I get asked this question ALL the time! We hear about "creating keyword rich content for search engine optimization" all the time, but then not much after that. I am here to shed some light!
First and foremost, your keywords need to be very specific to what you are offering. If you are a local business, you MUST include your city (if not town) and state. If you don't specify your location then you are putting yourself in competition with everyone in your country! And yes, that means your keyWORDS are actually phrases.
Examples of great SEO keywords for photographers in Arizona:
GOOD - Wedding photographer in Phoenix, AZ
GOOD - Church wedding photographer Phoenix, AZ BAD - Wedding photographer (no location)
BAD - Arizona Photographer (not specific enough)
BAD - Photographer (no location and not specific enough)
Reviewing your Keywords
Once you have an idea of what keywords you want to utilize, check out UberSuggest, a keyword research tool that will give you all the information you need to determine your best keywords!
UberSuggest is a free tool that will give you a TON of info on your keywords, such as how many people search for them versus how much competition there is for each keyword. It will also give you some ideas for other keywords to use.
You will just need to decide if you want to go for the more competitive keywords that more people are searching for, or the less competitive keywords but have fewer people searching. Make sense??
PRO TIP - See what keywords your competitors are using
Here are the steps you need to take:
If you are on a MAC go to their website click on "view" in the program bar.
Scroll to "developer" and then select "view source". This will take you to the backend of their website where you will find the site code.
Once you see the code page press "command+F" to prompt the find tool and type in "title" and press enter
Between the first highlighted words, you will see what they titled their web page. This is a big indicator of what their most important keyword phrase is that they are trying to utilize.
Keyword Search Intent: What most don’t teach you about keywords…
According to UberSuggest and other keyword research tools out there, a keyword might look perfect; however, there IS one step you need to take to double confirm it’s the keyword for you.
Unfortunately, you have to complete this step manually, but it’s worth it! If you start off with a bad keyword, it doesn’t matter how well you optimize your webpage for it, you won’t find the success you are looking for.
You can read all about SEO keyword search intent here.
Friendly Reminder!
Once you have your keyword phrases make sure you sprinkle them throughout your content in a natural manner! If you squish these in wherever you can, you will be penalized. And don’t just copy the phrase over and over again, mix it up… You can switch up the order of words and the actual words themselves by using synonyms.
Now all you have to do is go out and get yourself some keywords and start putting your website to work for you!! :)
If you are planning on building a website or want to optimize your current website to get found on Google by potential consumers, check out my FREE SEO checklist. It is what I use for every website!