The importance of Keyword selection

Wouldn`t it be disappointing if you walked into a seafood restaurant only to be given the choice of steak and chips or Mexican food? Or if you went to see a supposed hit film about a superhero and you got dull one liners and an overlong plot noone was interested in? (yes, we`re looking at you Spider Man 3).
When it comes to pleasing customers and making sales it`s all about relevance and it is the same for an SEO campaign.
One element that must always be given 100% consideration when starting an SEO campaign is keyword selection. This forms the backbone of the SEO and is vital in ensuring you get the results you want. If customers are using particular keywords to search for something and it is a popular search term for that industry or service then that must be applied to the SEO, rather than what you think is the right keyword or phrase.

The Google Adword tool is a great addition to any SEO consultant`s arsenal and can give a real insight into current trends of what people are searching for. With any campaign there will be a set of keywords that perhaps the customer would like to be worked on, after-all the likelihood is they would have probably researched into this area before coming to you and deciding SEO was the way to go so use this advice as they would understand the industry they are in more than you. On the flip side of this it is always worth checking with Adwords at the beginning to ensure these are going to be keywords that will be searched for. After all, there is no point picking keywords where there is no search volume as this isn`t going to drive any traffic to the site anyway.

Longtail phrases should not be overlooked and can help to vary the SEO during the link building. Although some would suggest using a limited number of keywords to optimise on a site, it is worth optimising for a range of keywords that are suited to the industry and it could be that perhaps there are a fair number of keywords you are using to promote the site but as long as there is a balance so that the search engines and the user are both catered for then you have achieved the basis of what is needed for a solid campaign.

Another angle you should take with your customer/client is to talk to them. It sounds so simple and yet that is because it is. There is a wealth of information you can mine from your clients and use to your advantage during the campaign such as who are their industry competitors they are aware of, target audience they appeal to, peak seasons for their business, top selling products and USP (unique selling points), these are all vital pieces of information which can help you tailor the campaign to their requirements. The trick is to apply it in the correct way to get the required results.