When it comes to optimizing a website for search engines, keyword management can seem a bit tricky to many website owners. Those of us in the industry are more than familiar with the terms we use in embroidery, screen printing, sportswear and the like, but what exactly are consumers typing into search engines in order to find these products and services? How can one research and analyze what keywords are currently the most effective?

 

There are a few online tools that can help any website or blog owner explore keyword trends within the search engines as well as compare their site to any competitor. Taking a little time to utilize said tools can help to refine and improve keyword effectiveness in order to climb up a few places in the search engine results pages (SERPS).

 

Keying in

The Google AdWords Keyword Tool adwords.google.com was designed to help users of the AdWords program design more effective pay per click ads and can be used to analyze keywords regardless of whether you are using their program or not. Simply enter a word or phrase that your target audience would conceivably enter into a search engine along with your website address and Google will provide a set of results. These include keyword ideas, the competition rating for that search, global monthly searches for those terms and—an important statistical column for businesses with a physical location—monthly local searches.

 

There are a few online tools that can help any website or blog owner explore keyword trends within the search engines as well as compare their site to any competitor. (All images courtesy the author)

To dig even further into these results, mouse over any given search term in the list and click through to another Google tool called Google Insights, which will provide an in-depth report on that specific search phrase. Results include interest over time, regional interest, top searches and rising searches.

 

Browsing through, it can be surprising to discover that often Internet users may be searching keywords or phrases that you have not anticipated and might consider adding to your website to improve chances of landing in the SERPS when that search is performed. For example, I typed the phrase “stock embroidery designs” and discovered searchers have been entering phrases such as “embroidery patterns” and “sewing machine designs,” both keywords and phrases I would not have thought to include on a website offering stock designs.

 

Comparing your site to a competitor’s can provide clues to improve.

Analyze and research

The keyword analysis from Webmaster Toolkit www.webmaster-toolkit.com/keyword-analysis-tool.shtml will read the page you specify and give a report on what words are used and how many times they appear. This tool is good for comparing your website keywords to a competitor. By entering your website address into the system, it will return a list of the words that appear on your page ranked by frequency. Repeat with the site address of a competitor and compare notes.

 

For example, I was recently assisting a friend with the carpet and floor cleaning website he set up for his business. By comparing his results with those of dalworth.com—a site residing in the top three results of the SERPS—we were able to decipher which keywords were making Dalworth’s site more effective in the search results and add them to the copy within his web pages. Some of those he had not considered included unique terms such as “grout” and “removal.”

 

The Keyword Research Tool www.webmaster-toolkit.com/keyword-research-tool.shtml is another great offering from Webmaster Toolkit designed to help research appropriate words and phrases to include in your webpages. Simply enter the search term or phrase you’d like to be found under into the Keyword Research Tool and it will suggest some additional words and phrases you might consider using. The tool also allows you to run the search through individual search engines, including Altavista, Excite, Google, Yahoo, HotBot, MSN and a few others.

 

Compare, contrast

The Site Comparison Tool from SEO Mastering www.seomastering.com/site-comparison.php allows you to compare two web pages or websites, with a look at some of the most important elements on yours as opposed to competitors. This tool includes keywords, links, bold and italic texts, metadata information, page titles, headers and the most frequent two- and three-word phrases between two pages. It will often provide hints on how to improve your site should the tool see any suggested criteria. This is a great way to see how your website measures up against any competitor, side-by-side on one page.

 

In addition to these online tools, your website analytics should be referenced to research just where, when and under what keywords existing website visitors are arriving. With a little time and effort to study what the search engines report and what content your website is offering in terms of keyword management, you can easily master the art of landing the top SERPS spots. See you on the front page!