Get people talking!
Posts tagged what is relevance
What is SEO? Finding Good Keywords
0This post is the final one of the series. It contains the most pivotal element of the technique I’ve developed. I will first explain ‘What’ we’re doing, then teach you ‘How’ to do it.
What we are doing is finding keywords and key phrases that are:
- directly related to your industry or the theme of your blog, and
- not being used by competing websites
The previous blog posts have helped you find the main keywords and phrases. But you should know that your competitors are using them too. So,
- use them frequently, because they will tell the search engines what your site is about, and establish ‘relevance’ (read the article about relevance)
- know that at first they may not bring you much (or any) traffic, but
- as your site achieves a higher Google rank, you will get more search engine traffic, and increasingly relevant web traffic
You should use the tools below to refine and expand your Level 1 and Level 2 words and phrases. Learn about the three levels of keywords and key phrases here)
How to find more search engine traffic
Step 1.The tool we’re going to use now is the Google keyword tool. (Click here to go to it)
Step 2. Pull out your list of Level 3 keywords and key phrases you wrote down. You got these from the Google wonder wheel. Click here to learn how to use the Google wonder wheel, or if you haven’t made your list yet.
Step 3. Choose a phrase from your list, and type it into the text box:
Hit ‘Search’ to get your search results.
Step 4. Very important: Under Match Types on the left, UNcheck the box next to ‘Broad’, and check the box next to [Exact]. (Left image) Your results should redisplay in brackets. (Right image)
Then, under ‘Keyword ideas’ click ‘Competition’. The first time you click, it will sort by most popular. Click it again to sort by LEAST popular.
Step 5. Rate your results. What you want to do is find search words or phrases that you can use on the left, then find the ones with:
- the highest ‘Global Monthly Searches’ or ‘Local Monthly Searches’, and
- the lowest ‘Competition’
In this example, I would choose to use “What is SEO” because it has many monthly searches and medium-low competition. Another example would be the slogan I used at the beginning of this series: “No news is bad news.” Using the keyword tool you get these results:
You can see that there were 110 searches last month. It may not seem like a lot, but there appears to be relatively few websites competing for that exact phrase. By using that phrase correctly (read this article to learn how), I am increasing my chances of being found by web surfers.
This technique is an art, so be creative. A personal guide I use is to choose phrases that have 100+ searches, and Medium or lower competition.
We can do a full evaluation of SEO in relation to your site, to see which keywords you should be using, and which ones will help you get some traffic to your site. Contact us to learn more.
We make no guarantee for results, but we have used it to great success.
What is SEO? Plan for success
2
“If you fail to plan you plan to fail.” More than ever, the content of a website is the basis for establishing relevance. It makes sense, then, to start your plan here.
What is relevance?
When web surfers search for a certain word or phrase, they want to find a website with the most relevant information. Search engines use an array of techniques for determining relevancy. (You may have heard of the Google algorithm.) In this case, content is king. Search engines evaluate the content of your website, then rate it in comparison to other websites.
This is why blogging has become so important: By creating new and original content — relevant content — you prove the value of your site to the search engines. This concept gave rise to terms like Keywords and Key phrases*, content marketing, SEO, and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Building your foundation
I’ve divided the foundation into 3 Levels. These are the building materials I’ll be teaching you how to use in the next few articles. But before I tell you, do 3 things for me (for you, really):
- STOP
- Get a pen and piece of paper
- Write down these steps, and do them
Level 1 – This is at the pinnacle of your foundation. This is just one keyword or key phrase. It’s the ONE thing that if someone searched for it, you would want your site to come up at the top of the search engines.
Assignment: Think of what that would be, and write it down. Keep it for later reference.
Level 2 – This is a broader base, supporting your Level 1. This level consists of about 6 to 10 keywords and phrases. These keywords and phrases are the most common topics you will be covering on your site, and could easily be used as categories.
Assignment: Think of what these would be, and write it down. Keep them, we’ll be using them later.
Level 3 – These are your key into reaching some level of SEO dominance. You’ll be using these to punch holes in your competition’s defense, and get better search engine ranking — and that means more website traffic. These are very broad topics or subject matter, and should be used as articles, blog entries, etc.
Assignment: Are you ready? You should start with at least 50 to 100 Level 3 keywords and key phrases. So, start writing! Sound daunting? Well it could be if there wasn’t some help out there.
There’s an awesome tool out there you can use for free, and I’ll show you how to use it in the next tutorial. But for now, start with Levels 1 and 2 for your homework assignment.
Read the previous article: What is SEO?
Read the next article: Building a solid foundation
* – A key phrase is just a particular grouping of keywords
