Search Engines: SEO Study

Introduction

Whether you’re optimizing your own Web site or you’re being paid to optimize another’s Web site, you’ll come to a point where you need to create a keyword list. Most webmasters cringe at the thought of this. But today we’re going to learn how to create spectacular keyword lists in record time. We’ll learn a formula that works every time, for every subject. All you have to do is follow the formula and you’re golden!
We’ll start out by learning some creative brainstorming exercises. Don’t worry; we aren’t talking about self-hypnosis or anything of that nature—just techniques that work. We’ll then expand our keyword list by researching synonyms with some fabulous online resources. We’ll then use the keywords we come up with in order to search out more keywords online, keywords that we may never even think of on our own!
After we have a complete set of keywords, we’ll refine and categorize our list. We’ll determine which keywords and keyphrases are the most important, and we’ll choose our primary keyword or keyphrase. Lastly, we'll utilize our refined list and implement our keywords into our Web site.
Let’s start with some important key terms that you’ll need to know about.
Keyword list: A list of keywords that are used to describe a Web page.
Brainstorming: A method of thought meant to create and inspire ideas. In brainstorming, no idea is a bad idea, and every idea is noted.
Synonym: A word having exactly or nearly the same meaning as another word.

Online Keyword Research: A method of researching for keywords online through search engines and directories.

Creating Your Own Keywords and Phrases
You and I have the pleasure of communicating in one of the most robust languages in the entire world. I’m not talking about a programming language; I’m talking about the English language. Our language contains more adjectives than many other languages combined, and its complexity creates a near infinite number of advantages and disadvantages to us as search engine optimizers. Our challenge today is to determine which keywords best represent our Web site, and to determine which of those keywords Web surfers are most likely to search for in a search engine. We can then implement our keywords into our Web site.
We’re going to accomplish our task by working through the following process:
A. Start with the knowledgeable person.
B. Brainstorm without the knowledgeable person.
C. Research synonyms online.
D. Complete in-depth online research.
E. Brainstorm with the knowledgeable person.
F. Refine and categorize your keyword list.
G. Determine your primary keyword or keyphrase.
H. Implement the keywords into the Web site.

Let’s begin:
Start with the Knowledgeable Person

In most cases the knowledgeable person is the one who owns or runs the business that the Web site is being optimized for. If you’re optimizing your own Web site, then you’re the knowledgeable person.
The first thing we want the knowledgeable person to do is create a list of keywords that he or she feels is relevant to the Web site. The list should include single words and keyword phrases. It can be handwritten or typed, but the list can absolutely not be spell-checked. The list should be as long as possible, and the words don’t necessarily have to be listed in order of importance. Ask that the knowledgeable person spend at least an hour or two creating this list. Also ask that once the list is handed over, the knowledgeable person is not to review the list again until you’ve had a chance to meet with him or her.

Brainstorm Without the Knowledgeable Person

Once you get the list from the knowledgeable person, your first job is to notice any spelling errors that you feel may be common. Add the correct spelling of the word to the list, but do not delete the misspelling. Oftentimes, misspelled words are some of the best keywords to include in a keyword list. For example, according to WordTracker, the words wrecked car autions is searched for roughly 14 times a day in Google, but virtually no Web sites utilize the keywords wrecked car autions. (Notice auctions is missing the letter c. If somebody were to optimize a Web page for those keywords, they would gain more than 5000 individual site visits each year. That’s not just a drop in the bucket!

By the way, WordTracker is an unbelievable piece of software that analyzes the effectiveness of keywords. We’ll be discussing it much more in the next lesson.

After detecting as many spelling errors as you can, get out a blank sheet of paper and get ready to create your own list. You’re going to look at each keyword on the original list. As you look at each word, write down any and all words that you feel are associated with the keyword. Work your way down the list, doing this for every keyword that was provided to you. When you’re done, you should have two complete keyword lists.

Expanding Your List with Synonyms
Research Synonyms Online

The Web offers us a vast number of tools to use when searching for keywords. Online thesauruses rank among some of the best tools I use.
Dictionary.com houses an easy-to-use thesaurus. Right from the home page, you can type a keyword, select the Thesaurus option, and click the Look it up button. A list of synonyms will almost immediately appear.



If you prefer Merriam-Webster, you can use their thesaurus free of charge at m-w.com. It works in much the same fashion.
When you find a synonym for an important keyword that you feel warrants further investigation, you can search for the synonym in your favorite search engine. There you’ll find thousands of Web pages that utilize the synonym.

Unfortunately, thesauruses are not able to provide synonyms for keyphrases, but they sure do a great job of providing keywords.
Acronyms

Another great tool available for use is the Acronym Finder at acronymfinder.com, which houses the definitions of more than 300,000 acronyms. This tool is especially helpful when the original keyword list contains acronyms that you may not be privy to. You can simply input the acronym into the Acronym Finder, and it will come up with a list of known meanings.

Searching for More Keywords and Legal Issues
Complete In-depth Online Research
In-depth online research is absolutely crucial to search engine optimization. Though you won’t need to perform the following in-depth search techniques for all of the keywords on your list, you should perform the techniques on the most important keywords. Let’s say that you’ve created a Web site that sells outdoor carpeting. Your keyword list may look something like this:
Outdoor carpeting, all-weather carpeting, poly-blend, variety, colors, shades, etc.

I probably wouldn’t waste my time performing in-depth online research on the keywords poly-blend, variety, color, or shades. Such keywords aren’t specific to the product at hand. I would, however, complete in-depth research on the keywords outdoor carpeting and all-weather carpeting.
The first step in completing your research is to search for the keyword at a major search engine (I highly recommend Google). When the results page appears, you can ignore any of the advertised links; they’re of no use to us. You’ll want to pay close attention to the top five Web sites listed as Web results, as they’re most likely your stiffest competition.
Click the first Web page listed. When the page appears, don’t be too concerned with how it looks visually; we’re more concerned with the code behind the page. Do note, however, if any heading text is visible. Hover your mouse over the images. If ALT text is present, the text will appear after the mouse has rested over an image for a second or two.
Now let’s take a look at the source code for the Web page. To do this in Internet Explorer, click the View menu, then click Source Code. The source code will immediately appear in Notepad. If you’re using Netscape Navigator, click the View menu, then click Page Source. The source code will appear in Netscape’s code viewer.
When looking at the code, examine the page title. Check to see if the keyword or keyphrase you searched for is found within the title. Also, take a look at the page description and the keyword list. Note if the keyword that you searched for is found, and also search for other keywords that may be of use in your keywords list. Finally, look for heading text and ALT text to see what keywords are contained.
If there are any keywords found within the page that you feel are appropriate to the content of your Web site, add them to your keyword list. However, do not ever copy and use a person’s source code in your own HTML do*****ents. Doing so is called code theft. It’s unethical and highly illegal.

When determining which keywords you’d like to include within your HTML do*****ents, you’ll need to make sure that the words you choose aren’t trademarked. For example, let’s say you include the word Pepsi in your keyword list. Technically, the Pepsi Cola Company could sue you for damages, especially if your Web site gets ranked in a higher position than theirs.

The number of keyword-related lawsuits is growing, and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon every day. In most cases, common sense dictates what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. For example, if your last name is Pepsi, you could most likely get away with having Pepsi in your keyword list (if your Web site has to do with you or your family).
Search Engine Watch often publishes articles regarding the current keyword/search engine legal trends. I recommend signing up for Search Engine Watch’s free newsletter, which is highly informative.
When in doubt if it’s legal to use a trademarked keyword, it’s always better to be safe rather than sorry. You can also write to the owner of the trademarked keyword to find out if they’ll grant you written permission to use the keyword in question. In your request letter, be sure to let the company know of any benefits they may reap by your Web site becoming more popular (i.e., increased sales, etc.) They may allow you to use the keyword if you add a direct link from your Web site to theirs. Just be sure to ask. The worst than can happen is the company will say “No.”
Brainstorm with the Knowledgeable Person

The next step is to set up a meeting with the knowledgeable person. Remember that the knowledgeable person hasn’t been thinking about keywords since the original list was provided to you, so he or she may be able to provide you with some fresh keywords that were previously forgotten. Get out a new sheet of paper and jot down any new keywords. Then, both you and the knowledgeable person must analyze each keyword one last time. As you move through the list, if either of you think of an associated word, write it down on the new piece of a paper.
Remember that while creating these lists, you’re brainstorming for any and all related keywords. It’s absolutely crucial not to criticize any keyword or idea. Even a poor keyword may lead to a primary keyword that was previously not thought of.

Refine and Categorize Your Keyword List

Now you should have three complete lists of keywords. Your final task in this meeting is to rank the top 100 keywords out of all three lists. The knowledgeable person will probably have a better understanding of the importance of each keyword, so he or she should have the final say as to the ranking of the keywords.
Determine Your Primary Keyword or Keyphrase
The #1-ranked keyword or keyphrase will now become your primary keyword or keyphrase.

After determining the top 100 keywords and keyphrases, your next job is to transfer the list into electronic format. That’s right, fire up your text editor and start typing. Separate each keyword and/or keyphrase with a comma (with no space following the comma), like this:
red,wool,sox,comfortable,cool,satisfaction guaranteed,etc.
Unless you think a keyword is more commonly searched for with capital letters (such as an acronym like USA), type it in all lowercase letters.
When you’re done, save the do*****ent as keywords.txt.
Implementing the Keywords into the Web Site
Congratulations! We just completed the entire process in regards to choosing keywords. Well, almost. In the next lesson, we’re going to learn how to complete a pre-submission analysis on our keywords. Then, in Lesson 5, we’re going to learn how to implement our keywords into our HTML do*****ent.


Don’t sweat it if you don’t understand these tags. As I mentioned, we’re going to master the definition and usage of each in Lesson 5.

Summary

We covered a lot of material today. I’ve prepared a short quiz and a short assignment for you to complete. But before you do, let’s quickly review the keyword selection process that we learned today.
A. Start with the knowledgeable person.
The knowledgeable person is the one who owns or runs the business that the Web site is being optimized for. If you’re optimizing your own Web site, then you’re the knowledgeable person. Obtain as many keywords as possible from the knowledgeable person.
B. Brainstorm without the knowledgeable person.
Notice spelling errors that can be used as potential keywords. Use the keywords from the original list to spawn new keyword ideas.
C. Research synonyms online.
Use your favorite online dictionary/thesaurus to come up with more keywords to choose from.
D. Complete in-depth online research.
Choose the most important keywords on your list. Search for them and analyze the Web sites that appear.
E. Brainstorm with the knowledgeable person.
Take all of the keywords ac*****ulated thus far and brainstorm for even more keywords one more time with the knowledgeable person.
F. Refine and categorize your keyword list.
With the knowledgeable person, determine the most important 100 keywords.
G. Determine your primary keyword or keyphrase.
Determine which keyword you feel is absolutely the most important. The keyword will now be known as the primary keyword. (The knowledgeable person should have the final say regarding the primary keyword).
H. Implement the keywords into the Website.
Implement your keywords into the actual HTML do*****ents in your Web site.