Search Engine Optimisation FAQs
How are target keywords selected for a search engine optimisation
project?
Key phrase evaluation and selection is one of the most complex and critical
areas of search engine optimisation practice. The success or failure of
a search engine optimisation project can hinge entirely on whether appropriate
target key phrases have been identified for the website.
Optillion uses as a starting point for the key phrase selection process the list of keywords and key phrases provided by the client. It is appreciated that the client is often the person best placed to identify key phrases relevant to their business, since they have an unrivalled knowledge of both their products and customers. Sometimes, however, the client is too closely acquainted with technical aspects of the product to appreciate the terms a potential customer might use when searching for it on the Internet.
The second stage of the key phrase selection process therefore involves gaining an insight into the mind of a potential customer using a search engine to find the product. The methods employed will vary according to the nature of the product and its target market, but may include focus groups, customer questionnaires and observation of search engine users under controlled conditions. Search engine users are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the way they combine search terms and operators in order to generate relevant results from search engines. In spite of this apparent sophistication, searchers often use surprisingly oblique search terms even when asked to search for products with which they are entirely familiar.
At the end of the second stage there will be two lists of potential target key phrases, one provided by the client and the second generated through customer research. A high degree of concordance between the two lists of potential key phrase targets is an indicator that the website’s content is appropriate to its audience, whereas low concordance may indicate a need to adjust the focus or language of the website to bring it into line with its target market.
The third stage of the process is concerned with adding to the list further potential key phrase targets which may not have been suggested either by the client or the customer research. Data from actual search engine usage and from the websites server log files are examined to unearth relevant key phrases which had previously been overlooked, but which generate significant amounts of search traffic.
The final stage of the process uses sophisticated evaluation techniques to select the key phrases for which the website will be optimised from amongst all the possible contenders. Characteristics of target key phrases selected by this method will include:-
- A high degree of relevance to the products or services promoted by the website
- Use of language, spelling and phraseology which is appropriate both geographically and demographically to the website’s customer base
- The realistic prospect of achieving a top thirty ranking in the appropriate regional results of the target search engines following search engine optimisation
- A high level of search traffic (the number of times the key phrase is used as a search term in a given period) relative to the cost of optimising for the term
- The potential to generate sufficient search engine referrals, and thereby additional profit, to produce a positive ROI when considered in isolation
