Choosing the Right Keywords

In many ways, keywords are one of the most important factors that an affiliate marketer should be aware of – they define your relevance to a user’s search on Google. Keywords are used by Google to identify the content on a webpage and match it to a search. For example, if you sell baby products on your webpage, the keywords found in the text all over your website are what tell Google that this page is relevant. If a user was to search for baby products, the better your keywords fit the specific search and related keywords, the higher you will be on list of results. There are, of course, many more factors that determine your website’s placement in search result, but this article will focus solely on keywords. Stay tuned for a big update on SEO and how you can promote your website.

Keywords refer to the main theme of your website. The more these keywords are found in your texts, the better (keep in mind that uploading a webpage with nothing but keywords is a very bad idea that will only harm your placement). For example, the word “Keyword” is in many ways one of the keywords for this article. Notice how many times it appears and that its’ positioning is justified content-wise – you’d be surprised how easily Google can spot a fake site.

The exact number of Keywords you are aiming for isn’t constant. There is no magic formula for reaching the number one result on Google, but keep in mind that each keyword requires promotion – spread yourself too thin and you will be going nowhere really fast.

Before choosing your keywords, you will be wise to use Google’s free tools that will help you select the most relevant keywords as well as offer some that you may have not thought of.  The Google Keyword Suggestion Tool will not only provide some extra keywords, it will also display the search volume for that specific keyword on a global and local scale. Furthermore, it will also display the competitiveness of each keyword – an invaluable piece of information.

Regarding keyword competitiveness, your goal should be to find a keyword that it is not too competitive, giving you a fighting chance to actually achieve relevance in search results. However, you will notice that competitive keywords usually have a larger search volume (which is also very important. At this point, the best advice is to go for a keyword that is searched for sufficiently but has not reached the critical point of becoming too competitive. This is fine balance that is hard to achieve, but is well worth your time as it will ensure that your website has a chance to draw an audience.

Also, keep in mind that even if you end up going after keywords you didn’t have in mind – they have a better chance to promote you, at least in the beginning. Once you’ve established yourself (and cranked that page rank up to 11 J), you will find it much easier to pursue some of the popular keywords.

To sum it all up – Google has some great tools that will help you understand your audience. Provide the information that is relevant to your audience with quality content and smart keyword focus, and your website will start rising slowly but surely. Also, beware of any tools or individuals that promise you’re a page rank of 8 within a couple of days – all I will say is “Easy come, easy go”.