Keywords run the internet. Everything from search engine optimization to social media organization to finding your favorite restaurant online.
They literally are the key words every business uses to define what they do online.
Therefore, we thought we would discuss how to optimize your use of keywords throughout your online marketing campaigns.
Different Ways Keywords Affect Online Marketing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)- The best way to start talking about keywords is to start with the most widely used type of keyword marketing: SEO.
For a long time, improving your website search traffic required you to pay attention to specific keywords
Here are a few specific things you should focus on first for conversion rate optimization.
Seo title tag– The first part of your website that needs to be optimized is the title tag. This can also be a preview snippet discussing the page.
Meta description– Your meta description is like your summary of your website page. By including the keyword in the description you help the search engine discover the exact purpose of the website page.
image alt text– The next keyword detail you need to pay attention to relates to your website images. Because Google cannot directly read images, it is important to put alt text in the code of the images to help the search engine learn more about the image.
Google Images uses these alt text keywords to identify relevant search images.
For example, below you can see an image from our recent Holiday Ecommerce post. Next to the normal website is the code behind our site.
We included an alt tag of “improve.holiday.ecommerce” to help us get image traffic from Google for our keyword of holiday ecommerce.
By doing this in conjunction with the title tag and meta description we can improve the odds of being found on Google.
By properly labeling your website you can help improve your search engine traffic. Keep in mind that each page should have the proper title tags, meta description, and alt tags.
Content Marketing- Once you properly marked your site’s keywords, you need to focus on your content marketing strategy.
Consistent, unique, and valuable content like blog posts, videos, and podcasts can provide tremendous growth to your business.
Part of that growth comes from the content being labeled with the correct keywords. That way your content can be found more readily on social media and search engines.
Now, before you get all trigger happy placing keywords throughout your content keep in mind your keywords should look natural when you use them in your content.
Matt Cutts, Google’s Head of Search, recommends you read aloud your content to make sure that the keywords naturally fit in your article.
This also means you should not overdo the number of keywords you use. If you perform keyword stuffing, then you can possibly be punished by Google for trying to game the system.
In the end, focus on creating natural content with keywords sprinkled throughout the article. The keyword should add to the content, not subtract from the point of your information.
Social media- As social media continues to grow by leaps and bounds every year, the importance of sifting through all of the tweets, updates, pins, and posts becomes harder and harder to do.
That is why all of the major social media sites have built-in search features to help you find accounts and posts that match your interests. Using keywords in your social media marketing efforts can improve your results.
Profile keywords- Social media keywords start with your profile. For example, take a look at Shout’s Twitter profile. It reads: “Masters in SEO, SEM and closing the conversion loop since 2009. Shout! your way to premium online retailing.”
Breaking this down, you can see keywords like SEO, SEM, conversion loop, and online retailing scattered throughout the profile.
A prospective client can easily find us when they do a Twitter search. With over 500 million profiles on Twitter, you want to make it easy for prospects to find you. Keywords make this possible.
Facebook page category- A good social keyword strategy is not limited solely to Twitter.
For example, every page on Facebook is required to list their category. Whether you are a local business or a brand or an entertainer affects how Facebook shows off your website page.
You would not send someone looking for a restaurant to the movie Restaurant. Instead, you want to send them to local restaurants in their area. The right keyword makes a difference in how your business is identified to the public.
Hashtags- finally, we would not be able to talk about keywords and social media without discussing hashtags.
Essentially they are keywords with a # sign in front of it. The ting little hashtag has changed how social media works.
That is because they allow groups of people on social media to share content with those in their niche with an easily identifiable marker.
Not only that, it makes searching for specific topics easier on sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Directory listings- Finally, keywords are also powerful indicators that local directories use.
When a web marketing agency in Melbourne fills out their profile on Clutch, they are required to list their category, location and keywords that describe the business.
Yelp relies upon the businesses to self-identify themselves. Otherwise, they might not be able to do an effective job of helping consumers find the right stores and restaurants.
Final Thoughts
Oftentimes as consumers we do not think about the keywords we use when we search the web. However, they play a pivotal role in the development of relationships with businesses and as a tool to find more information.
Therefore, you need to choose the right keywords for your business. If you need help with your keyword research, contact us at Shout. We have helped countless businesses in Australia be found through solid keyword research.
