Because keywords are used by search engines for indexing webpages, selecting appropriate keywords for your items should be your most important consideration when writing item titles, descriptions and tags. The three areas of most significance when selecting keywords are buyer intent, search volume and keyword competition. Search volume refers to the number of times a keyword is searched for during a given period of time. Keyword competition is a description of how many competing pages exist which are indexed for a particular keyword. Google’s Keyword Tool is an excellent place to research keywords. Although this tool was designed for use by Google AdWords advertisers, it can also be used to select keywords for your item titles, descriptions and tags.
Google’s Keyword Tool will provide both search volume and keyword competition data to help you decide which keywords are best for each of your items. High search volume doesn’t necessarily make a particular keyword a good choice. Often keywords with high search volumes are also highly competitive, which makes ranking difficult. For example, I searched for the keyword phrase ‘zipper pull’. I learned that this phrase is searched for approximately 27,100 times per month globally. The phrase was given a ‘high’ rating for competition which means that there are a lot of webpages using this phrase. Next, I searched for ‘beaded zipper pull’ and discovered that although the monthly search volume was much lower (210) the phrase was rated ‘medium’ for competition. Getting even more specific, I searched for ‘handmade beaded zipper pull’ only to discover that this phrase wasn’t searched for enough to be considered by Google for indexing. The same proved true for the phrase ‘handmade zipper pull’. Based on this quick keyword search experiment, I’ve concluded that including the phrase ‘beaded zipper pull’ is a good choice for each of my handmade beaded zipper pulls.
In general, single words will have high search volumes and high competition. Phrases of 2-3 words which are more specific will be better choices. Phrases consisting of more than three words tend to get so specific that the search volume is too low for Google to use the phrase for indexing.
It’s important to start your keyword selection process with buyer intent in mind. Create a list of words and phrases that you think buyers will search for and that describe your item. Using Google’s Keyword Tool, search for the words and phrases on your list, looking at search volume and competition data. With this information you can refine your list of keywords.
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 Engine Optimization, Search Volume, SEO, Success on Zibbet
