The first step to creating a successful website is not about the design or the content, but rather the keywords. Despite the rapid growth of the internet and the increasing sophistication of web design skills, it's surprising to see many websites that are not only poorly designed but also lack proper keyword optimization. This is especially true for sites created by large design and consulting firms that charge exorbitant fees for their services.
If your goal is to build your brand, generate leads, or sell products, services, or ideas online, you need to ensure that your website attracts a significant number of visitors each month. Unless you have a substantial budget to market your website's URL, your visitor traffic will heavily depend on your search engine listings.
Whether your website appears in the top 10 results offered by search engines to visitors searching for the kind of product, service, or information you offer, is a critical issue. Even with a large advertising budget, the majority of visitors to your website are likely to come via search engines.
Search engines use different algorithms to determine the relevance of websites. However, they all have one thing in common - their search results are based on the 'keywords' and 'keyword phrases' that searchers type into their search boxes.
Despite the crucial role of keywords in attracting visitors to a website, most designers and their clients insist on choosing keywords as the last stage of the design process. They first sort out the 'look and feel' of the site, insert the text, and then check their text for keywords, if they remember to do so at all. This approach is essentially designing websites backwards!
To achieve high search engine rankings, the most effective web design process involves carefully choosing the keywords and keyword phrases first, and then designing the look and content of the website around the selected keywords. Keywords and phrases must be selected for every page of the site, not just for the index or home page.
Designing with keywords in mind is crucial because search engines judge and rank your site based on keywords and keyword phrases. Choose the right keywords and use them correctly, and you will get high search engine listings and high visitor traffic. Without high visitor traffic, your website is bound to fail.
The 'right' keywords are specific to each site and each page. To select the right keywords for your web design, you need to understand the mindset of your target market. What words or phrases would a typical member of your target market use in trying to find a website offering your products, services, information, or ideas?
For instance, if you own a guest house called Anny's Hideaway, your potential guests would not be searching for 'Anny'. They would be more likely to use words and phrases like 'guest house', 'accommodation', 'bed and breakfast', 'country lodge', and words that describe your location or what you have to offer (fishing, tennis, bowls, yachting, gourmet meals, great wines, fireside chats).
Even after selecting your list of keywords, your work is not done. You still need to check your choices. Are your selected keywords in high demand (frequently searched for)? And what about the supply (how many pages do search engines have to satisfy the demand)?
The best keywords and phrases are those with high demand and low supply. They can be found for any site. But it takes time, effort, and skill. And it cannot be done last – after the design is complete and text written. By then, it's too late!
