As a blogger, finding the right keywords to use in your blog posts is an important step in the process. This presentation helps you identify how to find the right keywords, how to make them work for you to get the results you want, and how to measure so you know what's working. Presented for Bloggy Conference 2012 by Allison Kulage of Bare Knuckle Marketing, Inc.

2.  Keywords are what people are searching for
 Keywords help you:
 Get more readers
 Get more fans
 Get more subscribers
 Increase revenue
 Understanding SEO (search engine optimization)
and how it affects your blog = gain new readers
 The right keywords will attract the right traffic

3. “Unfortunately, too many assume that SEO means
trying to trick search engines. It doesn’t. It simply
means building a site that’s friendly to them.”
–Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Land

4. When writing, find the balance between writing for
people and writing for the search engines (SEO)

5.  We must use keywords so
they understand what we
want to rank for
 Semantic themes help
engines understand the
concepts, and what you
should rank for
 But there’s a balance – don’t
spam, and keep the user
experience in mind.

6. How does the search engine know a Jaguar is a car
and not an animal, a football team, etc.?
 Themes
 Cars, Vehicles, Automobiles
 Supporting Themes
 Engine, Tires, Spark Plugs, Brake Pads
 Additional Targets
 Reviews, Sales, Prices, Specs

7.  To serve the needs of the user = Create Value
 To make search engines understand what we’re
about and what we want to rank for (keywords)
 To convert readers to leads/sales/subscribers
 To attract links that use our keywords
 To rank in the search engines for our keywords

8.  Avoid duplicate content (copyscape.com)
 Consider semantics
 Keywords should appear throughout various HTML
tags
 Consider USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

9.  Why do you deserve to rank?
 What makes you better than the competition?
 What makes you different / unique?
 What is your specialized knowledge?
 It attracts more targeted, specific searches
(chocolate candy vs. gourmet chocolate candy order
online)
Identify your USP
and talk about it
everywhere

10. How to define your USP
 List your key benefits
 What do your customers want, that they’re not
getting elsewhere?
 Be specific and prove it with case studies and
testimonials (sure you’re the best, but at what?)
 Be concise (graphics, short phrases)
 USP should be everywhere (in text, in photos, in
action)
 Keywords should be aligned with your USP

11.  Use keyword phrases that they use
 Use the right keywords
 Social Media: LinkedIn, YouTube
 Clear call to action
 Links to other valuable resources

12.  Google Keyword Research Tool
 Phrases, not single words: be specific
 The long tail effect
 Keywords can be an answer to a question or solution
to a problem
 Don’t forget your HTML Tags: Title, meta tags,
headline (H1), anchor text, alt attributes…

13.  Google Keyword Tool
 Bing Webmaster Tools
 Social Media
 search.twitter.com
(or just use the box at the
top)
 listen to your market
 watch the competition
 LinkedIn
 “Hints” from Google
 Google Analytics (what
are you already ranking
for)

14.  Google Insights
for Search
 Spot seasonal
trends
 Regional interest
 Identify increase
or loss of interest

15.  Throw out keywords that are too general
 Throw out keywords that are too competitive
 Google - allintitle:

16.  Know the value of
Long Tail Keywords
 Can bring 70% of
traffic!
 Convert better
 Easier to rank for

17. What do you do with the keywords you’ve identified?
 Identify new topics to write about
 Find products / services to review
 Find related sites to market to / guest blog for
 Address a regional audience
 Focus on seasonal topics

18.  Title Tag (different than your
Headline)
 Capture the search engine –
most important words in front
 Meta Description
 Appears in search results
 Keywords are bold
 Be compelling
 Under 165 characters
 Meta Keywords
 Ignored by major search engines
 …unless you spam
 Ok to put misspelled words here

19.  For news related blog posts, use the
News_keywords metatag:
<meta name="news_keywords" content="World
Cup, Brazil 2014, Spain vs Netherlands">
http://bit.ly/newskeywords for details

20.  Headline (Heading, H1 – capture the reader, but don’t forget
keywords)
 Content
 Focus and use your main keyword theme throughout
 In general, more than 300 words, but always consider your
audience first
 Bold keywords when it makes sense
 Use variations = semantics
 No magic formula for frequency or density
 Link Out
 To other content within site
 To other authority sites with relevant content
 Use keywords in anchor text

21.  Measure everything
 What keywords bring traffic?
 What keywords result in conversions?
 Are you getting traffic for the keywords you
expected?
 Are you getting traffic for keywords you didn’t
expect?

22. Filter Keywords
 Overview / Organic / Paid
 Excluding brand name – identify
theme based traffic
 Containing brand name – identify
brand recognition
 Containing root term

25.  Use the right keywords
 Write good keyword rich
content
 Attract new readers
 Measure everything so
you know what works!

26. Allison Kulage
allison@bareknucklestrategy.com
BareKnuckleStrategy.com
BareKnuckleStrategy.com/blog
facebook.com/BareKnuckleStrategy
Twitter @BareKnuckleMktg
linkedin.com/in/allisonkulage