In the past I’ve written about the importance of organic optimization or theming your web pages for good search engine rankings.

Theming starts with your choice in keywords, then optimizing the text to support those keywords.

Next we apply a proper keyword analysis to our keyword selection.

There is a concept of Informational Keywords (usually single words), which are usually the keywords used when starting the search process.

There are also those phrases referred to as Buy Keywords. These are phrases used when the person searching is ready to act, by inquiring about your product, or making a sale. This action is also called Conversion.

In both situations above, the assumption is the chosen keywords are driving traffic to your website.

The third concept belongs to those keywords that are Duds, Thuds, or black holes.  These keywords provide little if any traffic to your website. To have a decent conversion rate on your website (the actionable process), you need traffic.

This is why Keyword Analysis is the Backbone of Optimization.  Optimizing your web page to a keyword or keyword phrase which draws little traffic to your website is a waste of your valuable resources.

Keyword Analysis brings several components to the table during the optimization process. They are, Commercial Value, Competition Level, and  Traffic Level.

The commercial value of the keyword is an historical marker indicating an expected dollar value per sale.

The competition level indicates the number of websites having been optimized for the phrase. The competition level can range from a few websites to millions.

The traffic level references how many people are using this phrase in a search campaign. This can range from a high positive number to zero.  A level of zero means the keyword phrase could very well be a Dud, Thud, or black hole phrase.

Properly choosing a target keyword phrase becomes an art rather than a science. You know your product or service and the value placed on that product or service.

Be realistic when choosing a metric for the commercial value. Too high may hinder your efforts. Can you expect to make $10,000 per click?

Choosing a very low competition value may have the same effect as choosing a very high competition value keyword.

The same applies to the phrase traffic level. Too high may put you in competition with well optimized sites and provide poor rankings, while too low a value may give you a better ranking, and little traffic to your website.

It’s best to start with middle of the road values.

Once you have decided on your keyword phrases, set a range reflecting an acceptable commercial value of your product or service, determine the competition level you will be comfortable with, and set a target traffic level.

Finally, check your keyword phrases validating your phrases have values falling within your defined component ranges.

You may need to repeat this analysis several times until you have several related keyword phrases meeting the criteria.

Now choose the primary and secondary phrases and begin writing your supporting content. You are now on your way to optimizing your web page for good search result rankings.

John Lennon wrote the song Imagine, where he suggested we imagine such things as, no heaven, no countries, no possessions.That was years ago. This is today:

Imagine there’s no money
It isn’t hard to do
Lot’s of traffic daily
But no conversions boo hoo…

Unless your website is a hobby, chances are you would like to use it as a venue to sell your product or service. The only way to do that is to have a decent conversion rate.

Conversion Rate: The ratio of visits to action where someone buys something from you, joins your program, etc…

It has been said a conversion rate could be in the order of 3% to 20% on average. What is usually omitted is the process to reach your targeted audience with the right message. (more…)