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Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success

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Sushi Search Engine Optimization

It is important to realize that picking the right key words is crucial to your SEO success.

Always remember that for search engine optimization, your end goal is to rank high in the search engines for key words most relevant and valuable to your web site. For example, if you run a pet dog business, you naturally want to rank high for key words such as ‘pet dogs’, ‘dogs for sale’, ‘pet dogs for sale’. Better yet, you can narrow down the key words to target very specific niches such as ‘chihuahua pet dogs, pet dogs for sale in Brooklyn’ etc.

What a Client want?

Many of my clients start out being very ambitious in what they want to rank for.

For example, one of my clients ran an online T-shirt retail store and she wanted to rank for the very generic key phrase –‘t shirts’. A quick search on Google returned a whopping 118,000,000 results and many competitor web sites all having obviously invested much time and money into building their own SEO and web traffic driving efforts.

I told her to drop the idea and instead focus on a niche. She specialized in selling t-shirts that had a green theme and I suggested that we focused on keywords directly related to what she was selling. ‘Green t shirts’, ‘tree t shirts’, ‘earth day t shirts’, ‘environmental t shirts’ etc. You get the idea.

She took my advice and I started implementing the search engine optimization strategies. Before long, her web site started ranking for those keywords and the first trickle of traffic came in. She started making sales as the traffic was highly targeted and relevant customers who were specifically looking for green themed t-shirts.

Her business has since grown and she is now focusing on a range of themes, not just the green theme.

The take away from this story

Aiming for highly searched key words may not necessarily be the smart way to go if takes forever to rank for them. The smart thing to do is to use your common sense and consider what your most possible immediate customers are likely to key into their search engines.

If you live in London and you are craving for sushi, are you more likely to key in ‘sushi in London’ or ‘sushi restaurants in London’ as opposed to ‘sushi’ and ‘sushi restaurants? I’m sure you will agree with me that the answer is the former. Better yet, if you stay on Oxford Street in London, you might just search for ‘sushi restaurant in Oxford Street London’!

It is no good struggling to rank number one for ‘sushi’ if you own a sushi restaurant along Oxford Street of London because you could have ranked number one for ‘sushi restaurant in Oxford Street London’ and gotten your customers about 1/100th of the time!

So before you pick your key words, consider what key words or key phrases are likely to bring you the most relevant customers in the shortest time. Who needs customers from New Zealand when you sell sushi on Oxford Street London?

Image credit: Man met Bril

Filed Under: SEO

About

Aldric Chang is a successful serial creative entrepreneur and internet marketing expert who shares tips on blogging for money and how to make money on the internet on his blog at AldricChang.com. He also runs award winning cartoon animation studio MediaFreaks.

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{ 36 Responses }

  1. Ardorm says:
    You are totally right! It is great to have a favourite theme to blog about, however, there is no point in doing this if there is a high competition on the keywords connected to it. I myself had to add several popular, yet with less competition, themes in order to get noticed by Google and receive visitors, so that they will eventually read about my favourite one.
  2. SEO Company says:
    Yes great post keywords are the very important and initial thing for successful website so always take time use google adwords tool..its free and gives you accurate and relevant list, Decide what your target market is & Determine how much competition you'll have for the keywords or keyword phrases....etc
  3. Karan Singhal says:
    I agree with this post in that with SEO, you have to start small like targeting "green t-shirts" instead of "t-shirts" and then grow big. Overall, very well written!
  4. Jason Jumat says:
    Totally pointless to rank high for very competitive keywords. Yip. Even though shorter keywords tend to bring in lots of visitors - there are lots of (hundreds already are too much) that are competing. I agree 100% to rather go for longer tagged keywords and try to get a few backlinks for that. Also try to analyze exactly how much "anchored keywords" the #1 site have for that specific keywords you want to rank for. I tried to compete against the most competitive. It sucks. As you will never succeed trying to and guess what's the utter worst . . . you lose TIME. Because of lots of bloggers wasting time in doing nonsensical things online - they will finally give up hope. .-= NEW from Jason Jumat @ I need lots of money now´s last blog ..Product Name =-.
  5. Karl Foxley says:
    Starting out with long-tail keywords can make you rank quicker and bring you those all important visitors (buyers). I think you should still aim to make improvements on your core keywords (if they are deemed valuable) as good placement on these can bring you a lot of traffic. We have a client who's site has only been live for a few months now and is in a very competitive niche. We've managed to get their site ranked well for quite-a-few long-tail keywords (mainly buying keyword phrases) and we also use these pages to link to the core pages (using core keywords) that the client is targeting. All-in-all, these pages are starting to receive good SERP placement with the most important 'core' keyword making a great jump towards the first page. As you said, relevancy is key here, as the client ships worldwide and our strategy would be slightly different if they only sold locally, regionally etc. :) Good article, Karl .-= NEW from Karl Foxley@SEO Services´s last blog ..The Good Cook Guide To SEO: Baking To Perfection =-.
    • aldricchang says:
      Thanks Carl for your comment. I agree with you definitely that if you can afford the time and resources, gunning for core keywords is certainly worth it. For example 6 months ago I started applying SEO strategies for a virtual world for about 12 competitive keywords like 'free online adventure games', 'virtual worlds for kids', etc for http://www.wiglingtonandwenks.com. I am pleased to say that since 2 months ago we are ranking on Google's first page for many of these keywords. They bring in thousands of visitors every single day. :) .-= NEW from aldricchang´s last blog ..Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success =-.
      • Karl Foxley says:
        That's great Article, the time invested certainly equals the pay-off (in visitors) in the end. The site looks really good, something my daughter would probably love to take a look at (I've bookmarked it so we can go through it over the weekend). Is the site yours? I've sent a message via the contact form on the site. .-= NEW from Karl Foxley´s last blog ..My Product Theme, A Premium Wordpress Theme by ElegantThemes.com =-.
        • aldricchang says:
          Hi Karl, Thanks for your kind words. I'm the Creator and Chief Executive Producer for the virtual world, but not the owner :) Aldric .-= NEW from aldricchang´s last blog ..Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success =-.
  6. Dennis Edell says:
    Very timely for me; I have been struggling with the KW thing for some time. A lot more now though, since I'm expanding. So far I have one long tail for my main blog. .-= NEW from Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Oops I Lied-HAHA =-.
    • aldricchang says:
      Good job! Keep going! :) .-= NEW from aldricchang´s last blog ..Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success =-.
  7. Dennis Edell says:
    Very timely fr me; I have been struggling with the KW thing for some time. A lot more now though, since I'm expanding. So far I have one long tail for my main blog. .-= NEW from Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Oops I Lied-HAHA =-.
  8. element321 says:
    Your idea about long tail keywords and using the local city name with the keyword attached to it is a great idea. We do this with our local businesses that just want the online single webpage. I know this works, for one of our customers we set her up with a small site and she invested in our SEO services after her designer couldn't cut it for getting her traffic to her site. We got a hold of her site and started SEO for local search engine traffic. She only paid for basic services so it took a little longer to hit page one but within 2 weeks she was #3 on page one of Google. Her site traffic tripled and her website to sale traffic was her best was to get a sale. Sadly she refused to pay for monthly SEO support and her competitors beat her out of the first page, but she still ranks for a few words and she is still happy with the work we provided and she gets more than enough work to make her monthly goals. .-= NEW from element321 @ evolutionary designs´s last blog ..6 Useful Wordpress Plugins for Businesses =-.
    • aldricchang says:
      Thanks for your kind comments element321 :) Indeed it is much easier to rank for the local SE traffic than the global one. Besides, it's pointless unless your customers come from around the globe. .-= NEW from aldricchang´s last blog ..Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success =-.
  9. Tola says:
    This is exactly what I tell new clients that have new websites and blog. Start out with the long tailed keywords and as you meet your goals for those keywords amp it up a notch, as the website gets older it gets easier to rank for the more competitive keywords, especially if you do your SEO right. Keyword location is also a very good idea which much people still haven't gotten into yet. It goes a long way I say... Nice... .-= NEW from Tola @ SEO for Beginners´s last blog ..A Simple SEO Case Study - Connect4Free =-.
  10. Spyros Panagiotopoulos says:
    Great advices there. Indeed, picking a niche can be a great way to make the sale. It makes the whole struggling much easier. So, if you have something to sell, it is always a better idea to go more specific about it, rather than target for the really competitive areas. .-= NEW from Spyros Panagiotopoulos´s last blog ..5 Reasons Why You Need to Outsource =-.
  11. Dana says:
    That's what call as long tail keyword optimizing. This kind of strategy which will work great for new blog. To beat old blog/site is hard since search engine believe in age. .-= NEW from Dana @ Blogging Tips Blog´s last blog ..Current Hot Topic To Blog About: FIFA World Cup 2010 =-.
  12. Thomas says:
    I definitely agree that we should start with aiming for long tail keywords, but we still need to make sure that those keyphrases are getting traffic. There is no point being ranked number one for a 1000 long tail keyphrases that bring you no traffic. .-= NEW from Thomas@SEO Services´s last blog ..Create Niche Products: eBooks =-.
  13. Arafat Hossain Piyada says:
    This is something I really need for. I know about SEO but your analysis give me a better idea on it. Thanks. .-= NEW from Arafat Hossain Piyada´s last blog ..Gadget Most: Dofollow gadget blog for link juice lover =-.
    • aldricchang says:
      I'm glad my article came in helpful :) .-= NEW from aldricchang´s last blog ..Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success =-.
  14. chandan says:
    Yes you have mentioned some nice point. I am also working for different client projects. For get targeted customer we have to optimize for a particular keyword phrases. Let say I am working for one site which selling diamond related products, there is one keyword "loose diamonds", if any visitors come to our site for searching that keyword then the most possible is that the visitor come to our site to know about loose diamonds, but if our targeted keyword is like "buy loose diamonds", then most possible that visitor come to our site for buying purpose. Google also recommend for the long tail keywords, long tail keyword is good for get targeted customer for our site. .-= NEW from chandan@work at home blog´s last blog ..Important SEO analyzing factors for better search engine ranking =-.
  15. Gautam Hans says:
    Great Tips! Especially the fact that targeting less popular keywords is better becuase competition is lower and seo goals are achievable .-= NEW from Gautam Hans @ Blog Godown´s last blog ..Traditional SEO vs Social SEO =-.
  16. Kevin says:
    "Aiming for highly searched key words may not necessarily be the smart way to go if takes forever to rank for them. The smart thing to do is to use your common sense and consider what your most possible immediate customers are likely to key into their search engines." Great point! This something that I need to continually work toward. :) .-= NEW from Kevin@ShootingtheBreeze´s last blog ..Link Love Sunday vol. 1, issue 11 =-.
    • Colleen says:
      Exactly. The more detailed the search phrase one targets, the more likely the visitor will take action, make a purchase, etc. .-= NEW from Colleen@Kennewick Real Estate´s last blog ..Homes For Sale In The Pasco Washington School District =-.
  17. Latief says:
    The key to get traffic from search engine is keyword bro. Right keyword and right placement surely will bring good result. Thanks .-= NEW from Latief@AnotherBlogger´s last blog ..Selling Ads Space With AdvertiseSpace =-.
  18. Colleen says:
    ...sorry, I hit "Submit" before I was finished. I meant to say our favorite method of finding relevant keyphrases is through Google's Wonder Wheel. And do not stop at the first level. You can keep clicking on the phrases the Wonder Wheel returns/provides and really drill down to phrases that are very detailed search queries. .-= NEW from Colleen@Kennewick Real Estate´s last blog ..Homes For Sale by Liberty Christian School in Richland Washington =-.
    • aldricchang says:
      Yes, Google Wonder Wheel is great! I highly recommend those not using it to try it out. .-= NEW from aldricchang´s last blog ..Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success =-.
  19. Colleen says:
    "Better yet, you can narrow down the key words to target very specific niches such as ‘chihuahua pet dogs, pet dogs for sale in Brooklyn’ etc." I agree with the above. Narrowing down the keyword selection to local and/or longtail phrases is best. Plus, the traffic is more apt to become a sale. To do this, we have taken full advantage of the many keyword tools available, however, Google's Wonder Wheel: .-= NEW from Colleen@Kennewick Real Estate´s last blog ..Homes For Sale by Liberty Christian School in Richland Washington =-.
    • Hesham says:
      Thank you for the video link, I think it's better to embed it!
      • Colleen says:
        Perfect! That video is from Google's YouTube channel. There is a wealth of information on their channel. Thanks for embedding the link, as I think others will enjoy it also. .-= NEW from Colleen@Kennewick Real Estate´s last blog ..Homes For Sale by Liberty Christian School in Richland Washington =-.
  20. lawmacs says:
    I always believe in long tail keywords for the simple fact that you have mention if some is searching to would try to refine thier search to make it easier to find what they are looking for. nice read .-= NEW from lawmacs´s last blog ..Blog Design: How Much importance Should We Give =-.
  21. Div says:
    Yes, it would be amazing to have a single keyword such as “t-shirts” however, if you’re business is niche specific you’re going to have a tough time converting visitors. People generally will type in a generic keyword to get an idea of the websites available but when you have people typing in keywords such as “green t-shirts” they’re going to be highly relevant and ready to buy. +1
  22. Murlu says:
    The long tail is very important for any website because, unless you have millions to spend on SEO services, you're going to have a very difficult time aiming for single keywords. Yes, it would be amazing to have a single keyword such as "t-shirts" however, if you're business is niche specific you're going to have a tough time converting visitors. People generally will type in a generic keyword to get an idea of the websites available but when you have people typing in keywords such as "green t-shirts" they're going to be highly relevant and ready to buy. Remember that it's not always about traffic as you should be focusing on relevant traffic. By targeting long tail keywords, you're going to find those relevant visitors and increase your conversions. .-= NEW from Murlu´s last blog ..How To Choose A Domain Name For Your Blog =-.
  23. Blazing Minds says:
    I've always tried my best with the keywords for the SEO on my blog, but maybe because of what I blog about, which is virtually everything, I do find it hard to rank high up. But though I may not be hot in the results I still get a lot of traffic via some of the keywords that are in my blog posts and I'm quite happy with the results. .-= NEW from Blazing Minds´s last blog ..You Wanted Twitter Tips, You Got Them! – Part One =-.
    • aldricchang says:
      If you blog about everything, perhaps you can try getting traffic through controversial posts. I've got a blog where I got a lot of traffic through promoting a few interesting articles through Outbrain. .-= NEW from aldricchang´s last blog ..Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success =-.