Keywords for a successful website marketing plan
Successful search engine marketing starts by selecting the right keywords. Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re a chiropractor who wants more business coming from your website. You’ve heard it’s important to include showing up on search results in your website marketing plan. Just like the yellow pages of old, you want a listing for your business to show up where customers are looking. In the yellow pages that meant listing your business in the “Chiropractors” section of your local phone book because you know your customers are going to look there to find you.
On the web, you want the same thing–to show up in the listings when when someone is looking for your services–only you need to stand out from millions of competitors instead of just those in your town. How do you stand out? By selecting and focusing on the right keywords. Keywords form the foundation of a successful website marketing plan.
Keywords are the words that your customers type into the search box when they go to Google looking for your services. It is critical that you know what words your customers are using when they search for you. Once you know those words, you can plan all your efforts around showing up where your customers are looking for you.
Finding the right keywords
To find the right keywords:
- Think like your customer. Ask yourself, if I needed my services, what words would I use?
- Ask people on the street who are not yet your customers what words they would use.
- Use the Google keyword tool at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal to get suggestions. Focus on those that either really fit your business or those that have a lot of monthly searches.
- Test, test, test.
Implementing your keywords into your website marketing plan
Now that you’ve found the right keywords, you have to implement them correctly. This means changing your website to come into complete alignment around those exact phrases. Being in keyword alignment means having your chosen words in important places throughout your site–headings, links, meta tags, heading tags, descriptions, image names, etc. It also means setting up paid search listings, if your product margins or volumes are high enough, using those specific keywords.
If you’d like more help identifying the right keywords for your customers, or implementing them into your website marketing plan, give us a call or send us an email.