For as long as Google and the other search engines have existed, the basis for how they produce results for each search is keywords. Whether a single word, two words or a complete phrase, we will refer to them all as ‘keywords”. These keywords are used to marry up the search being made by the person entering it and the website pages throughout the internet that Google deems to be the most relevant for them.

What this has resulted in is a huge effort by website owners, SEO experts and online marketing agencies to ensure that every website page is optimised for specific keywords so that when a search is entered, Google is aware that this page should be considered as relevant.

The process by which this is achieved has many elements to it, and unless each one is followed the chances of Google’s algorithm calculating that a page should be ranked on page 1 is extremely small. So, the question that follows is what can you do to make your keyword selection the best it can be? Well, here are three actions that form the basis for that being achieved.

Research Keywords Effectively

Above any other action, you can take, researching for keywords effectively will produce the best results. The irony of those who fail to do this is that all the information they need is available to them. Apart from Google’s keyword planner tool, numerous other keyword research tools can help you identify which keywords are the ones you should be optimising for.

This research will help you avoid those that will simply be too difficult to compete for or get next to no traffic whilst at the same time identifying keywords that are less competitive, but which attract a reasonable level of search volume and traffic. If you are unsure where to start, you can employ a local SEO agency that will have keyword research as one of its primary services.

Focus On Longtail Keywords

One of the biggest mistakes website owners make is they try to target one and two-word keywords because these are the ones that garner the most traffic. The trouble with that thinking is that these are the keywords that every other website owner is targeting and in that pond, only the biggest fish are going to thrive.

However, there are hundreds of longtail keywords that may have four, five, or more words that everyone else is ignoring but which still generate traffic. Cumulatively, if you optimise for lots of longtail keywords you can generate lots of traffic which your competition is ignoring in the pursuit of difficult keywords.

Use Synonyms

Remaining with the subject of alternatives to the high competition keywords another way to go under the radar is to use synonyms. Synonyms are words and phrases that mean more or less the same as other words and phrases. For example, the phrase “make up tips for teenagers” is similar to “make up advice for teens”. Another example is “how to train poodle dogs” which means the same as “dog training for poodles”.

In each case what the person is searching for is the same but what they have entered in the search box is different. You can take advantage of this by taking your main keywords and thinking of alternative words and phrases that mean the same. By optimising for multiple versions of the same keywords you increase the number of opportunities you have to rank for them.