Keywords and Search Engine Optimization
One of the primary ways in which you can direct your website content with an eye toward search engine optimization (SEO) is through the use of keywords in your site content and in promotional articles. Keyword use has become somewhat of a science, so it is important to understand how the usage of certain keywords is viewed among search engines and how to use keywords to their best advantage.What is a Keyword?
Keywords and keyword phrases are words that have the highest search value on search engines. For every industry, every topic, every product found on the internet, there are certain phrases and words that have a higher search rank value than others. These are keywords. It is important to understand the value and importance of keywords, because they are central to driving traffic to your website and increasing your website presence.
How Keywords are Used
There are numerous tools available to discover and select primary keywords that will help you in your quest to improve your page ranking and increase web traffic to your website. Popular tools include WordTracker and WordStream. Google also has their own keyword tool.
Choose keywords that rank in the top 20 of popular keywords for your topic. As you write your content, keep in mind that you need to integrate the keywords or phrases naturally into your content. Readers will notice if keywords are used awkwardly or phrases are used that simply do not naturally flow with the surrounding text. Also, make sure that you are using correct and standard English (or the native language of your targeted audience) – nothing will turn off a reader faster than obvious misuse of language or gross errors in grammar.
Frequency of Keywords in Content
Overuse of keywords is called “keyword stuffing.” This is something you want to avoid if at all possible, because it may result in your website being banned from search engines or from article databases. In SEO the usage of keywords is extremely important and being banned from a search engine will basically kill a website. Keyword stuffing is considered a “black hat” or negative approach to SEO and is largely frowned upon in the internet marketing field. Novices to SEO and content writing often make the mistake of unintentionally overusing keywords and find themselves mired in problems as a result. Avoid this kind of mistake.
Instead, aim for keyword usage that is approximately 10 percent of your content text. So, for example, if you are writing content that is around 500 words, then you should aim for your keywords to be used approximately four to five times in the text.
Summary
Keywords are extremely important when directing your SEO efforts. The entire purpose of search engine optimization is to increase web traffic and to improve web page ranking. Targeted and careful use of keywords in site content will definitely help improve both traffic and page ranking. When writing content, keep in mind that using keywords should be appropriate and overuse of keywords should be avoided to prevent being banned from search engines and article databases.
