How To Pick The Right Keywords For Your Website

Since 2012, Google has made a series of changes to its search algorithm that have altered the role of keywords in creating good content. The biggest misconception people have is that keywords are no longer necessary to help move a website up into the first page of search engine results. The real truth is that keywords are still important, but the way you choose the right keywords has changed.

Use The Tools That Are Available

Choosing keywords is not nearly as easy as it used to be, which means that you have to use tools that have kept up with the times. The most obvious tool to use for any keyword search is Google AdWords. You can do keyword searches and get a lot of information back on the keywords that would be relevant to your business by using the AdWords free keyword tool.

Another powerful way to use Google AdWords to get the right keywords is to run test AdWords campaigns using keywords you feel are relevant and see what kinds of results you get. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to start seeing activity, but you will get a wealth of information on how keywords really react when consumers start doing searches.

Be Specific

If you are a shoe manufacturer, then the days of you getting lots of valuable web traffic using the keyword “shoes” are ancient history. These days, millions of websites use the basic keywords, which means that you are going to need to get creative if you want traffic.

When you put keywords together, be specific in your wording. If you sell red shoes, then use “red shoes” as a keyword. If you find other keywords associated with “red shoes” that perform well in keyword tools, then use them as well. If you work to find specific keywords within your industry, then you will start to attract traffic that is actually interested in what you have to offer.

Understand The Long Tail

Not too long ago, digital marketing agencies shied away from long tail keywords because they didn’t work. But now that Google is more focused on finding good content for users, the long tail keyword has become king.

Understanding the long tail keyword is in line with the idea that your keywords need to be specific. Users are inputting longer and longer keyword searches to find what they are looking for, and you need to craft the long tail keywords that will attract those users.

Have A Plan

The best keywords are the ones that match your specific marketing goals. Each digital marketing campaign you launch should have its own, specific keywords to get the best results. You should avoid using generic keywords with your marketing campaigns, and you should monitor keyword activity to determine which keywords need to be changed to give you better results.

Digital marketing has become more than a full-time job, which is why you need to hire experts to help you handle your marketing needs. Developing effective keywords used to be a lot easier back in the days when search engines counted content instead of reading it. Now that Google is looking to give users quality search results, you will need to understand what keywords are going to work to attract your audience, and what keywords are not already being overused by the competition.

What Is A Bad Link

As Google continues to refine how people search for websites, it is also changing the way that websites develop content. One of the more recent changes Google has made is that it basically outlawed the use of purchased links on a website to try and enhance traffic. Google wants you to grow your website organically through strong relationships with websites that are complimentary to yours. But even if you gather your links through hard work and online networking, there are still link characteristics that can cause the links you use to damage your website’s Google results status.

You Link To Questionable Websites

Before you accept a link swapping arrangement with a website, it is extremely important to do research to make sure that the website you are swapping with is considered reputable. Websites that have a history of creating spam content or breaking Google’s SEO rules are considered to be questionable, and using links to those sites will damage your Internet presence as well.

The Linked Website Has Content Irrelevant To Yours

Google is getting very picky about what kinds of links it will accept, and that means that you have to stay up to date on all of the new guidelines for link swapping as they are released. It used to be that a website that featured content on gardening could team up with a personal finance website to help drive traffic. But with the new rules Google has in place, the personal finance content would be considered irrelevant to the gardening content, and using that link would cause problems for the gardening site.

The Link Is Overused

After months of communicating with a relevant and reputable website, you are extremely happy to finally get the chance to swap links. You are so happy that you decide to put that new link in several spots on your website to maximize exposure. This is something Google now frowns on, which means that using a good link too often can have the same effects as if you used a disreputable link just once.

Too Many Links To The Same Sites

You and your brother develop websites that offer similar content, so you decide to swap links to generate traffic for each other. This sounds like a great idea, but it is something Google frowns upon. If you are putting links to the same website or set of websites throughout your content, then you could incur a Google penalty for excessive linking.

You Use Keywords As Anchor Text

For years, the best way to get the most out of a link was to use industry keywords as anchor text. But Google now considers this practice to be taboo, and will hit your website with stiff penalties if you do this. Google wants to see your links used naturally in the flow of an article, and not crammed into the middle of content using keywords.

The definition of a good SEO link seems to change frequently, and using bad links can bring about serious penalties. If you want to make sure that your website is using the right kinds of links, then you need to invest in the services of an Internet marketing professional. When it comes to links, hiring a professional could mean the difference between great web traffic, or devastating Google penalties.