Field of Dreams: Getting a Homerun With Your Keywords

Author: Janet L. Hall

Field of Dreams: Getting a Homerun With Your Keywords By: Janet L. Hall

"If you build it they will come," from the movie Field of Dreams has become a popular phrase among newbies to the Internet, uneducated web site owners, and those filled with dreams of getting rich quick. That phrase is far from the truth when it comes to your web site.

Many factors and variables come into play when trying to get people to come to your web site, one of which is your choice of keywords.

If you're using Microsoft FrontPage or a similar software package to create your web pages, guess what? Keywords, page titles, descriptions, and META TAGS are NOT automatically put on your pages. These important variables may be missing from your pages unless you enter the information yourself.

Even worse, if you've hired someone to design your site and pages for you and they don't know how important these variables are and aren't including them…no one will find you, your services, your products…no sales, no business.

The key to STARTING your field of dreams is to determine the keywords people are using to find your web site OR the number one keywords that are getting your competitors the top rankings in the search pages. Please remember, this is just the beginning, you have a lot more to learn, such as where to place the keywords on your web pages, how many, and much much more.

In turn, each search engine has it's own set of criteria or requirements to enable your web site to be ranked near the top of the search pages. And some, you can even buy your way to the top of the pages.

So, how do you determine what keywords you need on your pages to make a home run?

Seven Homerun Keyword Strategies:

Game Plan: Write out a list of keywords and have your friends, family, and client's review for suggestions. Select two to three dozen that are the most important for your web pages. (NOTE - Each page on your site should have it's own keywords.) If you already have keywords - this is a good time to * OverHall * them .

Batting Order: Put your most important keywords near the beginning of your TAGS (more about TAGS next time) and at the top of your page.

Field Position: Know where to place your keywords throughout your pages.

Double Play: Look up your keywords in a Thesaurus, such as Roget's Internet Thesaurus at http://www.thesaurus.com , and use some of the alternative words as your keywords.

Signals: Don't forget to check out and use regional terminology and common misspelling of words.

Clean up: Keyword and Statistical Software can be purchased to assist in choice of keywords and the weight (sometimes referred to as keyword density) of your keywords.

7. Stealing Bases: What are your competitor keywords that are ranking at the top of the search engines?

I hope you can get a Grand Slam!

Smiles, not Piles, Janet L. Hall is the owner of OverHall Consulting, an organizing firm for office, home, computer clutter, and your life. Visit her website at http://www.overhall.com and sign up for her FREE organizing newsletter, OverHall IT! Phone consultations and coaching are available.

Copyright (c) 2001 by OverHall Consulting P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676 All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute this article so long as article is kept intact, this copyright notice, and full information about the author is attached.

About the author: Janet L. Hall is the owner of OverHall Consulting, an organizing firm for office, home, computer clutter, and your life. Visit her website at http://www.overhall.com and sign up for her FREE organizing newsletter, OverHall IT! Phone consultations and coaching are available.