Selecting effective keywords

Keywords are the words that people will think of when trying to describe your type of product or service.

Before you start to brainstorm your list of keywords and keyword phrases, it is important to understand in general how people use keywords. Most people will be searching for two or three word phrases. If you have a list of keywords like: "search engine, meta tag, promotion, software", try linking the keywords together like: "search engine software", "search engine promotion", "meta tag software" etc. Combining the keywords into keyword phrases will make it easier to target your visitors more effectively. Keyword combinations can be much more effective compared to single keywords.

• Brainstorming: Write down all the keywords you can come up with, related to your products or services. Do not limit yourself by thinking "What do I sell?" Instead, put yourself in your customers' shoes and ask yourself what search would I do to find my products or services. Try to think like them.
• Ask around: By asking your family and friends what kind of words they would use to describe your products or services; they will usually be able to come up with keywords and phrases you have missed.
• Surf the Internet: Have a look at the meta keywords and text used in your competitor's Websites. Perhaps they have found additional keywords for you to use.
• Catching misspellings: Some keywords are frequently misspelled. Targeting such keywords can bring you extra visitors.