Thread: thoughts on using keywords?

sorry i'm lazy and cut and paste from my blog :)

ok for those of you out there with websites, what kinds of keywords do you use to help optimize search rankings?

reason i ask..i always wonder how many items on the akai site that people google for. when i look at google analytics data the keyword most often used is akai or akai silks. a very small percentage is actually searching for silk veil. no searches for skirt, ruana, nightgown etc

so why bother to pay for higher rankings on these words if they are not being sought out.

i'm wondering if it would be more beneficial to pay to be ranked higher in a broader search..say hawaii shopping. or wedding gift. you know..something bigger than just the item. maybe tourist or travel destination since a lot of the clothes are for beach areas.

seems pointless to pay for high rankings if no one is looking

I'm not sure what the benefit of paying for high rankings is, really. Maybe your pages get out there faster, but there are many other ways to optimise your search results.

Read this:
http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/promotion/

I LOVE this site. It's the one i've referred to most extensively when creating my own and others' sites. I still refer to it all the time for things.

Thank you so much for posting this site TH!!!!! My very first website was published yesterday and now I need to take care of all of these details, but I had no idea where to begin.
Here it is (I'm a little proud of it, my first website, built with Homestead, but still my own), it's not a bellydance site, it's my artwork.
http://www.mandiballard.com/

Google Analytics only shows you keywords that people find you site with. It doesn't show the most popular keywords that people type into Google. If your site isn't ranked on popular keywords then it won't show up in Google Analytics.

Try looking a www.wordtracker.com I think it's only a few dollars for 1 days access and you can try it for free using less popular search engines.

Originally Posted by NajlaHalem

Thank you so much for posting this site TH!!!!! My very first website was published yesterday and now I need to take care of all of these details, but I had no idea where to begin.
Here it is (I'm a little proud of it, my first website, built with Homestead, but still my own), it's not a bellydance site, it's my artwork.
http://www.mandiballard.com/

You're welcome! I owe Ross Shannon a debt, his site has really helped me, and I'm glad to share the info source!

Originally Posted by jesennia

sorry i'm lazy and cut and paste from my blog :)

ok for those of you out there with websites, what kinds of keywords do you use to help optimize search rankings?

Indeed, don't sweat keywording. Google (the only search engine that really counts, these days) is way past that, now. All it takes to get noticed by Google and other engines is three simple things:

1) Lots of good content, like articles,
2) Updated frequently, and
3) Linked by lots of places.

There's a reason every post I make here has my blog attached to it. It's free advertising for my blog, and making links that Google pays attention to. If you think it doesn't, Google the word Apostate, and see what you get; I'm number two in the results, and that's with a blog that's much more about dance than religion:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search

Start writing on your site about your stuff. Merge your blog into your sales site, if you can (you can toss me a note if you want to try this). Encourage customers to write about your stuff online, and then to link back when they do. Get customers to put links to your site on their sites, if they like the product.

Then you'll barely need AdWords, 'cause Google'll send them to you for free. I would make my goal, if I were you, to get pushed up on the "silk veil" search. Being at the bottom of a standard Google Search isn't going to help your sales, and it's something you can do without spending a dime, just time and energy in putting active content on your site, and in getting people to link to it.

Hope this helps. I really do see a lot of crazy stuff about advertising on the Web, and it really does pay to take the ethical way over gaming the system, oddly enough. Just Ask Google. :)

If you really want to dig into this, there are works which cover this kind of stuff well, and in a strong ethical framework. I mention some of them in the "Works Cited" portion of a handout I just did for a class on Internet Promotion for Dancers.

(Did I just promote myself again? Silly Asim. *grin*)

looks like i have more homework to do..thanks for the responses..Asim I love a guy who self promotes..thanks for the tips all

www.ineedhits.com has several affordable services, including one that will analyze your keywords against the most common similar searches. I've been happy with their service in the past, and their prices are really cheap.

Jes, you're using bizland, right? Have you noticed they offer a FREE monthly submission to the major search engines? All you have to do is turn it on..well, and have great keywords, of course!