Keyword Selection Advice - In Regards to Backlinks

[colomedia1]

Hey all, I need some advice on keyword selection. currently I have three keywords selected, but an slowly realizing they are long term keywords and should maybe through some longer tail keywords in the mix. Can I get your guys' input please?

Main Keyword 1: Vinyl Lettering
Exact Match Monthly Searches: 8100
Broad Search Matches: 1.7m
Top 10: 3 domain age n/a, 6 have less than 200 page backlinks, 2 with less than 100 index pages

Main Keyword 1: Wall Stickers
Exact Match Monthly Searches: 33100
Broad Search Matches: 1.2m
Top 10: 3 domain age n/a, 3 have less than 1200 page backlinks, 1 with less than 500 index pages

Main Keyword 1: Wall Decals
Exact Match Monthly Searches: 40500
Broad Search Matches: 1.1m
Top 10: 3 domain age n/a, 5 have less than 300 page backlinks, 1 with less than 300 index pages

If the Market Samurai SEO Analysis for each would help more let me know and I will post them

So my question is to continue on these keywords, or start on a bunch of smaller ones with 4400 monthly searches.

[tronicscribe]

If you have already spent time optimizing your site for those 3 keywords, which I would consider to be short tail, then you should keep them. You can come up with 3 new long tail keyworks such as "Vinyl Lettering For Trucks" or whatever you come up with that looks to be a good fit. Then add those new key phrases to your optimization.

I don't think there is any need to throw out the current keywords you have, just add some new ones.

[compassout01]

When I read the SEO Bible, they suggest to try one keyword/strategy at a time, so that you can observe which one works the best for you. I personally don't think there's a universal best way to select keyword, different sites need different strategy.

[rahulbatra]

If you are working on your short term keywords then you should keep on doing that and make some new long tail keywords.

[colomedia1]

Thanks for your advice everyone! I wasn't going to abandon the ones that I have been currently working on altogether, I was curious if I should split my efforts. I think I am going to focus on one of the short tail keywords (vinyl lettering) as I seem to be having an effect on the SERPS with that one so far and the competition isnt so stiff, while I also throw in a few of the long tail keywords, maybe a 60 / 20 / 20 split.

One more question, when I start going for another keyword like "kids wall stickers" for instance, should I optimize a different page? Like lets say a kids section under my categories and try to get that category inside my page ranked?

Thanks again for all of your help.

[Howard_Aulsbrook]

Yes, you definitely want to optimize a page for each keyword in which you wish to rank. You should also add some related keywords, too. Your main keyword should have the greatest keyword density, but not to the point of keyword stuffing. About 1% - 3% density is normal. You should research your competition to see exactly what they are doing.

Using your example of "kids wall stickers" and taking a look at Google Wonder Wheel it provides these keywords:

kids wall stickers

kids wall murals
kids wall quotes
kids stickers wall decals
kids removable wall stickers
kids stickers vinyl wall
disney wall stickers
baby wall stickers
kids sports stickers

Looking at "Related searches" from Google yields these keywords:

1. kids stickers wall decals
2. kids removable wall stickers
3. kids stickers vinyl wall
4. kids sports wall stickers
5. kids wall stickers rooms

1. disney wall stickers
2. baby wall stickers
3. kids wall murals
4. kids wall quotes
5. kids wall words

I hope that helps,

Howard

[jhonsean]

As i observed everyone has the right to take advice and to be advised regarding keyword selection as compassout01 said different sites need different strategies and also it depends on the relevancy.

[Howard_Aulsbrook]

Originally Posted by jhonsean

As i observed everyone has the right to take advice and to be advised regarding keyword selection as compassout01 said different sites need different strategies and also it depends on the relevancy.

You are correct, which is why I stated, "You should research your competition to see exactly what they are doing."

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by colomedia1

Main Keyword 1: Vinyl Lettering
Exact Match Monthly Searches: 8100
Broad Search Matches: 1.7m
Top 10: 3 domain age n/a, 6 have less than 200 page backlinks, 2 with less than 100 index pages

I see low Pr pages in the top two. Number of backlinks is many times irrelevant. Need to check also if the anchor text is targeted for that term and how often. Unfortunately Google doesn't update PR for the public as often as we would like so check the PR of the pages the links are coming in from. Exact match domain so you know right off the bat one of the factors ranking them in number one.

Unless you have a spanking new domain then I wouldn't worry too much about age in that competition . It can be overcome if even a factor

[colomedia1]

My domain is less than one year old, It will turn one in January.

As far a researching the competition in regards to SEO What is the best way to go about it? I have been doing research on my main competitions backlinks and have been utilizing that fairly well.

Howard: So for example, I start optimizing a category for "kids wall stickers", I would also want to have some keyword density for any related keywords shown by google's wheel? I am relatively new to this, so I was a bit unsure as to how to accomplish that with out sounding overly keywordy.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by colomedia1

My domain is less than one year old, It will turn one in January.

then I wouldn't worry about age as a factor. Generally its only an issue 3 months or under. I've ranked sites under a year - no problem.

As far a researching the competition in regards to SEO What is the best way to go about it? I have been doing research on my main competitions backlinks and have been utilizing that fairly well.

sounds like you are doing a decent job. Just check the quality and relevance (anchor text) of the incoming links you are seeing. Dont overly focus on the quantity. I've seen serps where the links coming in are so weak that a pr2 link would knock out a lot of the advantage.

get your page optimized (in title, H1 tags etc) get the site indexed and put up a first round of backlinks and see where you settle in at. So often in ranking you never really know what its going to take until you see where your first round of promotion puts you. Then go from there. I'd probably do that with all the keywords if thats what you want to go after then from there you can decide what you want to really concentrate on.

I don't know what Howard will say but although related words can help I wouldn't get too focused on the wonder wheels stuff. I suppose thats Semantic stuff (LSI) he's talking about but although a lot of people tout that I don't see it very often being a major factor.

[colomedia1]

Originally Posted by Mike Anthony

then I wouldn't worry about age as a factor. Generally its only an issue 3 months or under. I've ranked sites under a year - no problem.


sounds like you are doing a decent job. Just check the quality and relevance (anchor text) of the incoming links you are seeing. Dont overly focus on the quantity. I've seen serps where the links coming in are so weak that a pr2 link would knock out a lot of the advantage.

get your page optimized (in title, H1 tags etc) get the site indexed and put up a first round of backlinks and see where you settle in at. So often in ranking you never really know what its going to take until you see where your first round of promotion puts you. Then go from there. I'd probably do that with all the keywords if thats what you want to go after then from there you can decide what you want to really concentrate on.

I don't know what Howard will say but although related words can help I wouldn't get too focused on the wonder wheels stuff. I suppose thats Semantic stuff (LSI) he's talking about but although a lot of people tout that I don't see it very often being a major factor.

Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it. I will focus on high PR backlinks and think I will do one main keyword for the homepage, and two longer tail keywords for two separate pages within my website.

One other thing, I know how to check and find out which keywords my competitors are buying, but how can I find which keywords my competitors are getting the highest serps or organic traffic from? Is there a tool to help with this?

[Howard_Aulsbrook]

Originally Posted by colomedia1

My domain is less than one year old, It will turn one in January.

As far a researching the competition in regards to SEO What is the best way to go about it? I have been doing research on my main competitions backlinks and have been utilizing that fairly well.

Howard: So for example, I start optimizing a category for "kids wall stickers", I would also want to have some keyword density for any related keywords shown by google's wheel? I am relatively new to this, so I was a bit unsure as to how to accomplish that with out sounding overly keywordy.

Mike provided some very good advice. When researching your competition, you want to look at domain age, page rank, and backlinks. Especially high authority backlinks (.gov,.edu, DMOZ Directory, Yahoo Directory). As Mike stated, it sounds as though you working on that.

You also want to look at on page elements that your competion is using, also. Such as using the keyword in the domain, Title, URL, description, and heading (H1, H2,H3, etc.). How are they using those elements and how are their pages laid out. Another words, look at the design and layout of their website, too.

Your domain name, title and heading tags are the most important factors that can influence your SERP ranking as far as on site SEO goes. The placement of your keyword in your content will also influence your ranking.

It has been tested and proven that Google likes longer quality content rather than shorter content, too. Your keyword density is another important element that can influence how you rank. Related terms help let the search engines get a better idea what the theme of your site or article is about. Be certain to Bold, Italize and Underline your keywords in the content as it is another influencial factor. Don't overly do it though. One each should be sufficiant.

Images and link structure will also impact your site. Use your keywords in the ALT Tags of your images to improve your on-page optimization.

You want to see how your competition is using these elements to not only see what the search engines like about their site or page, but also to see what they are not doing that can give you a leg up.

Actually, Google's Wonder Wheel is a good tool for providing ideas for categories and related terms. It let's you know what Google sees the keyword is about.