The Do’s and Don’ts for Higher Online Visibility
If you have a company with an online presence, then you must have wondered at some time or the other why some companies appear at the top of the search results displayed by Google, when a relevant search parameter is entered. The real reason for them ending up at the top of the heap is invariably owing to a successful SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy. ZK‘s blog says that the core reason for the success of any Search Engine Optimization strategy lies in correct keywords targeting.
The following is a list of do’s and don’ts for higher online visibility which should be remembered while choosing keywords and key-phrases for online marketing of any business.
Do –
Know The Target Audience – Knowing your target audience as in, which demographic group your company is going to target and remembering the primary focus of the website for your company is key. You can do that through a variety of methods like relying on market research data of reputed companies, or conducting your own sample survey of the target demographic.
Know The Frequently Used Search Parameters- You need to compile a list of phrases and words that you think your potential customers are typing in search engines to locate businesses like yours. Online tools like Google Ad-Words can give you a comprehensive picture of the various search parameters employed by your target group. This can serve as a great starting point for your SEO efforts.
Keep An Eye On The Competition- Having a good idea regarding what keywords and key phrases are used by the websites of your competitors can give you an idea about keywords and phrases to use yourself and which ones to avoid. To do this, you can conduct a search for your competitor websites on renowned search engines like Google by utilizing probable phrases and keywords.
Use Online Marketing Tools– Online tools can help you understand what people are searching for on the internet. Remember to examine the specific phrases initially targeted by you and the amount of monthly searches generated by them. The number of websites that are competing for that phrase is another statistic that you should have your eye on.
Keeping in mind these points can help you select the right keywords. Once you have a list of key words and phrases to use, you should use them in the website copy, in a meaningful way.
Don’t –
Choose Irrelevant/Bad Keywords- This may seem like a painfully obvious pointer, but it is the most important factor to consider. You should not use keywords and/or key-phrases that are either never used by your target group or seldom used by them to find the products and services offered by your type of businesses. Another factor which can be considered as a corollary to this point is to ensure that you don’t choose keywords that have a relatively higher amount of competition for a low volume of searches.
Participating In “Black Hat” SEO Strategies- Manipulating search engines to yield a higher ranking for your website in an unethical manner is a part of “black hat” SEO strategies. Irrelevant link dumping and keyword usage are some of the black hat strategies commonly employed by some websites. Although this technique might offer you short term gain, you would be penalized for this by the search engine upon discovery.
Make sure that you invest enough time and preparation in research before implementing an SEO strategy. Failure to prepare is preparing for failure.