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 This photo is in the public domain.

 

By
Jim Hingst

 

When the
internet was in its infancy, all you needed to do was compile a list of one and
two-word frequently used keyword phrases that pertained to your shop and
incorporate them as metatags and in your content. Today, search engines
use nearly 200 other factors in ranking webpages.  

 

Currently, content is king in generating outstanding
search engine results. Links, both internal links and back links, are also
critical in achieving high rankings. Nevertheless, your SEO endeavors should commence
with and revolve around the nucleus of keyword selection.

 

The keywords that you use determine what the
type of traffic that you will drive to your website. The keywords for one webpage
on your site should differ from those used on any of your other webpages. Keywords
must accurately describe the content on that particular webpage. By doing so, the
keyword phrases that you use help your website visitor locate the content that
they are searching. They also help the search engines index the webpage.

 

If your site uses the right keywords, coupled
with meaningful content and links to find that content, you will:

 

● Increase the dwell time or time that
visitors stay on your site;

● Aid website visitors navigate from one webpage
to another, which reduces your bounce rate; and

● Improve User Experience and build a
loyal following, which encourages them to bookmark your webpages and return to
your site.

 

By increasing website traffic and dwell time,
reducing bounce rate and developing a following that returns to your site, you
will improve your search engine ranking.

 

What Are “Short-Tail Keywords” and “Long-Tail
Keywords”?

 

Short-tailkeywords are phrases, which consist of 3 or fewer words, that
users submit for their searches. These keyword phrases are very general in
nature, such as signs, banners or window lettering.  By comparison, long-tail keywords consist
of 3 or more words submitted in searches. These longer keyword phrases narrow
the user’s search to a specific target. “Sign companies in Northwest Indiana” is
an example of a more specific search.

 

Short-tail keywords are typically
searched for with more frequency. Using these highly competitive keywords will
not help you rank at the top of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Conversely, long-tail keywords are searched for with much less frequency
and are much less competitive.

 

The Search Engine Results Page (SERP) will display
suggestions for other keyword phrases closely related to the keyword which was
searched. You should research these alternative keyword phrases, which may be
less competitive than your original phrase. 

 

The advantage of
using long-tail keywords is that these phrases are much more likely to rank
near the top of search results. Obviously, you do not want to choose long-tail keyword phases,
which are searched for with extreme rarity, even though their use ensures a #1
ranking.

 

Should You Use “Short-Tail Keywords” or
“Long-Tail Keywords”?

 

Because
Short-tail keywords are commonly used, they generate a huge volume of
results. That’s not necessarily a good thing. The competition for these phrases
is very high. In all likelihood, if your targeted keyword is short-tail keyword
phrase, you will be lost in a crowd of other companies using the same phrase.

 

Even
if short-tail keywords could drive a tremendous volume of visitors to your site,
you should be looking to attract  those
prospects willing to spend their dollars on your products and services.

 

Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, are not so frequently used in searches.
The volume, which these very specific phases produce, is generally very low. Because
these phrases are very specific, you are more likely to rank higher in search
engine results and attract curious prospects, who will become paying customers.

 

Keyword Research

 

Selecting the most effective keywords should
begin with compiling those one or two-word “short tail keywords” that
describe the content of your webpages. They direct your target audience to the
information that inspired their search.

 

In the sign building market, those short tail
keywords might include terms such as signs, vehicle graphics, vehicle wraps and
banners. While these common words are certainly relevant and pull huge results,
most of your competitors will use these same terms. For this reason, short-tail
keywords are just your starting point.

 

After you compile your lists of keyword
phrases, you should use a keyword tool to uncover words that people use in
searches that you never thought to add. Many tools are available to you to help
keyword research. Keyword research is a procedure used to discover the terms
that people input into a search engine, when looking for answers to their
questions.

 

To help you detect the right keywords aligned
with your business, several keyword research tools are available. Google AdsKeyword Planner is one of the most popular of these tools. Best of all,
it’s FREE! Many other keyword research programs, although they may
be more effective, require payment of a hefty annual fee.

 

Next, search for each of these basic keywords
to see which webpage generate the highest rankings. Based on these results, you
need to ascertain which longer three or four-word phrases, called “long-tail
keywords”, are used which may produce higher rankings. The reason for their
effectiveness is that these longer keyword phrases narrow the user’s search
from the general to the specific.

 

As a rule of thumb, these more descriptive
phrases generate a lower search volume, but website visitors using these
phrases are more focused, and more likely to read your content, stay on your
site longer and more likely to respond to your calls to action.

 

One way to identify long-tail keywords is to inspect
the sites of competitors that always rank highly in search engine results pages.
Their target keyword phrase for a webpage may appear in the webpage headlines,
subheadings and internal links. In the body copy that phrase may also
appear three or four times. Once you identify their target phrase, adopt it for
your own use, if it applies to a topic of one of your webpages.

 

After identifying these long-tail keywords,
your next step is to conduct a search for them to see what type of results they
pull. Long-tail keywords represent a search for a very specific topic. As a
result, the number of people searching for that specific product or service
will be much less than those searching for something very generic. That
specificity is exactly what you want!

 

Prospects looking for a specific product or
service are likely closer to making a purchasing decision. What’s more, chances
are that fewer of your competitors will using the exact long-tail keywords that
you use. Because there is less competition, using these long-tail keywords will
improve your chances of appearing in an organic search. 

 

The keyword phrases that you should use
depend on your target audience. If your audience includes sign shop owners and
large format digital printers, the terms that you use are different from an
audience that incorporates private fleet owners and trucking companies. 

 

To identify those keyword phrases, which will
be most relevant to your target audience, put yourself in their shoes. Try to think
the way your customers and prospects think. Use the phrases that they use, even
if their terminology is not technically correct.

 

For example, a high percentage of sign makers
use the term “transfer tape” interchangeably with “application tape”. Technically,
“transfer tape” is “transfer adhesive”, which is an adhesive that comes on a
roll and can be applied or “transferred” to a substrate.

 

Purists would
vehemently object to using transfer tape as a synonym for application tape or
application paper. Nevertheless, the best practice is to use the terms that
people in your target audience use in their searches.

 

Where to Use Keywords on a Webpage

 

Each webpage on your site should have as its
nucleus a particular topic and a unique keyword phrase. Once you settle on this
keyword phrase, you should use it in the title and  H1 tag for that page, in the subheadings, in
the metatag and the captions and ALT tags for all of the photos and images. Using
your primary keyword phrase in these ways will convey to the search engine bots
the theme of the webpage content. While following these practices will not
produce immediate success in ranking highly, failing to follow them guarantees
not to improve search engine results at all.

 

If you want your business to appear more
frequently in search results, use the keyword phrases that your target audience
uses when it searches for companies that provide the products and services that
you make and sell. Don’t use industry jargon that only means something to
someone in the industry.

 

A prospect looking for vehicle graphics is
not likely to use terms such as “pressure-sensitive corporate identification
materials”. You might use this phrase. Your competitors will know what you
mean. The problem is that no one else will type this phrase when searching for decals
for their fleet of cars or trucks.

 

So how will you know what keyword phrases to use
as metatags or when writing content for your webpages? You could pay attention
to the terms that your current customers use. You could use the jargon that successful
competitors use on their websites. Or you could conduct keyword research.

 

Conclusion

 

Choosing
the right keywords can improve your search engine results, drive more viewers
to your website and generate more sales leads. In this respect, keywords can
determine to a large extent whether your website is a success or failure.

 

Long-tail
keywords will attract visitors further along in the buying cycle. While incorporating
long-tail keywords throughout your content focuses on buyers versus tire-kickers,
you should also include short-tail keywords to build the volume of your traffic,
which is an important factor in search engine ranking.

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