Google wants more relevant, search engine friendly content on websites, Udi Manber VP of Search Quality for Google clearly stated last week.

Glenn Derene of Popular Mechanics posed this question, “Do you find that the content on the Web is evolving to be more search-engine friendly?”

This was Manber’s answer, “It’s hard to say. It’s definitely still lacking. I wish people would put more effort into thinking about how other people will find them and putting the right keywords onto their pages.”

The benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are lauded in this statement. Properly selected keyword phrases, well-written content and web pages focused on specific topics assist the dominant search engine in indexing websites and providing salient SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

Google recognizes they need SEOs like politicians need journalists. Optimized websites ensure Google is serving up relevant, quality results. Their reputation is based on the information they provide and SEOs help website’s define their message, products and services.

This statement may be one small step for Google and one giant leap for SEO-kind. It validates the need for websites to optimize. The admission also demonstrates the search engine is aware of the product they need to provide in order to remain relevant themselves. SEOs make Google look good.

Keyword Research Theory

Keyword research serves as the foundation for any SEO campaign. The Keywords and keyword phrases found in that research are used to target highly specific visitors who will be interested in your website. If the research is conducted incorrectly, or does not have the global objective in mind, the outcome of the SEO campaign can be affected negatively due to poorly qualified traffic that is not interested in what the site has to offer.

What Are Keywords?

Generally speaking, a keyword is any term or phrase that can be associated with your website. However, there are often terms that relate to your website but may not be valuable because the user searching for such a keyword does not find your site of value to him or her.

For example, a custom motorcycle builder has a website that advertises “Custom Choppers”, an obvious keyword such as “choppers” would not be as highly valued as a more specific keyword phrase. The term “choppers” can be associated with many sectors other than motorcycles. For instance, a website about helicopters, wood chippers, salad choppers, etc. can also be associated with that term.

This idea introduces the long-tail and short-tail theories of keyword research.

Short-Tail vs. Long-Tail

A short-tail keyword is a term that gives a broad and general sense of what the website is about but is also loosely related. In the example above, “motorcycles” or “choppers” would be considered a short-tail keyword. These two keywords can have hundreds of uses that don’t always relate to the targeted audience.

A long-tail keyword is a term that gives a specific description of what will be found on the website and is directly related to the sites content. Using the same example, “handmade custom V-twin choppers” would be a long-tail keyword. This term is very specific as to what the site is oriented towards and therefore when the “Custom Choppers” website is returned as a search engine result to the user, the subject matter is more likely to be of interest to them.

Now that we know the different types of keywords, how do we know what combinations of either are most valued?

Researching & Selecting Keywords

Submitawebsite uses a number of online tools in generating and selecting valuable keywords. With keyword generating programs we are able to scour the Google database for the most searched and relevant keywords to any given industry. The data returned by the keyword program displays several valuable metrics used in deciding what keywords will send qualified traffic to the website.

The two most important metrics used in the selection of keywords are search volume and advertiser competition.

Search volume relates to the number of searches that a given keyword receives on average. A higher search volume indicates that the term is popular amongst search engine users and is therefore a valuable term. However, in selecting terms with high search volume, the logic of relevance must be used to sort out ambiguous keywords such as the aforementioned “choppers”.

Advertiser competition relates to the popularity of a term in the paid search category. A keyword that returns a high advertiser competition indicates that this keyword is heavily bid upon in the paid search network. By this we can deduct that this keyword is a valuable and tested term by competitors that returns quality traffic interested in the sites content.

Conclusion

Keyword research and generation is a process in which search engine trends and user tendencies are observed to capture the largest audience. However, a large audience is not valuable unless they are interested in what the website has to offer. In conjunction with Submitawebsite’s years of top SEO experience, we use a process of reason and logic to ensure the selection of relevant and valuable keywords for your SEO campaign.

I am new to SEO.

I hail from the brick and mortar homebuilding industry where “brick and mortar” not only applied to the business, but to its advertising. 25k newspaper ads were a regular occurrence and chopping down a forest to send flyers was the status quo.

After two years in this economically foundational industry, I left with a solid understanding of off-line advertising and marketing.

Enter Submitawebsite.

I am two months in and the experience has been illuminating. While I knew about pay-per-click campaigns, organic rankings and analytics, my comprehension was rudimentary at best. I was used to making investments in one-time ad placements and short-lived marketing campaigns, not investing in evolving strategies.

Now don’t get me wrong…

Off-line marketing and advertising is important, but without the support of online tactics it is as useless as “trying to pick a lock with a wet herring*” (*reference Shakespeare in Love).

Think “peas and carrots,” “peanut butter and jelly”, “rum and coke….” I think you catch my drift.

I was inspired by a blog post written by SEOmoz’s Jane Copland (click here for more). Copland discusses an entertaining ad she saw on a city bus. When she reached her office she could not remember the url and instead searched for the ad content on the web. Her efforts were in vain. There was no marriage between off-line and online marketing. Therefore, she found no results until she rode the bus again and memorized the url.

This allegory relates an important truth. People tend to search online for products or services they see advertised in more traditional arenas i.e. television, print or billboard. The key to these offline mediums lies in their online application. There is no doubt a business will see the effects in their bottom line if a person reaches a dead-end when searching for their merchandise on the web. I concede there are exceptions to the rules, but keeping your offline ad’s keywords and phrases prominent on your website is a must.

It is also essential to consider price. I am not saying SEO is not expensive, but if you are going to spend 25k on one-time ad placement why would you hesitate to invest 25k in an SEO strategy? Similarly, if you are going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a product launch or grand opening, why not include SEO in that budget?

I hate to say it “brick and mortar” advertisers; there is a new reality. I used to be one of you, but I have been converted. Harness the Internet’s untapped potential (or at least tug at it). Don’t tack-on online strategies as an after thought. Incorporate them from the beginning. Let them feed and nurture your glossy magazine ads, entertaining bus wraps and witty commercials. I promise you will sleep better and enjoy your work more as you see the traffic and conversions start rolling in.

I chat daily with people visiting our website. Whether they currently have a Search Engine Optimization strategy or want to begin one, the first question is always the same: Cost.

Cost is at the forefront of many decisions we make in life from the groceries we buy for our dinner to the advertisements we buy to drive traffic. So it is no surprise that the innovators at Submitawebsite put themselves in your shoes. We came up with a streamlined program designed to guide you through the crucial, fundamental steps of SEO at a price that fits your budget.

Foundation and structure are essential. One supports while the other gives shape. If you think of building your search strategy like building a house, than SEOJumpstart is your concrete slab and frame. It lays the groundwork for your On-Page and Off-Page link building efforts. It also assembles your framework by building and optimizing your website’s content. Keywords, links, directory registration, BlogReviews and Press Releases are the building materials.

If you are launching your SEO efforts, SEOJumpstart is a blueprint containing key building blocks. If you have invested in SEO before, but have been unsuccessful, SEOJumpstart will rebuild your strategy with fundamental optimization activities.

So, if you haven’t guessed it by now, I used to work in the homebuilding industry. That may seem like a far cry from internet marketing, but building SEO is no different. Every project needs to be rooted by substance or else it is doomed to come crashing down. Submitawebsite has bundled the substance you need for successful SEO in an affordable package. And it starts at $1,500- flat.

Ranking #1 on Google may seem like the proverbial Holy Grail, but it is only half the battle. Stellar rankings are irrelevant if they do not provide ROI. The goal is to interpret what keywords not only rank well, but drive quality traffic. This can only be accomplished by applying analytics to your rankings data.

Now we understand the word “analytics” can conjure up visions of pie charts, statistical labyrinths and dizzying mathematical patterns–but have no fear. We are here to supply a crash course in interpreting analytics.

First of all, there are a variety of analytics programs available that provide similar, or almost identical data sets (Google Analytics is a popular choice). The most notable differentiation being the amount of time spent to make the programs’ buttons and chart colors more eye popping than the next guy. These tools, in combination with tracking keyword ranking improvements, provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of hours and hours of hard work.

Essentially, there are 3 levels of analysis. Each level provides more detailed information. The goal is to identify which keywords are money makers and which keywords are all bark and no bite. For example, there may be a term that has mediocre rankings, but converts more traffic while a high performing term drives traffic to the site and falls short on conversion. If a keyword ranks on the first page of search engines, but does not lead to converted traffic, optimization efforts might be better spent elsewhere.

Level 1:
Begin the process by identifying well-ranking terms and cross-reference them with your analytics data. The analytics tool will show valuable information about these keywords such as average time on the site, percentage of new visitors, number of pages visited and bounce rate. See below for definitions:
Visits= the number of visitors a keyword has driven to the website
Pages per Visit= the number of pages viewed during each visit
Average Time on Site= the minutes a visitor spends navigating the website
Percentage of new Visits= the percent of visitors viewing the site for the first time
Bounce Rate= the percentage of visitors that leave the site from the landing page they
arrived on without visiting other pages.

Level 2:
The next step is determining whether these keywords are sending quality traffic by cross referencing them with the analytics. This will identify the behavior associated with them. Positive feedback will likely show the keyword averages two or more pages viewed per visit and a 50% or less Bounce Rate.

This research shows what keywords result in quality traffic i.e. traffic that is likely to purchase or fulfill whatever task it is that you are trying to achieve. It may also highlight keywords that perform well in spite of poor rankings in the SERPs. When keywords like this are discovered it presents the opportunity for refining optimization. When it is revealed big first page terms are not converting a site’s traffic (because they have bounce rates that look like the 2007 New England Patriots win percentage) pull some resources (i.e. links) away from them and place the emphasis on the 2nd and 3rd page terms that send just as much conversion traffic with only a fraction of the visitors.

Level 3:
The highest level of analysis is accomplished with Goal/Conversion Tracking. The process isolates the keywords that result in completed transactions. For example, most websites have forms that need to be completed and submitted to either complete a purchase or receive information (websites with shopping carts or request a quote functions are good examples). After a form is completed, a “Thank you for….” page pops up. Keywords that lead to “Thank you for…..” pages denote a purchase or submission. Focus search engine optimization efforts on these keywords to further increase profits.

There are other helpful areas above and beyond the three basic levels. These include Funnels and the Overview or Dashboard view of the website’s traffic.

Funnels:
This strategy is used with Goal/Conversion Tracking and focuses on the pages within a website’s submission structure. Let’s say a registration or purchase form has five pages. Sometimes visitors will abandon the form in the midst of completion. Usually there is a pattern. Tracking can be set up to include all pages before conversion so the point of abandonment can be determined. This insightful information can be used to filter out any offensive, personal or invasive questions to encourage the completion of the purchase or submission.

Overview or Dashboard view of the website’s traffic:
This timeline highlights spikes in traffic and determines popular seasons. These seasons often present good opportunities for focused SEO efforts. If a business sells winter boots it will likely see a significant spike in traffic in the month December. Therefore, December would be a good target for increased marketing campaigns.

In a nut shell, converting traffic to profit means successful investment in search engine optimization. Traffic comes from the keywords associated with the product or website. Analytics highlight the patterns and relationships between keywords and buying behavior. Take rankings one step further and turn those first page placements into first rate ROI.

The newly unveiled Google “Knol” (derived from knowledge) tool is certainly a hot button topic. Industry experts, bloggers and everyone in between have been responding rapid fire since the soft announcement on December 13, 2007. Google created Knol, an unofficial hybrid of Wikipedia and Squidoo, to encourage authoritative authorship on the web. Users will create pages that provide a thorough overview of a topic. Ads may also be implemented. Google emphasizes the author will add to the significance of an article. For more information click here.

Knol pages will rank organically and feed Google’s AdSense model. This issue is complicated by the fact the only ad structure supported by Knol is, you guessed it, AdSense. It seems as if this double dipping may lead to Google dominated SERP’s.

So the real question is; does this present a conflict of interest? Examples of similar instances are readily available such as Microsoft packaging Internet Explorer as the default web browser or Apple packaging Safari. In the instance of Knol, Google is “providing” an ad service for the tool. The difference? At this time there is no alternative ad platform. Knol users wishing to include an ad in their page will share revenue. Result? Google will have an even more captive audience.

As it stands now, Knol is in test-mode and we have yet to see the final version. In light of this, the implementation of AdSense as the only supported ad model is still not finalized. However, this glimpse behind the curtain has fueled skepticism of Google’s practices in relationship to their ranking system. Only time will tell, but I would keep an eye on Google around the chips and dip.