Keyword Ranking and Being Number 1
In my last article I talked about how to compile a list of possible keywords. Eventually you will have to narrow down your list and select the best keywords to focus on.
One of the most important – and often overlooked – aspects of a keyword is its search volume. That is: how many people search for that keyword in an average month?
Software programs such as WordTracker as well as Google’s Keyword Tool (available to all with Adwords accounts) will give you a good idea of the search history of the words you are considering.
Using these tools you’re likely to discover that some of your keywords only average one or two searches per month. This clearly means that it is not worth the effort, the space or the text to optimize for these keywords because they are not being used by enough people.
But do not jump to the conclusion that you should automatically go after the keywords with the highest search volumes. Keep in mind that a high search volume generally means high competition. It might also mean that that the keywords have more than one meaning or they are used in multiple industries, and much of the search volume may not be from your prospects.
If your company is considering a pay-per-click campaign, going for keywords with higher search volumes could cost a lot of extra money, again because there is so much competition on these word searches. Additionally, since many of those searches will be made by people who are not looking for your product or service, your click-through rate will be lower. This can have a negative effect on your quality score (which is too much to address in this article).
I am not saying that you should turn your back on all keywords with a high search volume, but often a company’s time and energy is better spent looking at the keywords that generate a more targeted search result. These are searches that may only have a few hundred to a few thousand searches per month, but because of the competition it can mean a better chance of being found – and you have a better chance of being more relevant. This means that these keywords will have a lower bounce rate and will convert web traffic into real customers.
On something of a side note, if you have someone else handling your search engine optimization, pay special attention to search volumes. Sometimes less-than-ethical SEO firms or people will use low-volume keywords just to generate a number one ranking. This impresses prospects and unsuspecting clients. It’s easy to get a high ranking on little used keywords. If the words “limburger cheese socks” appears on a webpage, I can guarantee that they will be number one for this phrase, but it’s meaningless because it won’t result in any traffic.
It’s easy to become obsessed with trying to be number one in searches on Google. It makes us all feel good. But if there is no traffic for the word that you are number one for, what is the point?
Do not let an obsession to be Number One cloud your judgment in picking the best keywords possible for your site. It is far better to be ranked number ten on a high-traffic word than to be number one with “limburger cheese socks”.
Technorati Tags: search engine optimization, Google, ranking, quality score, search volume