Google defines keywords as “words or phrases that are used to match your business with the terms people are searching”.  In order for your business or product to show up in a Google search, you need to match the words or phrases that people are searching for on your website.  This can be a bit tricky.  You have to put yourself in your customer’s’ shoes and figure out how they will be looking for your business.  Don’t panic! We have a couple of ways to help you figure this puzzle out!

Be Specific

Think about your product.  How would your customer think about your business? Jot down the terms or phrases that would best describe what your product is or does.  The words you select should relate to your business specifically.  For example, imagine you own sandwich shop and your specialty is submarine sandwiches.  If you wish to be found for your specialty, you would not just put in sub shop because that search could turn up businesses that provide parts for submarines or possibly it could result in stores that sell submarine toys.  Your keywords should be “submarine sandwich”, “best sub sandwich, or even “sub sandwich restaurant!”

Theme It

Keywords can be grouped together into themes.  Themes are one or two words that represent your product, service, or business.  For example, if you make videos, you can group a set of keywords for “wedding videos” and another group for “music videos.” This way of grouping words together would allow you to have specific searches for each category.  Then, if someone searches “wedding video company” you are sure to show up!

It’s All About The Number

Once you have your keywords well thought out, it is time to narrow your search.  Experts recommend that you choose and focus on between 5 and 20 keywords.  Do not worry about possible user error and misspellings when selecting these words the search engines take that into account. This number of 5 to 20 words is manageable and you will be able to easily track search results on the keywords if you can focus on the magic number!

These are just a few ways to help in your quest for finding the right keywords.