From Search Engine Optimization Tips is a post that highlights the most important aspect of SEO: keywords.
I really agree with this, as you’ve seen in my previous post. I simply don’t “catch” those posts that go under my radar.
The key, noted in the post, behind SEO is knowing what those keywords are. “What are you selling?”
This is probably the most important business question you will ever ask yourself. Unfortunately, it’s also often one of the most complex to analyze and the most difficult to answer. Historically, business owners have been warned that there are two different levels to the question, both of pretty obvious importance. Harley Davidson sells motorcycles, and that’s one level, what one might call the surface level. When you’re building factories or contracting with suppliers, it’s an important level to understand.
Beyond that, however, Harley doesn’t really sell vehicles. It sells prestige and status…
The Web, however, adds a third level to the question.
This third level exists where the line between the other two levels becomes blurry. It exists because, on the Internet, people have to FIND YOU before they can buy from you.[Virtual Promote]
When the Internet comes into play, you find that search terms are a combination of point one and two. Such as “fast motorcycle” or some such.
At one end of the spectrum are the keywords that are so highly competitive as to often be useless to you. Go to Google and search for “travel.” Notice all the sponsored links? There might be a few government or educational sites (.gov or .edu), but you’ll probably notice that most of the results are extremely well known, very long established web sites. Unless you have a few million dollars in the bank, I wouldn’t recommended trying to compete with Microsoft or Travelocity for this particular keyword.
This side of our bell curve is filled by the words and phrases that are the most searched on the Internet. They include travel, mp3, jobs, sex (of course), music, food and many more. Millions of people enter these words into a search engine every single day. And thousands of web sites are trying to capture that very big audience. It’s a bit like the lottery. The rewards for winning seem gargantuan, but your chances are abysmally slim. You compete for these keywords at your own risk!…
At the other end of our bell curve are keywords that are so highly targeted that John Q. Public will never think to use them when searching. The keyword “peregrination” may be a delightful synonym for travel, but it won’t bring you a lot of visitors.
In the middle of our bell curve lies the bull’s eye. These are the words and phrases people actually will USE when searching for products or services. And that brings us to another, albeit slightly different, way of looking at the same thing.
[Virtual Promote]
The middle is the best ground. Not too specific to lose out on many customers, but not too broad to have a hard time competing with other offerings. You don’t want to waste your time and money attracting visitors who in the end won’t be customers, so how do you pick the “right words”?
Well, it’s a lot of work, granted. And too much work for one post. I suggest to continue reading this article, which is quite long, and to stay tuned. We will touch this topic again in the future.
