A friend of mine has been working with an ex-IRS agent
who can be of significant help to those with tax problems. But he has decided
to search for clients only in the area in which he lives, the Santa Clarita Valley
in Southern California.
It is a snap to get a #1 position on most search
engines with such phrases as Santa Clarita Tax Expert, Santa Clarita Tax Solutions,
and so forth. And he did so.
But he is not getting any hits.
The
problem is in two parts.
Many people who live in the Santa Clarita Valley
do not know that they do. Even those who do tend to feel they live in Los Angeles.
Secondly, many do not know how to spell Santa Clarita. So his first place
position is meaningless, unless he turns to advertising in locally circulated
newspapers, magazines, and newsletters.
This can cost bucks, and he could
have done this without the effort it took to build his site.
Discovering
what potential visitors might enter to find your site is a challenging problem,
one often overlooked in advice regards position on search engines. One way to
begin is to list a few words you feel will work, go to your favorite search engine,
enter them, and see what comes up.
Any phrase that generates a lot of
unconnected listings is not likely a good candidate. When you find something that
ranks your competitors high in the list, check out the sites.
Once the
page has fully loaded, take the option in your browser to view the page source
code. Find the keyword meta statement near the top of the page, and check those
listed. Add as appropriate to your list. Also check the page content to see which
keywords are sprinkled throughout it.
These may be the most important
ones. In particular, see how the keyword you used to get this page is handled.
You may find clues as to how best to use it on your page.
When you think
you have a good list, try this useful resource at GoTo.Com. http://www.goto.com
At the very bottom of the home page, click Manage Your Account. On the new page,
click Tools And Tips To Help Manage Your Account. On the new page, click Search
Term Suggestion List. Enter the keywords you are thinking about. Some of the suggestions
made can be added to your list, particularly those used most often. GoTo.Com provides
this service because they hope you will find additional words to bid on (pay for
high rankings in lists - another topic).
But you do not need to use
their service to take advantage of this resource. At this point you have found
and expanded your list to include keywords others use. So is that it? No! To stop
at this point assumes you have found what potential visitors will enter when they
want a product or service such as yours. But you do not *know* these are the phrases
real people will use. You do not know you have the magic keywords.
I
have a suggestion. It is not a guaranteed solution, but I have used it successfully.
It goes like this. I write a good description of the product or service I want
to sell, maybe half a page. I describe what it is, what it does, and how one will
benefit from it. I write much as I would when producing an ad. However, I do all
possible to *avoid* the keywords I feel will be used.
Next I pester
everyone I know, asking what they might enter to find this product. And I give
it time; not everyone is as interested in my problem as I am.
When
I have collected replies, I go back and pester these same people with a list ranked
with the most common suggestions up top, including phrases I found that were not
mentioned. I ask them to pick four or five they feel are best. I have found some
really neat keywords in this way, phrases I would never have discovered on my
own.
I hope you can make it work for you. I sense this is an aspect of
search engine positioning often overlooked. It is easy for me to pick a phrase
related to your business and get you top position on at least some search engines.
It is meaningless, though, unless people actually enter that phrase.
Copyright 1999 - Bob McElwain Newbie-Friendly Site Stuff - Check it out now!
http://www.sitetipsandtricks.com If I don't have what you need, I will find it!
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