Keyword Analysis - The First Step in SEO

There is a lot of confusion about just what search optimization (SEO) is. There are a number of steps involved, but the first and most important step is to do a keyword analysis to figure out what key words people use when they search for a product or service via one of the search engines like Google or Yahoo.

Here are the basic steps for a keyword analysis:
1) Take a look at your client’s key messages, and jot down the words and phrases that stand out.
2) Go to http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-playground.php
3) Enter your keywords and or phrases and copy the results for searches per month containing the keyword phrase(s) into an excel spreadsheet. One column is for the search term and the other column is for search volume.
4) Go to http://google.com and enter each keyword phrase one at a time. Just above the search results on the right hand side on Google is a line with results 1-10 of about NUMBER for each keyword phrase.
5) Enter the value of this number in the third column (heading of Competition) for each of your keyword phrases. Repeat for all the keyword phrases you can think of. Then sort your spreadsheet under search volume column in descending order.
6) Now look for applicable keyword phrases that have high search volume and low number of competition...these are the keyword phrases you will want to use--the PRIME keyword phrases.

Use your keywords in press releases, online articles, and link to your website with links that use your keywords. All of this will help your website's rankings in the organic listings of the search engines so people can find your site when the use the same keywords.