Keyword and keyphrases are the names given to words or phrases that people search for. A keyword would be a singular word and a keyphrase would be a phrase made up of keywords. The chances of an individual searching for a keyphrase are a lot higher than someone searching for an individual keyword. By understanding keyword and keyphrases you can use them within your website for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This means that your website will rank better for relevant keyword or keyphrase searches. This would direct a lot more traffic to your website.
Choosing A Keyphrase
Keyphrases are generally a lot more effective than individual keywords. This is because they are a lot more specific and people are a lot more likely to search for a keyphrase. You should try to make them about four words long. This way, it is specific enough to target your niche but at the same time there is not too much competition. For example, choosing a keyphrase such as “weight loss” is a very general phrase. Although there are many searches for the keyphrase there is also a lot of competition. This means that you will not rank anywhere near the top of this results page. If you should choose a keyphrase such as “weight loss through yoga” then you would stand a good chance of being able to optimize this search so that you rank very well within the search results.
Once you have decided on a few keyword or keyphrases, you can then run thee through a keyword research tool. Some of the more popular and helpful tools are the Google keyword tool, Wordtracker, Keyword Discovery, Yahoo Search Marketing and SEO Book Keyword Research Tool. You should always remember to run both the singular and plural forms of your keyphrases. You should favour keyphrases that get between 100 and 1000 searches per month.
Once you have made a choice regarding which keywords and keyphrases you would like to use, you can then implement them. You should try to use the keyphrase in the metatags, titles, URL, headings on that webpage, text describing an image and in link text. Once you have made all the necessary changes to the webpage you should then remember to check regularly whether or not the webpage is ranking well.
