Ranking in the SERPs - Part 1 - Keyword Selection

Erik Karey Aug 7th, 2007 21 Comments

Ranking Cartoon Search engine optimization (SEO) is a huge field right now and ranking high for specific keywords is becoming ever harder. But select the right keywords, implement the right techniques, and do a bit of work and it’s possible to reach the first page of the search engine results pages (SERPs).

As I discussed earlier this week, I am in a battle to rank this blog for the keyword ‘Internet Entrepreneur’. And as I write this article I see that I currently show up as the #7 result for the keyword in Google. This is actually the highest position I’ve ever held and 5 positions up from where I was when I wrote my initial article on SERPs. Many of you commented on that article asking for more information regarding SERPs and techniques for ranking high. Ask and you shall receive!

Selecting the Right Keywords
Selecting the proper keywords to use for your site is one of the most important steps to gaining a high rank in the SERPs. You need to select a keyword that is not only relevant to your content, but also one that has a small amount of competition with a decent search volume. Spending your time and doing your research at this point in the game is crucial. I’ve outlined a bit of the keyword selection process in these two articles:

Keyword Research Part 1
Keyword Research Part 2

Beyond what you read there, there are a few more important factors to look at when selecting the proper keyword. First pay attention to search volume. A keyword with little competition does you no good if it only is searched for 25 times a month. My suggestion here, go to SEO Book’s Keyword Suggestion Tool and enter a general keyword that relates to your site. The tool will then spit out a plethora of different related keywords along with the monthly search volumes. Make a list of the keywords with search volumes in the 1000’s. Then repeat this for a number of different keywords that relate to your site.

Now that you have a list of keywords with decent search volumes, you need to decide whether or not there is room for competition. Do this by searching for the keyword in Google. Look at the number of results returned for the keyword and also look at the quality of pages returned. The lower the results returned the less competition. But even if millions of pages are returned, it doesn’t mean you’re out of the game. Have a look at what types of pages are in the top results.

Take for example searching for ‘Internet Entrepreneur’. When you look at the results, you see that there are a whopping 20,900,000 results returned; that sounds like a lot of competition. But upon further inspection you will see that many of the pages don’t even have ‘Internet Entrepreneur’ in their page titles and even more aren’t even index pages, they are secondary pages. Because of this, I thought there was room for competition and made my decision to go forward with the keyword.

Hopefully at this point you feel confident with selecting a proper keyword. In the next installment, I will discuss the various techniques used to rank for your chosen keyword. If you have any questions feel free to contact me or leave a comment.

Good Luck!

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21 Comments

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1 Search Engine Rank » Search Engine Rank August 7, 2007 1:07 pm August 7, 2007

[...] Ranking in the SERPs - Part 1 - Keyword Selection Search engine optimization (SEO) is a huge field right now and ranking high for specific keywords is becoming ever harder. But select the right keywords, implement the right techniques, and do a bit of work and it?s possible to reach … [...]
2

shaun August 7, 2007

it seems that it’s all about keywords, how much traffic do you get for the phrase internet entrepreneur?
3

Erik Karey August 7, 2007

keywords are very important, but once you have them picked out so are the techniques to get your ranking high. I’ll be discussing that in the coming days.

Last month I received about 2% of the overall search traffic for the keyword as I spent most of the month half way down the second page. However I expect this month to be much better as long as I can stay on the first page.
4

Verne August 8, 2007

Great tips and good luck in your race to the top!

My blog is just one month young so SERP traffic hasn’t been my priority - thus far, that is. Optimizing my site is a continuous process, and I’ll be sure to reference your guide when I start looking more at SERP ranking.
5 Ranking in the SERPs - Part 1 - Keyword Selection by Erik Karey … | SEO Manager’s Weekly August 10, 2007

[...] Ranking in the SERPs - Part 1 - Keyword Selection by Erik Karey …Keyword Selection: Most Overlooked Element of SEO Success Part 1. [...]
6

Erik Karey August 10, 2007

SERPs have never been my priority either, but I make a little time here and there to improve my ranking. Good luck Verne!
7 Friday’s Finds — 08/10/2007 | Derrich.com - crude, yet refined August 10, 2007

[...] Erik Karey focuses on aligning his blog, with the term Internet Entrepreneur in his post about proper keyword selection. Frankly, I’m happy to be #1 when seraching for [...]
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9 ProBlogger Release 95 More Informative Links | Blogging "How To" Lists and More August 12, 2007

[...] Ranking in the SERPs - Part 1 - Keyword Selection by Erik Karey [...]
10 Behold the Expertise of the ProBlogger Community - 95 Reader Tips : Opportunities for Life August 12, 2007

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11 Impromptu Vacation by Erik Karey: Internet Entrepreneur August 13, 2007

[...] Ranking in the SERPs - Part 1 - Keyword Selection Ranking in the SERPs - Part 2 - Influential Factors [...]
12

Michael from Pro Blog Design August 13, 2007

Thanks for the link to the tool. Very useful. It’s always difficult knowing which keywords to go after.
13 Behold the Expertise of the ProBlogger Community - 95 Reader Tips at Money Making August 15, 2007

[...] Ranking in the SERPs - Part 1 - Keyword Selection by Erik Karey [...]
14 How to Start a Web Directory to Make Money on the Internet - Part 2 at Money Making August 15, 2007

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15 Ranking in the SERPs - Part 3 - Tips & Techniques by Erik Karey: Internet Entrepreneur August 15, 2007

[...] talked about deciding on which keywords to target in the SERPs and we’ve talked about influential factors in SERPs rankings. So what I’d like to do now is [...]
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17 SEO is Important! by Erik Karey: Internet Entrepreneur January 31, 2008

[...] Yesterday I was browsing the net and stumbled across an article and video blog on 45n5 entitled “The Best SEO Advice You Will Ever Hear” Mark, owner of 45n5, talks about how SEO isn’t worth your time and it’s the “Lazy person’s game”. Immediately, I felt this was kind of a BS argument. Being able to rank your website in the top 10 for any semi-competitive keyword is NOT a task the lazy. It’s hard work to do link building, on-page SEO and all the research necessary to target the right keywords. [...]
18

HellFace January 31, 2008

I’ve noticed that the keywords are more important than the PageRank, as my site (still PR 0) is listing better than others with higher PRs
19 SEO Aware » ProBlogger Releases 95 More Informative Links | Blogging “How To” Lists and More May 23, 2008

[...] Ranking in the SERPs - Part 1 - Keyword Selection by Erik Karey [...]
20

PlanetaJob August 6, 2008

Просто превосходно!
21

свадебные платья беременные September 8, 2008

Is it Simply exceed!