A keyword is a word or phrase the describes an item. Keywords are used by search engines to create an index of webpage content. When you conduct a search using a search engine such as Google, your search query is compared to Google’s index and you’re presented with a list of webpages that match your query. Because search engines use your keywords to index your item pages, selecting appropriate keywords for your items should be your most important consideration as you write your item titles, descriptions and tags. There are three important factors that determine good keyword selection: buyer intent, search volume and keyword competition. Of these three factors, buyer intent is absolutely the most important.
Buyer intent refers to those words and phrases that someone shopping for your item will use when conducting a search. You need to figuratively ‘get inside the head’ of your target audience when selecting keywords for an item. For example, Jane is shopping for a gift for her 50 year old aunt who loves jewelry, especially bracelets, the color purple, and flowers. What keywords will Jane most likely use when conducting an online search for a gift for her aunt that will lead her to that gorgeous amethyst bracelet with a sterling silver flower-shaped toggle clasp that you just listed in your Zibbet shop? Jane will most likely search for ‘purple bracelet’, ‘purple flower bracelet’, ‘purple jewelry’. Are these keyword phrases included somewhere in your item’s title, description and tags? If ‘amethyst’ is the only reference to the color purple that you use, Jane will have a difficult time finding that perfect bracelet in your shop.
Focusing on buyer intent alone isn’t the only factor involved in selecting good keywords. Come back next week for another SEO Quick Tip on keyword selection.
Best wishes for much success on Zibbet!
For links to more articles about SEO, take a look at Success on Zibbet Article Index 2008-2011: Search Engine Optimization ~ SEO.
Vicki is committed to assisting her fellow Zibbeters improve their shops for successful online selling. She is the owner of five Zibbet shops: LOC Design Studio, Denim and Pearls, A Stitch and a Prayer, Black Creek Crossing and Think Like a Fish. You can follow Vicki on Twitter and through her LOC Design Studio blog.
Tags: Buyer Intent, Keyword Competition, Keywords, search, Search Engine Optimization, Search Volume, SEO, SEO Quick Tip
