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What are keywords for search engines and what do they do?

It is vitally important that your pages contain the correct keywords.

Keywords are words (or phrases) that viewers might use whilst searching for information using a search engine. But...keywords are also these same words (or phrases) embedded in the text and in the script/ code of your web pages.

Do all search engines look for keywords in the same way?

Keywords can be written into <METADATA> tags within the code of your web site as in the following example:-

<meta name = "keywords" content = "widgets, widget, red widgets">

So you may think you've got it 'sussed' if you write a few of these into the code of your web site. Google won't agree - as it does not even bother to read these keywords any more. MSN will see them and rank your page according to what you have included in the <META> tags. So will a few others.

How do I choose the best/ right keywords?

Well, if you instruct One Step Ahead to build or optimize your website, you can relax as we do all of this for you. If you fancy your chances on your own, try and find keywords that are non-competitive, relevant, accurate and descriptive. Try and think of what people might type into a search engine when looking for your product or service. If you sell widgets, but some of them are secondhand or used, include "used widgets" and "reconditioned widgets" in your keywords.

Can I use as many keywords as I like?

No! Filling your web pages with the same keywords, over and over again, will do you no favours at all. This is known as 'spamming' and could get your site blacklisted on certain search engines. At best, you will be penalised for spamming.

Read about keyword density here.

If you'd like One Step Ahead to help you get your website on the first page of the big search engines, just drop us a line here.