This week we had our first ever workshop for the Women’s Business Center and Prospera of Bozeman. We had 4 hours to fill and didn’t think we could do it. Turns out we didn’t have enough time. Many thanks to the participants for bringing up so many great questions! We really wanted to sure to get more in depth on the subjects we had to rush through so we’ll do it through our blog.
First topic today: Key words
As you market your company in the world of the internet, you have to be constantly aware of the consumer’s ability to leave with just one click. That is why we discussed how important the appearance, feel, and usability of your site can be. That is why having a responsive website may be crucial to your business, and it is also why we discussed the importance of highlighting key points and calling out your facts on each page. Providing easy to access information to your clients will keep them on your pages.
We didn’t really get time to discuss in depth the use of key words, and using key word programs to see what people are really searching for. What we suggest is that you write down words and phrases that make the most sense to you in regards to your business, your products or your service. How would the “average” person type these words into a search bar on Google, Yahoo or Bing?
For instance using Antlercreek Wildlife Creations as an example:
One product they sell is a chew for dogs made from a piece of antler. Obvious key words would be: antler, antlers, deer antler, elk antlers, dog chew, dog chews, antler dog chews, dog chews bozeman, dog chews montana. You get the idea.
Now if we take these key words and place them in a key word ranking program such as: Google adwords (you can sign up for a Google adwords account and use this without setting up actual ads). This tool allows the user to input words they believe would be good keywords for their site and the results will show how many people search google with those words. It gives the user an idea of how effective certain words would be in drawing users to their site via the google search engine.
For antlercreek.com I initially searched 13 different terms. Of those terms I chose 10 for final use. Their rankings can be seen in the findings section below.
Google adwords findings. I’ve listed each word searched with the google results (number of searches on google for that word or set of words). Any item with a “x” next to it was chosen to be used as a “key word” on the site.
- antler dog chews 2400 x
- deer antler dog chews 390
- elk antler dog chews 210
- antler bones 480
- antler dog bones 260
- anterl chew toys 110
- antler dog treats 320
I did my google adword work for this site twice. My first summary of adwords had me suggesting words that were too broad in nature. This second summary of adwords brought the search back to words that will be more likely to bring the users right to the site. The competition of too-broad words (such as “dog chews”) as compared to antler dog chew is clear. His site is less likely to get lost in the more specific searches. Also, people looking for an antler dog chew won’t just search for a dog chew- they’ll be looking for a specific type. My results show this.The key words I chose show a decent return for the specificity of the product. The market for these products is not huge, but the key words here are giving the most bang for the buck so to speak. Of the small market these will bring in the most searchers.
Google rankings for keywords I utilized the site www.sitereportcard.com/checkranking to evaluate the rankings of the proposed keywords in google and msn. In the results n/100 = not in the top 100 sites found.
key word google rank msn rank
- antler dog chews #42 #17
- antler art n/100 n/100
Competitors results: I searched google for “antler dog chews” and the site www.americanantlerdogchews.com came up #4 behind large retailers. I also searched “antler art” and www.antlerartinc.com was ranked first.
I found that both of these sites used key words repeatedly. In the case of the dog chews, the key phrases dog, antler, antler dog chews, chew, and chews were each used 5+ times on the site. For the antler site, the word antler itself was used over 19 times on the site. Also, both sites were not image dominant. Text was used to explain products and as links. Here are the rankings for these two sites versus our top key words. Americanantlerdogchews.com
key word google rank msn rank
- antler dog chews #6 #10
So what does this example tell you? You can utilize tools on the web, provided by Google as well as other free and paid sites to get a good idea of what words potential customer will be entering into search engines to find products and services that I provide. If I use those words in my website text and alt tags my SEO should be positively effected and my pages for my site should be found by more customers.
There are many, many of these keyword tools online. I’ve only listed Google Adwords, because it is what was used in this study. Do you have thoughts on some keyword programs that are good- or not so good? Let us know!
Have a great weekend.
-Lorelyn
Media Works, LLC
Graphic and Web Design in Bozeman, MT