How to Select Keywords - An In-Depth Guide - page 4

by Mike Bradbury, 12/6/2006

What you have done is created a ratio of competitors to searches. When determining competition, you generally want the keyword to be searched on more times than there are competitors for that word. So the closer the ratio is to 0, the better the keyword.

These techniques will point out which terms have the most competition, but competition alone should not dictate which words make the final list.

Keyword Layout

Remember when selecting keywords: words on a higher competitive level should be placed on pages that will receive deep links in groups of 2 or 3 where all of the keywords are very similar like:

Running shoes, Shoes for running and buy running shoes online
Web design in Atlanta, Atlanta Georgia web design, Atlanta web site design

This way, you won't have to remove highly competitive, but potentially lucrative terms from your list, provided that you make a concerted effort to perform link-building for the pages on which those terms reside.

For smaller terms, in my opinion, the more the merrier. They can be given their own pages or be mentioned on other highly trusted pages of your site.

That's it. You should have all the information you need to select a strategically viable keyword list. Remember, keyword research is the cornerstone of a successful SEO campaign. Knowing the competition for your keywords will aid you in site layout, as well as focusing effort on SEO only where it is necessary. Ultimately, it will make your optimization process more efficient, allowing your sites to rank for more keywords with less work, which is a goal that all SEOs strive to attain.

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About the author

Mike Bradbury is an employee of Objectware, Inc, an Atlanta web design company specializing in ecommerce solutions, custom web applications, wireless integration, search engine marketing and custom shopping cart software. Mike is a search engine analyst for Objectware.

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