Search engine optimization or SEO is not well understood by most people. Small business owners may be skeptical about spending money to help their website show up in search engine results. Many wonder if it really works or if there are legitimate ways to help make your website stand out in a sea of other websites with similar information. In the early days of SEO, some of the tactics used to make a website stand out were a little bit shady like keyword stuffing or buying thousands of junk links. Over the years, Google has forced SEO experts to use the tactics they approve of in order to improve search ranking results. There are many legitimate ways to use Search Engine Optimization to get your website the ratings it deserves without compromising content. Some examples include quality backlinks, careful use of keywords, Google reviews and creating relevant content.
3 Reasons Picking Popular Keywords Doesn't Work for SEO
Searching the Google Keywords dashboard for your website, Google Trends or even the keywords that populate as you begin a Google search will tell you which keywords are searched for the most on Google. You would think that choosing the most popular keywords and including them in your website pages or blog posts would be the way to go but it usually isn’t the best idea for these three reasons:
- Too many people are using them. Given that it's fairly easy to figure out which keywords are the most popular, many websites are already taking advantage of this fact and have, most likely, already beaten you to the punch. By the time you get around to writing content focusing on these top keywords, there is likely a ton of other information already published with them on the Internet already. If that’s the case, your article or blog is likely to get lost among all the other ones out there.
- They may not be relevant. Maybe Kim Kardashian has been searched for a lot in the past few months, but if your business has nothing to do with Kim Kardashian, then there’s no point in using that keyword on your website – in fact, it would actually decrease your credibility. Even though this is a technique that many have tried, it’s not something that works in the long run. People don’t want to be cheated. If they click on something that looks like it has to do with Kim Kardashian and they’re suddenly taken to a page where they’re being sold notebooks, they’re never going to click on that link again.
- You are likely to lose out to more established websites. Keep in mind that there are certain websites that are already doing well. It’s possible that Kim Kardashian is trending, and if you run a business that has to do with fashion or beauty, you might be able to legitimately use her as an example of how to wear a certain outfit or how to get your hair done. However, when people search for Kim Kardashian, they’ll probably see other, well known websites such as Huffington Post or TMZ before they see yours. And they're much more likely to click on those websites first.
Keywords do have value when it comes to SEO, but it’s important to choose your keywords carefully. The most important thing to do is provide quality, relevant content and then include a couple popular keywords with a few not-so-popular ones so you have a better chance of competing. Contact us for more information on the best ways of using SEO strategies to improve your search engine results and web traffic.
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