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Keywords: Beyond the Metatag

At one time, the keyword metatag was the initial focus around which Search Engine optimization took place. Not anymore. In fact, most engines give little to no weight to the easy-to-manipulate code. But just because the metatag has lost its luster, that doesn’t mean keywords and keyword phrases aren’t important anymore. In fact, keywords are what the Search Engine Marketing business is all about.

When we discuss keywords, we are referring to so much more than the metatag. We refer to those words that are the focus of your site, and how those terms are used in:

• Page content
• Page titles
• H1 and other headings
• Sub heads
• Bolded or other formatted copy
• Anchor text
• Domain names
• File names
• Etc.

Following are some random thoughts on various keyword issues.

• The terms "keywords" and "keyword phrase" are used interchangeably. Whereas your site could contain the keyword "optimization" it could also contain the keyword phrase "search engine marketing."
  
  
• This sounds simple but… It's crucial that the exact keywords you want to rank highly on are implemented on your page. It’s amazing how many people will say, "All my competitors rank ahead of me for the term (let’s say) ‘rocket science.’ Why don’t I rank higher?" Come to find out, that term isn’t even mentioned on their site. It may be inferred, but it’s not actually on the page, or in the title, and no one links to that site with the term at or near the hyperlink (known as anchor text). You won’t rank for terms not on your page or not in your anchor text.
  
  
• Keep the amount of keyword phrases to you want to target for a page to about 4 or 5. Concentrating on fewer keywords increases the density/importance of each and is likely to lead to a higher ranking for those keywords.
  
  
• Keyword placement on the page is very important. For example, keywords placed in the title of a page or the heading tags will give them more relevancy. So, besides appearing in the body of the page, the most important keywords should also be used in the page title, description, image alt text (if appropriate) and headings. Placing keywords in the link text can also add more relevancy to those words, so the hypertext link to a page should use keywords. Domain names and file names can contain keywords if practical.
  
  
• The trend among web surfers is toward longer search queries to provide more relevant results. It has been said that about 75% of all search queries use three words or more. In a competitive arena, drilling down to the correct phrases is critical.