A common mistake when starting out is to target broad, overly general keywords that have prohibitively high competition. Don't.

People who are looking to buy target 'long tail' keywords. (If you haven't already, make sure you watch the video below... twice.) Broad keywords have high volume, but very high competition, especially for small businesses. The sweet spot is for keywords that your potential customers will be entering in to a search engine to 'search' for a product or service.

Here are a few examples of good and bad keyword selection for a local retail brick and mortar business.

Bad: medical spa
Good: smartlipo New Haven CT

Bad: breast augmentation
Good: breast augmentation 84060

Bad: laser clinic
Good: laser hair removal Chicago

Bad: SEO
Good: DIY SEO software

Watch this 5 minute introduction to SEO + SEM.

Keyword research is something of an art as well as a science. While keyword research is not included in Frontdesk accounts, we do offer it as a paid service. For most businesses this is not necessary but it's very useful for businesses that don't have clear 'buying' keywords.

Last updated on March 14, 2011 by Frontdesk SEO