Using Keyword Phrases in Your Blog: Variation on a Theme

By now, you have heard of search engine optimization (SEO). You have t have been hiding under an internet rock not to have heard it…but that doesn’t mean everybody knows what it means. It’s become one of those jargon terms that people toss around without really knowing what it means.

Simply put, Search Engine Optimization is the process of using keywords to draw targeted traffic to your website business. But what about keyword phrases? They can bring in even more lucrative traffic.

Keywords are used in content, headlines, subheadings and the like to gain interest from the major search engines. Once you register your website with them, their little soldiers (bots/spiders) go to work checking out what you have to offer. Use words that your customers will choose to search for your website; your content can then rank within the first page of results. This means that you will be among the first links anyone sees for those words.

But, there are other ways to optimize besides just keywords. You can use keyword phrases.

Nowadays, many keywords have become commonplace. Entering “chocolate” into a search engine, brings back millions of results. Someone can wade through the first ten pages (highly unlikely) and still not find exactly what they are looking for.

These days people use a different tactic. Instead of using just one word, they will enter an entire phrase – something like “chocolate peanut butter cookies.” This is definitely more specific. If you sell recipe books, it would be more beneficial to you to choose the latter phrase instead of just the former single keyword.

Importance of Keyword Phrases

If you have used any type of keyword tools, not only will you get keyword results but also phrases. It is harder to use phrases in an article and appear natural. But, you can use those targeted phrases in another way – create unique pages on your site. This is incredibly simple to do using WordPress as your blogging platform.

Some people miss out on all that keyword optimization has to offer by simply listing all of their products on one or two pages. Let’s say that you sell cookbooks. Well, there are several different types of cookbooks: desserts, main dishes, appetizers, drinks and ethnic fare to name a few. You could have a link that says “Cookbooks” and links to that section of your shopping cart.

To make use of keyword phrases, though, you could also create a unique page for each keyword phrase. On the home page, include links to each page using that keyword phrase. You will get credit for the phrase appearing on the home page too. You can also pepper your content with the keyword phrases where appropriate and use it as anchor text for a link to the corresponding page on your website.

Keyword phrases are just as important as single keywords. Use them throughout your website to improve your search engine ranking.

Related posts:

1. Keywords & Blogging, Part 1
2. Keywords & Blogging, Part 5
3. Keywords & Blogging, Part 3
4. Keywords & Blogging, Part 2
5. 9 common blogging mistakes and how to avoid them.