How To Use Keywords to Optimize Your Website

Alright, so you may have heard a little bit about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), now let's get into some greater details. The key word (no pun intended) in this phrase 'Search Engine Optimization' is 'Optimization'.

The first thing you need to know about optimizing your website is WORDS MATTER! Words are not only your form of communication to your readers, they are also important factors that affect whether or not your site will be found by search engines. So, at this point you must be wondering...which words matter and where do you put them?

First of all, a definition:

A keyword: is a term that captures the essence of a certain topic.

So, first: in your website you need to make sure you have words that relate to your subject matter and that people will most likely type into their search engine. This is where you get to be creative, specific and logical at the same time. Put yourself into your potential customers shoes...and ask: if I was looking for a website selling tea (for example), what would I search? This is where you need to get specific to your website. First of all..are you selling iced teas, organic teas, bulk tea, bagged teas, tea cups...etc and so on?

Let's say you specialize in organic, fair-trade, loose-leaf tea. Here are some potential keywords: tea, organic tea, loose-leaf tea, fair-trade tea. Get the idea? So do some brainstorming, be creative, but be LOGICAL and not too obscure. Where oh where to put all these words? There a few places that really matter when it comes to keywords.

1. Your Title Tag is the place you want to start.

If you are selling the most delicious tea in the world and you decide not to put "Tea" somewhere in your title tag...you have just dug your websites grave. A Title Tag is an HTML tag used to define the text in the top line of a Web browser.

Let's do a real examples... so follow along.

First of all, simply move your eyes to the VERY top of this screen...where there is a little icon for your web browser (Mozilla, Explorer etc) and then a BLUE LINE that says: "How To Use Keywords to Optimize Your Website." Voila! Your Title Tag. Now, go to your own website and see what your "Title Tag" is make sure it relates to your site and might be something that someone would search.

2.The next place to think about words is your Headline

Your Headline, is located on your website pages right at the top. Make sure that whatever your headline is that it is specific and clear and contains your keywords in it. For example: In your online tea shop..your homepage heading might be: Loose-leaf, Organic & Fair-trade Teas.

3. The content (main bulk) of your website.

This is where things can work for you or against you. In the last few years, search engines have gotten very very smart and have learned to spot when people are "STUFFING" keywords into their websites. If you deliberately start putting keywords into your text just to have more of them, you will very likely go down in the ratings. There should be a logical amount of your keywords...no more, no less. An optimum density of keywords (keyword density) is somewhere about 3%. So this means that of all of the text that you have on your page about 3% of your words are your keywords.

Now, you don't have to get all crazy here with these numbers...if you create your website so that it is logical and reader-friendly..you will very likely be around this 3% ratio.