What Keywords Are and How to Use Them

Keywords are the words most often used in online content. Search engines count the number of times each word is used on a page, and uses the numbers to decide what the page is about. A page about gizmos should have the keyword 'gizmos' in it about once every thirteen to fifteen words. Now the search engines know that the page is about gizmos, and they rank the page accordingly when someone searches for gizmos. The keywords for this article are 'keywords' and 'search engines'.

The frequncy of keyword usage compared to the number of words equals the keyword density. So the higher the keyword density, the higher your page ranks, right? Wrong. Some search engines penalize for using a keyword too many times, or penalize if you don't have additional content between the words. And keyword density isn't the only thing that search engines use to decide where they'll place your website. But here's a list of just a few tips (by no means inclusive) on how to use keywords to achieve high search engine ranking.

• Start with one main keyword and one or two secondary key words. No more. If you want to draw traffic with other keywords, do it on another page.
• Use the main keyword once in the heading (under

  tags) and several times in sub-headings (using

  tags)

• Make your keywords specific instead of general. Especially if you have a lot of competition. Instead of the keyword 'gizmo', use a keyword phrase like 'gizmo repair' or even 'gizmo repair in LA'.
• Throughout your page, link to other pages through your keywords. Make sure the links are relevant.
• Use meta tags. Search engines rarely pay attention to the meta tags any more, but some of them still might use them. Keyword meta tags don't show up in the content, so there's no reason not to have them.
• When using pictures, include alternative text containing keywords.

While writing your page content, keep in mind three things. First, don't trade high keyword density for readability. If you can't include your keywords without sounding repetitive, then leave the keywords out. Good content is more important than search engine ranking (you can always pay per click).

Secondly, remember that keywords are only part of the method used by search engines to decide how high to rank your page.

Thirdly, if you have trouble inserting keywords, and keeping a natural flow, use a professional service (like this one). Copy For Sale specializes in high quality, keyword rich content without loosing natural word flow.