Don’t be Afraid of Good Keywords

Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Thomas Urville.  Please read more about Thomas in the post footer.

Creating a website isn't easy.  First, you have to figure out how to get a domain name and hosting. Then, you need to learn a content management system.  Once you pick up some HTML and PHP, you'll eventually be the proud owner of your very own little slice of heaven on the web.

There's only one problem!

Content.

While we all know the mantra that content is king.  It doesn't do you much good unless you know how you're going to build quality pages that entertain readers, attract links, and pay you back for all your hard work.

Fortunately for new website owners, there are thousands of people clamoring for your attention. These people promise to teach you how to get to the top of the SERPs by targeting just the right keywords.

But wait a minute. Is this really fortunate, or is it a case of Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it?

Go For the Attractive Keywords

I want you to stop and think about keywords for a moment.

The ones you can easily rank for are not worth very much, either in terms of visitors and traffic or in terms of monetization value.

So why do you want to limit yourself to writing about unattractive keywords? Is it because the so-called experts teach that you should forgo the higher competition keywords until some unspecified time in the future?

Here's what you have to understand. These "experts" are targeting their message to the "make money fast" crowd. Lots of make-money-quick aspirants can't create compelling content.  That's because they're not skilled researchers and writers. And as beginners, they're not in the position to pay a fee to an experienced writer who will craft a great article for them.

If you can honestly say that your writing is high-quality, useful, and valuable, there is absolutely no reason why you should limit yourself to worthless, long-tail keywords that get 30 daily searches (if you're lucky).

Don't try to game the system by choosing keywords that nobody else wants. Instead, turn yourself into an authority and let everyone in your niche know you're the answer they've been looking for.

Create Valuable Content Using Good Keywords

Your website should hold value for your visitors. It should attract links from sincere webmasters who want to offer their readers additional value. And most of all, it should be something you can be proud of.  Here's how you do it:

1. Forget the long-tail trash keywords.
2. Choose a medium-difficulty keyword or key phrase. A few high-quality, relevant links will get you the rankings you want.
3. Spend time researching your target market thoroughly. Read forums in your niche, check out your competition, read books, and make yourself an expert. There is no shortcut to becoming an authority. You won't sound like an authority unless you use the same jargon and LSI phrases used by individuals in your target market.
4. Learn the problems that trouble these individuals.
5. Write a web page that is better than your top competition. Include everything that a searcher wants to find: pictures, video, links, and whatever else your market craves.
6. Finally, promote your page all over the web. Participate in related forums and link to your page whenever it will help someone. Email webmasters and ask them to add your page to their blogroll. And, most importantly, find out who is linking to your competition and get links from them too. If your content is superior, links will come in time.

Create a Site for the Long Haul

So there you have it: the way to build a website full of quality, valuable pages instead of high-ranking but worthless long-tail filler.

Yes, it takes a lot more work than a quick, 400-word keyword-stuffed trash article, but as the months (and years) go by, you'll watch your page rise in the rankings until it takes over the top spot from all the inferior pretenders that once held pride of place in the SERPs.

Tagged as: keywords, SEO techniques, web traffic