Key Words - They Will Find You On The Web
By Ken McKay, Fri Dec 9th

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Key words are what people give a search engine to find whatthey are looking for on the web. You can define your key wordsbefore you even start your website.

Say there are a lot of competing web pages mentioning yourproduct - how should a search engine put these pages in order ofrelevance to a search?

Say some pages contained the word once, and some contained theword ten times, and some contained the word between two and ninetimes.

If all other factors (e.g. number of links from other web pages)were equal, search engines would list those pages containing theword ten times first, followed by those with the wordnine times, then eight times, etc., and then those pagescontaining the word only once listed last.

Let's build up a list of search words for one product. Taketents for an example.

What words describe it?

Here are four words - tent, marquee, marquise, bivouac.

What are its uses?

Camping equipment, holidays, vacations, parties, functions,weddings.

What material is it made from?

Canvas, etc.

What is your brand name?

People may have heard of your brand and may look for it by name.Let's say it's brand name is "Dingo."

Where is it available?

Some products you may sell worldwide, but possible deliverycosts could be limiting. People may search for the product intheir own area first. In that case your state, your nearestcity, and your suburb are required key words. Say your area isPenrith. Your customers may search for Penrith, Sydney, NSW orAustralia, particularly if they live outside the city or suburb.

Key Words so far are 24:

Tent, tents, marquee, marquees, marquise, bivouac, campingequipment, holiday, holidays, vacation, vacations, party,parties, function, functions, wedding, weddings, canvas, Dingo,Penrith, Sydney, NSW, Australia. (Include singular and plural,where possible.)

Where should these appear on your web page?

Title tag

This is the most important tag which displays at the very top ofyour browser. Use every key word here. But words here need to beseen

also on the web page.

Keywords tag

This is now largely ignored by search engines.

Description tag

Same as above.

Heading tags

Instead of "Welcome to Dingo Inc." say "Dingo Tents and Marquees"

Links to inside pages

Instead of "Products" say "Tents" and "Marquees"

Instead of "About Us" say "About Dingo Tents"

Body text

This is where you can be creative. Mix the key words intophrases and sentences. See how many ways there are to describethe products, their use, and where they are.

Examples of Key Words embedded in text:

Pole tents, frame tents, canvas tents, vinyl tents, play tents,event tents, party tents, wedding tents, tents, stalltents, large tents, small tents, tent accessories are all atDingo Tents. Holiday under canvas with a Dingo tent or marquee.Dingo has equipment for your next vacation. Dingo tentsand marquees are in all sizes. See inside for tent sizes. Alarge Dingo marquee ensures nothing will dampen your wedding,party, or outside function. Dingo tents and marquees are nearyou if you live in Penrith or Sydney, NSW Australia. Dingo tentscan be delivered anywhere in NSW, Australia.

See how in just the hundred words above it's possible to mentiontent(s) twenty times. Provided the key words are embedded in alot of text, and not repetitive, like "tents, tents, tents,"they will count for you. When the text of the whole page withcontact details, etc., is considered the proportion of key wordsto total words will be lower and acceptable. The font can besmall but is not allowed to be invisible. Search engines haveformulas for discerning where text is the same color as itsbackground.

Search for competing websites and see how many key words theyhave fitted into their home page. Then try for more key words onyour page.

Do all this before you start your own website. We are oftenasked to redesign someone else's website, after they realizetheir work of art is not appreciated by search engines. Startout to be friendly to search engines.

About the author:Ken McKay has designed commercial websites since 1999. Moreinformation on web design is available at platypus websites - www.platywebs.com.au