Article in SEO

Many people recommend using blogging software to target keywords; they’re often regarded as better optimized and search engine friendly. One of the great things about running a blog is that they naturally attract traffic from search engines (according to popular opinion).

The structure of most blogs, especially with software like wordpress, is usually already optimized for search engines. Blogs typically contain clean navigation with good internal linking structures. This isn’t to say that you must use a blog when targeting keywords for your site, but it is what many webmasters and affiliate marketers do. Now, onto the keywords.

Choose Profitable Keywords

Choose your keywords for your website very carefully. It’s all about strategy and targeting keywords that get enough traffic, but that also don’t have too much competition. If you target one or two word keywords for your blog that are extremely popular, it’s going to be almost impossible to rank well for them. Why? Because there are likely thousands of other website competing for those exact same words.

What is better is if you aim for keywords that get moderate amounts of traffic that is extremely targeted. Use tools such as the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to determine how often each keyword gets searched and what the advertising competition for said words are.

Target Targeted Traffic

The amount of traffic is not always what is important. Rather, it’s the quality of the traffic, not the amount. If you’re selling electronics and your visitors are looking how to make a milkshake, neither of you are doing the other person any good. For this reason, you shouldn’t aim to get massive amounts of traffic. Instead, you should aim for traffic that’s interested in what you’re selling or talking about. This way they’ll interact and explore your site rather than leave instantly.

Similarly, you can target “long tail keywords” that are three or more words long; these keywords get very little traffic, but the traffic is looking for something specific - something you can offer these visitors seeking specific things. People who search for keywords that have four or more words buy more products, on average. Again, if you target very specific phrases you can get a very specific audience. And nothing’s more valuable than having the opportunity to seller buyers exactly what they want to buy.

Select Different Variations

In addition to choosing relevant keywords and specific keywords, make sure you target multiple keywords. Some say that search engines penalize for large amounts of inbound links with the same anchor text. Others also say that gaining a large amount of inbound links quickly is penalized too. This is disputed and has never been proven or admitted, but it’s better to be on the safe side. Moreover, you should target several specific keywords to get more relevant traffic, especially since your long tail keywords only get a few searches.

By using relevant, targeted, and different variations of keywords, you have a better chance of increasing the amount of relevant traffic to your site. Moreover, as an added bonus, if you give your visitors what they’re looking for, they’re more likely than not to return again next time they’re seeking the same information or even refer your site to a friend.