, the more control we have over how we rank on Google.

As Google evaluates a site, they are not only looking for specific keywords, but how frequently the keywords are used.

They figure the more a particular word is used, the more relevant it is to the overall purpose of that Web site. And so if you search the word “business” in Google’s search engine, then Google will provide you with Web sites that include that word in the content.

Now most of us don’t just use one word when doing a Google search, we type in phrases. So, again, Google will look to match as many of the words that you searched (minus the filler words) with the words found on the Web sites they provide for you.

For Example

Take a look at the image below. I searched the phrase “hip hop dance classes” in Google and this Web site was one of the top sites that came back in my search results. Notice all of the times they have the same words I searched for repeated in the homepage content.

One other thing to note on the example above is that the sentences still make logical sense. You don’t want to just add a keyword to gain credit with the search engines. That can frustrate people visiting your site and the search engines frown upon it anyway.

Your Mission, If you Choose to Accept It

So let’s get to your mission at hand: to figure out what your top keyword phrases are and then sprinkle them throughout your Web site content.

Simple Keyword Selection Exercise

Here’s a great exercise to figure out what keyword phrases you want to target. Go out and talk with total strangers; ask them to tell you what they’d type in Google if they were looking for a business like yours.

What you’ll find is they will offer words and phrases that might surprise you and get you thinking differently about what your keyword list should be. And by all means listen to them!

Input from Somebody Other Than Me

When we try and come up with our own keyword phrases, we put ourselves at a disadvantage because we live and breathe our business. For example, I’m in the Internet marketing business. I talk about this stuff all the time.

If I were to think of what some of my keywords are, I might be inclined to use words like search engine optimization, html, web site usability, and other industry specific terms. But that’s not what people are going to type in Google to find me!

Real Life Example

Another example that I mention in my book is about my friend Ray who owns Ray’s Shoes in Seattle Washington. When I asked Ray what phrase he’d most like to come up #1 on Google, he quickly responded, “that’s easy, ‘Ray’s Shoes’!”

But Ray, if someone is searching specifically for you, don’t you think they’ll find you one way or another?

What about the stranger who is just looking for a shoe store? Isn’t that the person you are targeting on Google? Phrases like ‘Seattle shoe store’ and ‘Seattle Wash Shoes’ are the phrases Ray ended up targeting.

So when coming up with your most critical keyword phrases, you want to think about the person who knows nothing about you or your business. All you know is they need the product or service you provide. They hop on their computer, go to Google and they type in…what? Figure that out and you are well on your way to creating your perfect keyword list.

Things to Remember

Target about three keyword phrases to focus on
Make the phrases about three to five words
If you have a brick and mortar store, make sure to use your city and state in one or more of your keyword phrases. And try and use it in your homepage content exactly the way it is often written. For example, we usually write Michigan as “mi”
Just because your Web site has the exact phrase that a person searched for on Google, it doesn’t guarantee you will rank #1 or even on the first page. Their algorithm is robust and this is just one of many things Google evaluates when deciding where to rank your site

Things to Avoid

Don’t overdue the amount of times you add a keyword to your Web site. You want your keyword density ratio to fall between 3-9%. To figure this ratio out for any word on your site, simply divide the amount of times you use the word against all of the words on your page. So if you use the word ‘homes’ 9 times and you have 100 words on your page, then you have a ratio of 9%. Any higher than 10% and it might look like you are intentionally adding the word to trick the search engines. They don’t like that.
Here’s a link that will analyze any page on your site for you and tell you the keyword density ratio for every word. Try it out!
Keyword Tool

Take Action

Decide on six to eight critical keywords for your business. You can use them together to make search phrases.
Increase the amount of times they appear on your Web site.
Make sure your sentences still make sense and you don’t lose any of the quality of your content.

About the Author

Corey Perlman is the President of eBoot Camp, Inc., an education company that provides business owners with the knowledge and skills to effectively market their business on the Web. Corey's book, eBoot Camp: Proven Internet Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Business, hit #1 on the Amazon.com bestseller’s list. To learn more about Corey or to pick up a copy of his new book, go to eBootcamp Book

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