How many of you make a concerted effort to ensure that you have the right keywords in each of your articles? I’m not even referring to keyword stuffing in your content, metatags, titles, headings, and so forth. I’m talking about just using the right keywords when appropriate, using good anchor text (inbound links and deep links), and perhaps even using a plugin like All-in-one SEO or Platinum SEO.
Almost everyone who makes an effort to do just a little SEO research realizes that keywords cannot be completely ignored. I don’t worry about keyword density (you probably shouldn’t either!) but I do make sure that I use relevant words and phrases within the proper context. Much of this happens organically but if you’re not used to writing, using keywords when appropriate might not come naturally to you.
Short history of keyword usage
Back in the day, say circa 1995, you could actually target “handbags”. In the process, you’ll include other keywords in your article like “pocketbooks” and “purses” and you can get away with it since it was internet infancy.
So by 2000, people realized that those terms were too broad and it made more sense to use keywords for your specific niche. You could use more targeted keywords that was relevant to your geography like “handbags in new york” or those that are relevant to your products like “coach purses” or “fendi bags”.
But then even niches became ultra-competitive. It got so crazy that about five years later, around 2005, sub-niches were all the rage. That’s when niches got so over-crowded that people were using things like “imitation coach purses” and “real fendi bags” (BTW, you couldn’t use “genuine” because people can’t spell it!).
Today, if you do some of those sub-niche searches, you’ll find that even they return hundreds of thousands of results! So what can you do? This is where sub-keywords come into play.
Using sub-keywords is easy as pie
I have to wonder why new sites today even bother with keywords like “handbags”. Obviously it has a lot to do with ignorance but it seems that many of us have big egos and we think we can actually get on the first page of Google for “pocketbooks” by sheer dumb luck and a little bit of effort.
Well, the good news is that it’s never too late to update your keywords or at least start writing content that uses sub-keywords. Let me give you a few common ones:
- How to
- Tips
- Help
- Free shipping
- Buy
Essentially, you’re just using generic add-on words to enhance the types of searches that potential visitors might use.
Bear in mind that many of these are already near saturation but if you’re looking for a keyword edge and don’t want to deviate too much from what you’re already positioning your site for, then adding some of these would make total sense. Something like “coach pocketbooks free shipping” or “how to spot fake handbags” could shoot you right up the search results pages pretty fast. Just make sure that when you lace your articles with these sub-keywords and phrases that they are actually relevant to the rest of your content.
What sub-keywords can you come up with that could help your site?