• Home
  • Why a Website?
  • What Is SEO?
    • Social Media
      • Social Audit
  • What is PPC?
  • Tools
    • Referrals
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • About AVB
    • Podcasts & Guest Spots
    • Schedule w/ Me
    • Testimonials
      • Leave a Testimonial

A Visual Business

You are here: Home / blog / Keywords – It’s Not What You Think It Is

Keywords – It’s Not What You Think It Is

in blog, keywords, search engine optimization on 12/10/14

soda pop or cola, keyword variations for seoIs it soda, pop or cola? What term do you use when speaking about a carbonated caffeinated beverage? I say soda but not everyone else will use the same term. So when thinking about keywords on your website, you have to think in terms of what other people think about when wanting to search for your product or service.

Use a variety of keywords

As long as it is natural, when explaining your products/services on your website, be sure to use various keywords, or variations of your keywords. For a product that uses initials, like SEO, be sure to use both SEO and search engine optimization to have better chances of being recognized in search and by the search engines.

Other combinations of keywords

With pay per click marketing, it is also known as search engine marketing, SEM, PPC and even Google Ads since Google is kind of the King of search engines.  Just think, when was the last time that you asked someone for a piece of tissue versus asking for a Kleenex?  What about when someone says – why don’t you do a search on the internet? Who says that? They say – Google it. These are brands, but you get the jest, there are other variations and terminology used to explain products and services, so the point, try to get as many as you can that are valuable to you and your business.

Don’t be spammy though

Now, that doesn’t mean, be sure to put every variation, every combination and the like in each and every page of your website, but to be aware of them and use them when natural and possible. Keep in mind too which are used more often and those might be the ones you spend more time keyword research for website content and seofocusing one.

Everyone loves a good tool

There are many tools out there that can assist with coming up with keyword variations or even trending words that may be associated with your keyword as well.  In Keywords, What’s All the Fuss, I mention several tools that can be used for coming up with keywords, so be sure to hop over there and check them out!

Check out the volume

When you check out the keyword tool in Google Adwords, pay attention to the volume searched for each keyword. This will help you determine which keywords are being searched. This is where you may find out that soda is more commonly used than pop.  However, as geographic locations vary, so do their terminology so it will depend on your location and your target market, so keep those things in mind as well.

The volume is important but don’t plan to go after all of the highest volume keywords, because, as you can imagine, those will be the most competitive too. It’s healthy to have a few competitive keywords with some less competitive keywords. Just keep and eye on them, track them and see how they work out for you. It might be time to reevaluate and update, and that’s okay too.

What do you think?

Hopefully this has been helpful for you – that you need to consider your location, your target market and other keyword variations when planning your keywords for your website. Remember, your website is for your consumers, not for you, so you need to build it that way. 😉  Should you need help or have any questions about search engine optimization or keyword research, please feel free to contact me. I’d love to help.

Feel free to leave a comment about the most useful nugget in this blog.  Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristen

19 Comments

About Kristen Day

Kristen is a small business owner and thus dedicated to other small business owners by helping them improve their online presence with having a professional and mobile responsive website, then implementing search engine optimization and pay per click advertising all of which are necessary 'evils' in the digital marketing sphere but enables small business owners the opportunity to compete with larger companies. When not in the digital arena, you can find her hanging with her girlfriends, husband, drinking a margarita or shooting competition (not in that order).

Subscribe for Your Free Report!

10 INSANELY Easy SEO Tips YOU Can Do Right Now

« Got Content?
Last Minute Christmas Shopper Goes Postal »

Comments

  1. Patty Kogutek says

    12/10/2014 at 11:48 AM

    Great background when considering what key words to use. I will definitely jump over to your “Keywords, what all the Fuss” to check out some helpful resources. Thanks

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:59 AM

      I hope you were able to follow the internal link to the other blog and found it useful as well. 😉

      Reply
  2. Andy Colwell says

    12/10/2014 at 2:58 PM

    Great post Kristen 🙂 Very Useful information.

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:59 AM

      Thanks Andy – glad it was useful

      Reply
  3. Lorii Abela says

    12/10/2014 at 4:29 PM

    The value of keywords cannot be overemphasized.

    Reply
  4. Roslyn Tanner Evans says

    12/10/2014 at 5:56 PM

    Always get something useful in your blogs. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:58 AM

      Glad to hear Roslyn!

      Reply
  5. Beth Niebuhr says

    12/10/2014 at 6:38 PM

    Such great info about keywords. Your point about not everybody using the same words, like soda and pop, is something I don’t tend to think about but will try to be mindful of that from now on. Geographical location often determines what words are used.

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:58 AM

      Glad that you found it useful Beth… slang and location can make a difference. I also noticed that when reading blogs from other countries. 😉

      Reply
  6. Heather DelRosario says

    12/11/2014 at 7:44 AM

    Thanks for sharing some great tips! The nugget that really spoke to me was your point around “think in terms of what other people think about when wanting to search for your product or service.” Sometimes we get so caught up in what we want to write, that we forget who we’re writing it for. Thanks again!

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:57 AM

      Glad the your customers and how they think was the nugget that spoke to you – very important! 😉

      Reply
  7. Holly Jean says

    12/11/2014 at 9:38 AM

    Love the tip about not being “spammy” with your keywords… there’s definitely such thing as key word overload! I hate reading someone’s page and noticing how hard they try to get them all in… it should be effortless, right? Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:56 AM

      So true Holly – you can certainly “stuff” keywords and that just isn’t good for you, search engines or your consumers! If natural, it WILL be effortless! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Sharon MacLean says

    12/11/2014 at 10:55 AM

    Thanks for the keyword tools!

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:56 AM

      You are welcome Sharon – let me know if you need any help.

      Reply
  9. Sonya says

    12/11/2014 at 2:08 PM

    One of my favourite bloggers

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:55 AM

      YAY! Hope it was helpful Sonya!

      Reply
  10. Barbi Larkins says

    12/11/2014 at 2:54 PM

    I’ve always struggled with finding good keywords and how to fit them into my website without looking spammy. Good tips – I’ll make use of them. 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristen Wilson says

      12/16/2014 at 11:55 AM

      Sorry that you have struggled, but glad that you found these tips helpful!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search My Site

AVB Blog Categories

4 FREE SEO TIPS YOU CAN DO

Get 4 Easy Peasy SEO Tips you can do right now!

Managed Hosting for your WordPress Website

Siteground Hosting

Back Up your Business Data

Back Blaze backups

Join My Mailing List!

Get updates on SEO, PPC, website readability and small business in our monthly email! (double opt in so look for the email)

Don't forget to look for the confirmation email to double opt in for my email list.

Buy SEO Title & Meta Description eBook

Learn how to optimize your SEO Title & Meta Description

Known for SEO

Top Seo Agency in League City

Known for PPC Advertising

Top Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Agency in League City

Follow AVB!

A Visual Business on FacebookFollow Kristen on TwitterFollow AVB on Pinterest
Connect with Kristen on Linked In Follow AVB on Instagram

Learn About My Other Business

WTF Kristen

Managed Hosting for your WordPress Website

Create Images Quickly & Easily w/ Get Stencil

Get Stencil

Stock Photo Subscription Service

Depositphotos

Learn About My Other Business

Copyright © 2023 · A Visual Business