Keywords: The Key to More Little Rock Business

Your search engine optimization (SEO) keywords are the primary words and phrases in your website content that make it easy for potential customers, patients or clients to find your site via search engines. Search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo base their search algorithms on them, so developing a list of keywords should be the first and most important step in you take in your search engine optimization efforts.

The basics of SEO are pretty easy to grasp. The net of it is, the relevance of your keywords is more important than having a couple of pages packed full of keywords (aka “keyword stuffing”). We’ve all seen the websites that are guilty of this. While the website designer or business owner might think this is good SEO, it’s not. In fact, keyword stuffing can have the exact opposite effect they’re hoping to achieve. Search engines penalize websites that adhere to this practice, so the site will actually drop in ranking.

Choose a general keyword to focus on for each of your main pages. Performing keyword research helps direct the workflow as you build your site. It also helps you clarify the message you want to convey. Most importantly, it helps search engines find your site to direct prospects to your website. Think of your keyword as a compass that points Google in the right direction (toward your website).

An Example of Good SEO Practices

Let’s say you own a restaurant, and you want to optimize a web page for the “best cheeseburger in Little Rock” keyword group. You should take the following steps when you set up your page:

• Use the keyword in the page title (We’ve Got the Best Cheeseburger in Little Rock!).
• Use the keyword in the URL (e.g., LRBRGR.com/menu/best-cheeseburger-in-little-rock).
• Use the keyword and its variations throughout that page’s copy.
• Use the keyword in meta tags[1], especially the meta description[2].
• Use the keyword in image names and in the image’s alt text[3]
• Use the keyword as the anchor text[4] in links back to the page from other pages on the site.

Keywords and SEO are directly connected when it comes to high rankings on a search engine results page (SERP). Keywords are the underpinning of all of your other SEO efforts, so it’s well worth the time and investment to ensure that they’re relevant to your audience in order to drive them to your website.

Put Yourself in the Searcher’s Shoes

Search Engines a Question and Answer boxes; it really is that simple.  So, what questions do your target audiences, your customers, ask you?  Those are the questions and keywords you need to optimize your site and content for.  And it is ok to start small, you do not have to be on the first page of Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) for fifty keywords at first.  Target ten, build good content, answer questions, educate searchers, and you’ll see the rankings improve and engagement and leads increase.

[1] A meta tag is an HTML tag containing information for search engines about a specific website. It is not visible on the website. Meta tags contain keywords or phrases alerting search engines of a website’s content to be included in search results for users requesting related information.

[2] The description meta tag defines site information a search engine displays when it lists the site. The description meta tag should concisely explain the nature and contents of the page.

[3] Alt text is an attribute added to an image tag in HTML. It helps search engines understand what an image is about. This text also appears inside the image container when the image can’t be displayed.

[4] Anchor text is the text that is highlighted in a page link that can be clicked to open the target web page.