If you’ve been reading anything at all about business copywriting or search engine optimization, chances are you’ve heard that you need to include keywords in your website and blogging copy. That’s great, but do you know why this is, what they are, or how to find them?
It’s simple, really. Keywords are the search engine’s clue for when your website should matter. They are the term your potential customer should be able to find you with by searching in Google. While there are other factors for how your website ranks, keywords are Google’s roadmap to finding your relevancy.
The first step in figuring out your website’s copy should be establishing what phrases you want it to be found with. The Google Keyword Tool provides an ideal way to do just that. On the top of the page, they have a place to find keywords or phrases.
As you type the phrase into the form and search, a wealth of information becomes available. The competition level lets you know how hard it is to rank for the particular term. A high competition level means lots of people are trying to rank for that word or phrase. Medium and low competition words and phrases become progressively easier to rank for.
Global monthly searches give a rough estimate of the number of searches around the world for a particular word or phrase. Local monthly searches tell you how many local searches there have been.
You can search as many phrases as you want by hitting enter after each one in the search box. Chances are, there may have been some phrases that you didn’t consider. The Keyword Tool compiles a list of suggestions down below that can be a gold mine for ideas.
You’ll also want to make sure that you understand the correct syntax and meaning for a term. For instance, someone searching “plumbing help” may be looking for how-to information, rather than a local plumber. Someone searching “Plumbing help, Chicago” may be looking for a local plumber. You’ll want to find the phrase that a serious customer is most likely to search.
Once you have a few key phrases, the goal is to work them into your copy in a natural way. If you force it by using incorrect grammar, or by including it in a way that sounds unnatural, people can sniff you out.
A lot of attention has been placed on keyword density, in the technical studies of search engine optimization. The best thing to know is that one to two mentions in website copy or a blog is probably fine. You can use it more frequently if needed. Just make sure that things naturally flow. If you decide to use the words over and over for the sake of attempting to manipulate the results, well, Google can sniff that out too. It’s best to just write naturally. Having the phrase in a headline also helps convey the importance.
The best thing to keep in mind is that the search engines will not buy your product themselves. While you need keyword phrases to convey your relevance to the search engines, keep your audience in mind. Moderation is better than sounding like a broken record.
Matt Brennan is a Chicago-area marketing writer and copy editor. He is also the author of Write Right-Sell Now.
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