Planning your Internet marketing campaign is easier said than done. You need to choose the right keywords to attract your ideal customers. I will show an example of how to do that right and how to do that wrong.
You need to choose the right keywords to attract your ideal customers to your web site or blog. I will show an example of how to do that right and how to do that wrong.
How to choose the right keywords
Daphne has a dance studio. Daphne offers jazz, swing and waltz dance classes. Her studio is in Cameron Park, California and Daphne knows sign language. Daphne updates her web site and blog with the keywords “dance instruction, jazz, swing, waltz, dance instruction Cameron Park, sign language.” Daphne puts these keywords in her web site’s META keywords tag and also in her online marketing campaigns.
Daphne is pretty comfortable with these keywords. These are keywords found repeatedly in her web site. These are keywords appropriate to the business she runs. These are keywords in her social media profiles. She also feels her ideal customer will type at least one of these keywords in a Google search window. She wants to attract dance students in Cameron Park who want to learn jazz, swing or waltz. She has a niche in her sign language proficiency and wants the world to know that she can accommodate deaf students. Sure enough, the phone starts ringing and web site traffic increases 300%.
Daphne’s campaign will continue to work well. Daphne’s keywords match the service she is selling and the service her target market wants to buy.
How to choose the wrong keywords
Leah runs a home daycare service. She wants to attract parents with preschool age kids but at the same time need to go to work. She lets parents drop off their kids starting at 6:30 AM and lets parents pick up their kids as late as 6:30 PM. Leah has all the necessary certifications and licensing from her city. Leah decides to market her services online.
Leah promotes these keywords: “Facebook IPO, Obama, Brad Pitt.” She waits for the phone to ring. She checks her web page traffic and sees that almost nobody visits and when someone does visit, they leave within 30 seconds. She feels sad, because she chose popular keywords. She did this campaign wrong. Her keywords have nothing to do with her business. When people find her online advertising and visit her page, they find a page that has nothing to do with the link. Remember, they clicked a link for “Obama” and wound up at a home daycare center. No wonder they leave within 30 seconds. Poor fit. Over time, the search engines will assign Leah’s web site a lower ranking for these keywords because the content is not a good match.
Leah’s campaign will fail. She is trying to cheat Google by using popular keywords that have nothing to do with her site.
3 big misperceptions about SEO (and why they’re wrong)
SEO can be a valuable marketing tool. But first, you have to overcome the misperceptions and make sure your SEO campaigns stay on track. The three big misperceptions, and responses, are in this article. If you think SEO is a waste, read on…
Why you need to understand personalized results
Google has implemented personalized results in your web searches. In layman’s terms, Google is recording your Internet surfing habits and striving to make search results very attractive to you. This works to your benefit. You get search results that more closely fit your habits and interests. You are more likely to click one of these links.
How quickly will it take for my company to see results from my SEO campaign?
You can wait months for any visible SEO gains. This would happen if you are new to SEO and have no Google credibility. You start by posting to a blog or tweeting twice a day. Google may need months before finding you and then deciding you have authority in your field. If you have Google credibility, you may see results within days. The sooner you start your SEO campaign, the sooner you will enjoy visible results.
