A good way to visualize your keywords and SEO targeting is through the image of a funnel.
You start off with a very small funnel, grabbing keywords and searches that are very specific to your website. In SEO, the first thing you want to make sure you can do is rank for your own business name. If you are not the #1 result for your own business name, there is probably some sort of problem with your website (barring a generic brand name, such as “Top Software”). Once you assure you are ranking for your own name then you are tapped into the very core of the funnel, which are people searching specifically for your business.
Phase 2 in Keyword Development – Long Tail Non-branded Terms
After ranking for your business name you take a step outwards and expand your funnel. These are generally long tail queries. For example, if you were working on a website for a hotel in Pittsburgh, a good place to start would probably be “affordable downtown Pittsburgh PA hotel”. Ranking for this term may not be as exciting as raking #1 for “hotels”, but SEO is a developmental process, and you have to crawl before you walk, and you have to do even more before you’re the number #1 result for “hotels”.
So When Do I Get To Rank for Large National Terms?
If you’re just at the beginning of your SEO campaign, it will probably be some time before you’ve worked your way up to the national level.
While it is good to keep your eyes on your long term keyword goals, it is also important to be in tune with where you are and where your next move is taking you. Let’s go back to the hotel example. Once you’ve got consistent rankings on the 1st page of Google for the keywords “affordable downtown Pittsburgh PA hotel”, then you can narrow your focus some. Start targeting “Pittsburgh PA hotel” or even “Pittsburgh hotel”. If you start to gain some traction there, then you’re on your way.
Increasing keyword rankings for hotels is just a small example of what goes on at Eyeflow. We provide full featured SEO packages including link building, keyword development, content assistance, article syndication, full site analytics, and much more. If you’re interested in developing your online presence and getting more targeted traffic to your website, contact Eyeflow Internet Marketing for a free website analysis.