The general rule is that for successful SEO, you should target keyword phrases that have two or more words in them. If you choose to target single word phrases, you must ensure there is relevancy.
What is Relevancy?
Relevancy is how relevant a search is to what you are selling. The success of an SEO campaign can be assessed using a simple formula:
* relevancy of the keyword phrase x search volume of the keyword phrase
A keyword like "cars," for example, has high search volume – say a million searches per month. But if you are a mechanic, the number of people typing in "cars" to a search engine to find a mechanic would be extremely low. The relevancy factor could be as low as 1% but probably even lower - so even though you have a million searches per month, if you multiply that by the relevancy, that becomes a much smaller number.
The key to success is finding the highest traffic keyword phrases that are also the most relevant to your website – which you can do using the Google keyword tool at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. With this keyword tool, you can actually research what people are searching for online using the following steps:
1. Open the keyword tool
2. Select the country you are optimizing for, e.g. the USA.
3. Enter the phrase you want to research. As a general rule, it's better to keep the phrase as broad as possible here, so aim to have a two word phrase instead of a three word phrase.
4. Enter the verification code as requested by the site to verify your request.
5. Click "search". Once you have the results, sort the columns by local search volume and then from the drop down menu, select "Exact Match." This will show you the exact search volumes for that phrase, rather than for ALL of the phrases that include that word.
Once you have the list, go down it and select all the phrases that are relevant to what you sell. Make a list of these and then do the same for another search phrase that somebody would type use to find your services.
For example, if you were a mortgage broker, start with the word "mortgage", and see all the variations of that, then "loan" and see all of the variations, then "refinance". Once you have all 3 lists, sort the phrases again in descending order of search volume - the phrase at the top of that list is the phrase that will have the highest value for your search engine optimization campaign.
Once you have your top keyword phrase, start looking at the competition and see who you have to compete against to achieve a top ranking in the search engines. Do this by starting with your top phrase and doing a search on Google to see who appears. As a rule, it's easier to compete against small web sites rather than large financial institutions. So if large institutional companies dominate the top search, then move on the next phrase. Once you have identified the phrase that you will be focusing on, it's time to start SEO.
SEO is simply link building (getting other websites to link to your site with the phrase you're optimizing for in the anchor text) and web site optimization (setting up your website so it has the highest amount of strength and power within the search engines).
The Benefits of SEO
1. When optimized for the correct keyword phrase, the return on investment (ROI) for advertising is massive. From a $1,000 per month investment in improving your SEO rankings, you can achieve the same amount of traffic as an equivalent $25,000 pay per click campaign, sometimes even higher (depending on the keyword phrase).
2. It assists your branding. Because you're at the top of the search engine for a particularly keyword phrase, you are seen as the market leader by consumers who are relatively new to the industry.
3. You'll get qualified traffic to your site if you are optimizing for keyword phrases – the specific phrases ensure that only people who are prospects are visiting your website.
4. Because only qualified prospects are visiting your site, the results you achieve from an SEO campaign can be astounding. But an SEO campaign is only as successful as the ability of your website to convert those qualified prospects into sales or sale leads.
Why Google is the Best Search Engine to Optimize for
In 2008 Google became the largest search engine in the US, controlling more than 65% of the searches online. It is the powerhouse - a top ranking in Google has between 10 times and 100 times the traffic of Yahoo and MSN combined, which makes it the default search engine to focus your search engine optimization efforts upon.
Google is a universal search, which basically means it also ranks blogs, images etc. It has a local search, and a whole host of other types of searches incorporating other types of media.
In summary, achieving a top ranking on Google for your primary and most competitive keyword phrase has the power to transform your business for ever, and send you so much traffic that you can't help but expand your business and make a profit.
