Keywords

mahlon84 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-30-2008, 09:06 AM

Hi Lisa and everyone

I'm new to website designing and the internet. I just wanted to know:

what are keywords?

How do they work?

How do i use Google adwards keyword tool?

Thanks a million!

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 01-30-2008, 12:02 PM

Hi and welcome!

Keywords are phrases that people use for searching in the search engines. For example "blue widgets" would be a keyword phrase.

If you had a site that targeted the phrase "blue widgets" you could use Google AdWords to bid on that phrase and appear in the paid Google results whenever someone searches. Each time your site gets clicked you are charged a predetermined amount.

The Google Adwords tool is a good way to check how popular a keyword phrase is. If you see a lot of Advertisers bidding on that phrase that generally means it's pretty popular phrase and it will cost you more to rank high for that phrase.

Also if the search volume is high you know a lot of people are searching for it and that also means there's probably a lot of competition for that phrase in the paid and natural results.

If I'm trying to decide what keywords to focus an article on I'll often use that tool to see which one is best. You want to find the right combination of demand and supply. You don't want keywords that are too popular because the competition will be thick but at the same time you don't want to focus on keywords no one is searching for.

Rob · #3 (**permalink**) 01-30-2008, 03:47 PM

Keywords are just phrases that you want or perhaps just happen to rank high in the search engines. Back in 1999 adding keywords and a description for your meta tags or just making articles on your desired keywords.

A lot of people took advantage of keywords by adding them in artificially into there pages improving there SEO (search engine optimization) but I'm sure you have heard already search engines are becoming increasingly cleverer. And they are killing SEO and it is no longer effective.

mahlon84 · #4 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 12:03 AM

Thanks for the response guys!

So how do i use them? i mean where do they come in? Do i put them in the domain name? Or do i put them in the content of the website?

lisa · #5 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 12:12 AM

Actually both but your content is way more important than the domain. The idea is to choose a main keyword phrase you'd like to target and build as much content around that phrase (and related phrases) as possible.

This takes time and you won't see traffic immediately but the more useful your site is to your target audience, the better.

First I would decide what interests you. Then I'd do some research on some keywords related to that subject to see what and how people are searching for that subject.

Go to www.selfpromotion.com to learn more about how search engines rank sites. It's a good overview.

mahlon84 · #6 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 12:31 AM

And is the aim of adsense to choose a theme that has less competition. For example i thought of two sites. One was about kids and the other one was about dreams. Now the dreams site is gives people useful information on how they can accomplish they dreams and become successful in their careers. Are these good themes? Because i don't believe that anyone has made a site on dreams, who knows i could be wrong? The only problem is i don't know whether i will find the right ads for them.

lisa · #7 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 11:07 AM

Almost any theme is good if you have distinct plan for your site and know who you want to target. Are you really passionate about these topics and do you have a lot to say about them? If so, there's likely an audience that you can attract who will also be interested in your information.

Also, if you choose a theme with less competition, theoretically it may be easier to generate traffic from the search engines. But of course you don't want it to be too obscure or they'll be no one searching for your keywords.

Now the other piece of that puzzle is how much will the ads pay out. There's no way for you to know this until you experiment and start getting traffic to your site. Google doesn't disclose how much you earn with the ads but I wonder how much ads on dream interpretation would pay out? I have no idea.

That's why it's important to diversify your income stream. Don't only look at AdSense but look for other affiliate programs you can add to your site. AdSense is a great income generator for me, but I also have 7-8 others. You definitely want to diversify.

What other products and services would your audience be interested in if you chose that topic?

I honestly don't think you should worry so much about how much a certain ad is going to pay. If you really take the time to build a good site on a specific topic there will always be ways to monetize your content if you generate enough traffic. Focus on getting your specific ideas down. I guarantee making money won't be an issue if you really sit and learn more about Internet marketing.

Read and download http://mycps.sitesell.com You don't have to buy SBI! (as the book promotes) but at least read the information and learn how information sites work with affiliate marketing. That's key. I think this will answer many of the questions you have.

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