What Are Keywords, Key Phrases & Search Terms? - A Beginners Guide by Brian Cotsen

In short Keywords & Key Phrases are those words that people type into the search box of any search engine, when they are looking for information, goods, services or anything else on the web.

Keywords & Key Phrases are also known as Search Terms because that is what people are doing when they enter these individual or multiple words into the search box.

If you are new to the internet and websites in particular, you will soon come to realise that the whole web revolves around these keywords.

 

This page will show you why they are so important and how you can develop powerful lists of keywords & key phrases for your website that build strong foundations for your business.

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In the beginning there were .... Keywords

Before you even begin to consider your website's name, or the business name for that matter, or start to build a website or write any content for it you must must must ask yourself

"Who is my target audience?"

Why?

Because your website and your website's ultimate success is all about them!

Seriously you need to keep in the front of your mind who you are writing for so that you always remember to use the language of your target audience.

Every marketing man worth his salt will tell you.

Use words and phrases that your target audience use - Empathise

TIP

Start writing down the words and phrases that you hear your customers use & see your customers write - it's gold dust

Why?

Because those very words are the keywords & key phrases that they will use in those search boxes to find your website.

Using the same words on your website as your customers use will help them to bond with what you have to say, the services you have to offer or the products you are endorsing.

A Case Study

Abode Design is a small interior design company based in South East London, United Kingdom.

The company's main business is to offer 'Interior Design' & 'Home Staging' services for home owners in and around South London & the South East of England.

When I sat down with Emma & Lizzie, the owners of the company, we discussed the services that they offered and who their likely clients would be.

Services offered:

• Interior Design
• Home Makeovers
• Home Staging

The likely clients:

• Homeowners who need help with their home interior design, colour schemes & home makeovers.
• Homeowners who need help preparing their property to sell or rent.
• Property developers who want to prepare show homes for the buying market.

 

Then, with just a piece of paper and a pen, we brainstormed and began to write down the words that Emma & Lizzie knew that their clients use when they speak to them on the phone or use in their emails.

Commonly used words:

• Interior design
• Interior designers
• Colour schemes
• Home decorating
• Home makeovers
• Home Staging
• House Doctor
• Home styling

This was the start of the process of building a good keyword list.

We call the words above a 'Seed List'

The 'Seed' is the bit that will help build or 'grow' your great keywords/ key phrases for your website.

We will keep returning to Abode-Design to see how we developed on from the seed list to a useful keyword list to base the website and our Search Engine Marketing campaign on.

Next we look at how to turn your seed list into actual keywords/ key phrases

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