KEYWORD SELECTION: LESS IS MORE

Keyword Selection: Less Is More

Scope out the webmaster sites and industry hubs and you’ll find a lot of content on the importance of keyword selection. Okay, assuming you know nothing about keyword selection, let’s start at the beginning.

What Are Keywords?

They’re the words entered by search engine users looking for specific information on a topic, service or product. For example, if you were looking to buy a digital camera online you’d most likely go to Google, Yahoo, Ask or any number of other search engines, type ‘digital cameras’ into the search box and receive the results on the search engine results pages or SERPs.

Keywords are also used by search engines to classify your site according to top secret, highly-classified keyword taxonomies. A taxonomy is simply a sorting system. For example, all living things are sorted by kingdom, phylum, genus, species, etc. Same with keywords.

If, as a site owner, you selected ‘digital cameras’ as one of your site’s keywords and included this phrase in your site’s keyword tag, a search engine spider, after making a few checks of the actual text of your site, would classify, or index, your site as one that sold digital cameras. So when search engine users enter ‘digitalcameras’ as a search query, your site will show up on the SERPs. Somewhere.

How to Beat the Competition Using Lower-Ranked Keywords

So here’s the thing. If you sell digital cameras (since that’s what we’re using as our example) you’d naturally choose ‘digital cameras’ as a keyword, right? It’s a natural. Problem is, every other online electronics outlet that sells digital cameras will use those same keywords: ‘digital cameras’. And what does this mean to you?

When a search engine user queries ‘digital cameras’ onGoogle, your site may well end up on page 1320 of Google’s SERPs. And when was the last time you searched through 1320 SERPs looking for anything! In essence, using the keywords ‘digital cameras’ makes you all but invisible to search engine users, i.e., you won’t see any organic (naturally generarted) search-engine-driven site traffic.

But what if your keyword list was comprised of lesser-used keywords and phrases? Well, for one thing you’d still see fewer organic visitors because you’re using lesser employed keywords. However, search engine users often don’t go with the number one or two keyword. Sometimes they go with out-of-left-field keywords based on language differences, education level, current slang and a host of other factors.

As a site owner, you can easily find the most popular keywords for your products or services. You can take them directly from the top ranked sites by viewing the metadata of leading websites using Internet Explorer’s source view, so there are no secrets.

You can also find pricey keyword generators and OSS (open source software, aka FREE) keyword generators to compile lists of the keywords used most frequently on Google (or Bing or Yahoo) within the past seven days. The information is current and accurate.

Or go ask Google yourself. The Google keyword generator at Google's Webmaster Central provides real user queries entered within the past 30 days. Real users. Real keywords.

However, using the most popular keywords isn’t going to do much in generating organic results. For example, on the day of this writing, here are the number of hits generated by Google using variations of the digital camera theme.

Google Hits By Keyword or Phrase

digital cameras = 87,200,000 hits

digital photography = 118,000,000

digital photography equipment = 39,500,000

digital photography cameras = 55,000,000

cheap digital cameras = 21,900,000

really cheap digital cameras = 10,100,000

digital camera prices catalog = 1,750,000

really cheap digital camera catalog = 876,000

‘Digital photography’, as a keyword phrase, generates 118 million hits! Where’s your site in that dog pile? On the other hand, the keyword phrase ‘really cheap digital camera catalog’ generates less than 1 million hits (876K on this day). Get the point?

Sure, a whole lot fewer search engine users will enter ‘really cheap digital camera catalog’ than just plain old ‘digital cameras’ but the dog pile is a whole lot smaller, too.

Just look at the keyword phrases above. The difference between the keyword phrases ‘digital photography’ and ‘digital photography equipment’ is 78,500,000 search engine hits. You’ve just eliminated 78 million competitors simply by adding the word ‘equipment’ to your keyword phrase list.

But smart keyword selection doesn’t end there.

Google AdWords – Saving Money Is Easy

Site owners who use AdWords bid on Google keywords and phrases based on the popularity of those words and phrases. So, you, the site owner, might pay 75 cents per click-through for top-most placement on the AdWords stack found on SERP #1 generated when the search engine user queries ‘digital photography’. (Actually, it’ll probably be more!) However, if you bid on ‘digital photography equipment’, the less popular keyword phrase, you might only have to pay 25 or 30 cents per click. And since you only pay by the click (in other words no click no pay) this is a great way to stretch your marketing dollars.

Bid on less popular keywords and phrases (even misspelled keyword phrases, e.g. digital photography quipment; note the missing 'e' in equipment) and you’ll stretch those promo dollars to the max, even if it takes longer for enough search engine users to enter your selected keywords.

All Keywords Are Not Created Equal

Thankfully.

You can cut the competition by 90% simply by selecting lesspopular keywords. Using the most popular words and phrases puts you in head-to-head competition with the most popular competitor sites. Opting for less frequently-used keywords cuts the competition down to size and saves you PPC costs.

So, don’t go with the top ranked keywords if you’re not a top-ranked site. Build organic search engine results through the use of lesser-used keywords. In the web wars for commercial supremacy, less really is more.

If you're optimizing your own site, use Google's keyword generator. Look for keywords with a high KEI score. Or drop me a line and I'll walk you through it.

Later,

Webwordslinger.com

IF YOUR SITE'S BOUNCE RATE

EXCEEDS 40%,

CONSIDER REFINING YOUR

KEYWORD LIST.

Like today.

The Science and Art of Keyword Selection:

Creativity Can Save PPC $$$ and Eliminate Competition

Perhaps the most important aspect of site success, at least initially after launch, is the collection of keywords chosen by the site owner or SEO professional hired to do the work. However, an awful lot of new site owners take 10 minutes to write down the first 20 “keywords” that pop into their head and hope for the best.

Hold on a minute. One of the critical steps in long-term site success is keyword selection and the site owner scratches down a list on the back of a cocktail napkin? There is both science and art in developing a list of keywords, and by judiciously selecting keywords, and keyword phrases, you can actually save money with any PPC program (Google AdWords, for instance) in which you engage.

You can also eliminate some of the heavy hitters within your market segment by using both the science and art of keyword selection.

The Science of Keyword Selection

Start nowhere. Start with a blank sheet of paper.

Write down what you think would make good keywords. Don’t forget variations on a theme: ski equipment, skies, ski poles, ski deals and so on. Each of those keywords will open a different file within the search engine taxonomy.

Next, use the Google Keyword Generator to expand your potential list to 30 or 40 possibilities. Use other keyword tools like SEO Elite (you have to buy it) and open source software (OSS. It’s free!) to expand your list even further.

Finally, as you’re in this data-gathering phase, Google the highest ranking sites in your business arena. Using Internet Explorer, click on View>Source to see the HTML code beneath the highest ranking sites. (There are no secrets on the web.)

Review the competitions’ keywords and add them to the list, variants, too. Okay, now you have a list of 50 or 60 keywords collected from: (1) your knowledge of the product or service including industry-specific jargon, (2) machine-generated keywords from various software programs and (3) your superior, higher ranking competitors.

Time to go to work.

The Art of Keyword Selection

The idea, at this stage, is to cull the keyword list down to 15 to 20 words and phrases.

Start by looking over the competitions’ keyword sets. Chances are, if you use the same keywords as your stiffest competition, you’ll be blown out of the water. The links on the first two pages of Google are the cream of the crop so using the same keywords the big guys use isn’t going to do your little site much good.

But that doesn’t mean these competitors’ keywords should be unceremoniously dumped. Consider them the basis for some creative, artful thinking. For example, let’s say you’ve just opened a site selling high-end, imported garden tools. The competition includes huge, brand names: Smith & Hawkin, Home Depot, Gardener’s Supply and some other heavy hitters. So how do you think “Skippy’s Garden Supplies dot com” is going to stack up against this kind of competition.

However, if Skippy is smart, he’ll change competitor keywords in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, avoiding duplication of keywords and phrases with bigger companies. Examples:

____Them You

garden tools specialty garden tools

garden supplies custom garden supplies; supplies for gardening

rakes hand-made rakes; European-made rakes

Now, not as many search engine users will query “specialty garden tools,” that’s a fact. But when users do, Skippy’s small business ranks higher than Home Depot who doesn’t use that keyword phrase. Go Skippy!

Take your list of 50 to 60 keyword possibilities and cut it in half based on the ability to rework the keyword or expand on it. Often, this first cull will include the most popular keywords and many of the keywords added to the list based on your expertise. That’s the whole point.

Search Engine Classifications

Google and other search engines employ a classification system – a taxonomy made up of millions of individual categories. Some categories are very broad – “garden tools” for example, an obvious choice for any small business selling garden tools. Sure, it’s an obvious choice – but is it a good one?

Think of it this way: Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond. The ponds are the classification categories that form the search engine’s taxonomy. You can go with the “big pond,” top-tier keywords and go head-to-head with deep pockets competitors who have SEOs on staff 24/7.

Or, you can get creative, artistic, and conjure up variations on “big pond” keywords to create “little pond” keywords. Yes, it’s true you won’t see as many queries for more specifically-defined categories, but a small shop can create a high rank in employing more narrowly defined categories: from “rakes” to “specialty rakes.” That small difference places Skippy’s site high in organic search results whenever a search engine user queries “specialty rakes.”

Apply the Same Principles to Google AdWords

Same deal, here, except now it’s about stretching your marketing dollars further.

Site owner’s bid on certain keywords in the AdWords program. The more popular the keyword, the higher the cost-per-click (CPC). So, the price per click on an AdWords cube might be 50 cents for “rakes” and only 5 cents for “specialty rakes.”

Once again, many more people will type in rakes when looking to clean up the yard so those top-tier keyword will generate top-tier results for the big competitors who will eat your lunch if your little store goes mano e mano.

Select and bid on lesser used keywords to stretch your AdWords budget. Remember, you only pay when your link is clicked. But, by defining your keywords with specificity and distinction from other, larger sites, you’ll show up more highly ranked for a small classification keyword.

Again, that makes you the big fish in the smaller AdWords ponds (classifications). You’re paying less per click and, as an added benefit, you’re seeing more qualified buyers. How do you know? Because they queried “quality garden tools.” This isn’t your standard issue weekend warrior. This is a gardener willing to pay for quality, i.e. a better qualified visitor.

Forget Everything You’ve head About Keyword Selection

It’s old advice. If a SEO pro tells you to copy the keywords used by higher ranking sites, find another, more visionary SEO – one who recognizes the value of applying the objectivity of science with the art of human imagination to create a keyword list that actually delivers traffic.

Remember, when you’re just starting out, big fish, small pond. That’s how your site becomes a whale of a good deal.

How's your conversion rate versus your bounce rate? Not so good, huh? NP. You know who to call, and remember, I never close.

Webwordslinger.com