What Are Keywords?

1st May 2009

Imagine, for a moment, that you were the Google search engine. How would you differentiate between the zillions of websites? Simple. You would search for appropriate keywords and then assess the relevance of that keyword or keyword phrase relative to any other word on the web page. And in the blink of an eye, this is precisely what Google does.

Of course, this applies to most other search engines. And if you’re using Google or another search engine using specific phrases or keywords, then your set of keywords can be said to represent a market niche. Someone searching within this market niche would expect to find the product or service that they’re looking for.

Be aware, however, that a keyword does not necessarily indicate a ‘single’ word. In fact, entering just one word into your search engine will probably elicit a frenzied response. Say, for example you were interested in website design services. You type in the word ‘design’ and you’re suddenly confronted with more options than you bargained for, such as:

• Interior design;
• Housing design;
• Industrial design;
• Software design;
• Graphic design; and
• Machine design.

The word ‘design’ as a keyword is too broad and will fail to define a valuable market niche. Type in the keyword ‘website design’, however, and you’ll be right on target.

What is the market niche aimed for?

When searching on the net, it’s crucial to be as specific as possible. Whilst you may think that the keyword ‘website design’ may bring up the desired results, you need to specify whether you’re searching for ‘website design services’ or a ‘website design company’. Each of these represents a very small and highly targeted market. By looking to see which of these are searched for more often, you can establish just how much competition there is for each of these focused markets.