Well in the end I’d rather have too much work rather than a perfectly updated site. I’m hoping for a break after Easter to get working on my own site again but being the victim of your own success isn’t so bad…!

You may well have the best-looking site, but if no one manages to find you, unless specifically directed to the location, then it’s a complete waste.

How to Identify The Best Target Key Phrases

SEO revolves around targeting one or more key phrases that have the following characteristics:

• Specific phrases that your customers type in to search engines
• Popular phrases that have a lot of searches
• Phrases that do not have an insurmountable amount of competition

Let’s take a look at each of these requirements.

Search Specificity

When people are looking for a specific product or service to buy they tend to type in a precise phrase.

For example, if you were looking for a certain gourmet coffee online then you probably wouldn’t type in “drinks” or “coffee” and expect to find the information about specific coffee. Instead you would attempt to narrow it down and type in the name or other details that would be more likely to return the results you want.

It is exactly the same when you are targeting key phrases for SEO. Although the more generic terms get more searches, they are not very useful because customers who want to buy tend to be a lot more specific in their searches.

Search Volume

While you want your phrases to be specific, be sure to keep an eye on the volume of searches that the key phrase gives. Use a keyword tool to discover the most popular key phrases within a given niche area.

Sometimes you will find that using a different synonym can have a huge affect in the volume, even though the phrases mean basically the same thing.

Only Pick Fights You Can Win

Although you want a specific key phrase with a high search volume, watch out for the competition. For a give phrase beware of two aspects:

• The number of competing pages and
• Which sites are on the first page of the search engine results.

If this key phrase has an overwhelming number of competing pages then it’s probably a good idea to discard that phrase.

Also, if the first page of results for that key phrase reveals a list of very powerful sites with high authority then it would probably be best to reserve your energy for a key phrase battle you stand a better chance of winning.

Although the Internet is the great equalizer and there are countless examples of David and Goliath type scenarios, to take on the giants in this case, you need to have an arsenal of advanced SEO techniques at your disposal.

Summary

Effective small business SEO starts with identifying great key phrases that are relevant, specific, popular and feasible.

If you run a small business and have a web site you may think that all this stuff about rankings and SEO does not apply to you. The reality is that everyone who has a web site and would like traffic to that site needs to know the basics or else it’s a bit like opening a fast-food place in the middle of a desert.

You may well have the best-looking site, but if no one manages to find you, unless specifically directed to the location, then it’s a total waste.

What are Rankings?

When someone types in a phrase to search for in a search engine, your ranking is the position in the results that your web site appears at. Rankings are always stated with a given key phrase. SEO revolves around selecting key phrases that have the following characteristics:

• Phrases that your customers type in to search engines
• Phrases that have a lot of searches
• Phrases that do not have an insurmountable amount of competition

Having identified the key phrases that you want to compete for, you can then start to measure your web site’s progress. Your web site’s ranking affects your bottom line as a business owner because:

• Higher Ranking means more Traffic.
• More Traffic means more Customers.
• More Customers means more Sales.
• More Sales means a healthier bottom line.

Small Changes in Rankings Give Huge Changes in Traffic

Even a small change in your rankings can translate into a big change in the traffic you will receive because the relationship between ranking position and visitors is not linear.

Research indicate that on a page of listings on Google:

• 42.1% click on the number 1 result
• 11.9% click on the number 2 result
• 8.5% click on the number 3 result
• 6.1% click on the number 4 result
• 4.9% click on the number 5 result
• 4.1% click on the number 6 result
• 3.4% click on the number 7 result

If you manage to get on the first page of results and if you improve your ranking from position 6 to position 1 then this means a 927% increase in visitors. This is a phenomenal leap in visitors and is well worth spending some time on to improve.

If you have a business web site but either have a very low ranking or have no idea of your ranking then chances are you will be receiving almost no free traffic from search engines. However as soon as you spend some time and effort in this area and your rankings start climbing, and especially once you make it onto the first page, you will see phenomenal growth in your free traffic.