Choosing the right keywords?

[T3ddyBlair]

Something iv been wondering for a while.
You have built an amazing site and now you want to SEO it.
What keywords do you choose and what justifies your choices in choosing theses keywords you wish to target?

Im looking for insight to how we all choose keywords, I for example take 5 friends and give them a topic and then ask them to give me 10 keyword phrases they would use to find that specific topic.

[maxpot]

Can't speak for others, but I'm looking for a combination of:

1) Raw traffic volume
2) Low strength of competition in SERPs
3) Inherent conversion potential (e.g. "best poker bonus" > "Phil Ivey divorce")

For what it's worth, I try to choose the core keyword set before I build the amazing site. Easier that way.

[lots0]

I agree, after the site is built it seems a little late to start worrying about keyword sets.

I chose keywords based on how the demographic I am targeting actually speaks, what words they use.
for example, targeting the US for the kw "fruit machines" is a waste, but in the UK a top listing for that kw set can make some serious money.

[EasyPoker]

Something iv been wondering for a while.
You have built an amazing site and now you want to SEO it.
What keywords do you choose and what justifies your choices in choosing theses keywords you wish to target?

Im looking for insight to how we all choose keywords, I for example take 5 friends and give them a topic and then ask them to give me 10 keyword phrases they would use to find that specific topic.

Hi T3ddyBlair,

You are somewhat on the right track by asking 'friends' however, that will only be effective if your friends have more than just a cursory or superficial knowledge of your subject.

There are more effective methods of finding keywords/phrases that are beneficial to receive traffic from search engines. Before exploring those additional methods, let me first dispel some common myths in SEO.

Implementing keywords does NOT have to be done before you build the site. You may build an amazing site and add in keywords afterwords. WHY? because your site should continually and constantly over time change along with current trends.

For example, one of my sites was launched in late 2009, with 85% of the traffic from search engines, the conversion rate was about 1%. In 2012, I redesigned the site and added in current trending keywords along with a semantic boost to the present keywords. Although my traffic saw a marked decrease in visits, the conversion rate saw a remarkable increase. The revenue for the site increased by about 50% and the last two quarters have been the highest earning quarters for the site since inception in 2009.

The decrease in traffic was a result of the removal of keywords which were informational in nature and not 'BUYING' keywords. Another fault of SEO experts is to pound your site with keywords that are information or research keywords with little or no commercial intent. Your site should have buying (or OCI) keywords to improve revenues.

Another misconception of keywords is to go after high volume and low competition. This, in and of itself, is not only contradictory in terms; but nearly impossible to achieve as any keyword which is high volume will soon have a lot of competition.

Although volume has some merit, the reported volume of a particular keyword by Google is based on more than just the keyword. In other words, do you realize that some keyword volumes are computed using the semantics and derivations of that keyword as well as the actual keyword?

For example, the keyword phrase Poker Strategy has derivations of:
strategy for poker
strategy in poker
strategy of poker
strategy poker

And semantics of:

poker tips
advanced tournament strategies
texas holdem strategy
poker strategy books

(note: this is not an exhaustive list only a short example list)

Therefore, the volume is not an actual volume of people searching for that keyword, rather it is a compilation of searches made for semantic and derivative keywords of that keyword or phrase.

Having understood this, the best method then for choosing keywords is to select the semantic and derivative keywords which have a relative OCI (Online Commercial Intent, or 'buying' keyword).

Do not get into the trap of over-focusing on one set of keyword phrases, rather group your keywords into semantically related sets and use that set in each piece of content on your site.

In the example of keywords shown above, my content would reflect the usage of all of those semantic keywords and the derivations used appropriately on the site. Preferably, I would place all of those keywords in content on a single page. Then select another set of semantic keywords for a different piece of content and publish that on my site.

Continuing with this program of selecting semantically related keyword phrases for each piece of content will improve the keyword potential of each page on your site.

I hope this is explained well for you and if you need a further explanation, I am more than happy to offer it at your request.

Good Luck,
John

[T3ddyBlair]

Wow this is a very insightful response! Thanks EasyPoker.
Yes i definitely agree with building your site 1st and then implementing your keywords as content and keywords are always being changed for better ones that perform/rank better.
Again thanks for taking the time to compile such a great response, im sure many other members while also appreciate the insight.

Regards

Blair H

[universal4]

Good points easypoker,

But I think Teddy is right in his approach also and I actually like both sides of the equation....those that understand the business and those that don't....

This have proven to be valuable research when I look at both sides since searchers will be from both ends of the spectrum and in between. In fact the less knowledge they have the more searching they will likely do.

Rick
Universal4