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Everybody knows that the most important part of search engine optimization (SEO) is keyword or keyword phrase usage. To understand keyword usage, one must first have a clear understanding of what a keyword really is.

Keywords are the words that you want the search engine to pick up on as it examines your site. The problem with keywords is that very few people actually go to a search engine and input only one word. This is because single keywords produce results that are much too broad for the user. For example, suppose you want to search for shampoo. This search will generate many thousands of links to sites that sell shampoo, sites that have articles about shampoo, dictionary listings defining shampoo, FDA studies about shampoo, etc., etc. So you see that if you are looking for dandruff shampoo, then you will put in dandruff shampoo. If you want shampoo comparisons, you will most likely put those words into the search engine. Thus, it stands to reason that, unless you have a unique product that can be described in a single word, single keywords are not productive SEO strategies for most websites.

Keyword phrases are groups of two or more words that describe the products or services that you want emphasized in the search engines. However, it should be noted that caution needs to be emphasized here as well. Again, using the “dandruff shampoo” example, a search will return results for “dandruff” and for “shampoo” as well as the combination “dandruff shampoo”. This is called a general phrase and the words “dandruff” and “shampoo” are Principle Keywords. Two and three word phrases are called simple keyword phrases because they will usually generate very broad results.

Keyword phrases with four or more words, such as “decreased flaking with use of dandruff shampoo” are called complex keyword phrases because they generate very specific listings that are much more targeted to what the surfer was looking for to begin with. In addition to the principle keywords, there are also words or phrases that are descriptive in nature. These are called Lateral Keywords. Examples of Lateral Keywords would be “itching” and “dry skin”.The last type of keyword is the Secondary Keyword. They are very close in nature to the Lateral Keywords, but they cross over into markets related to your Principle Keywords. Examples of Secondary Keywords are “hair care” and “psoriasis”. The key to good content writing for SEO is to use all of these forms of keywords effectively. If you are not able to say aloud what you have written in your website without it feeling awkward, then you need to rethink it and rewrite it.

Any combinations of your keywords are going to generate some results in the search engines, provided you have not grossly overdone it. Remember though, the search engine will only generate results for the word or words that the user has entered. You must think like the customer, not the seller, when you determine what your keywords will be to maximize your SEO.

My favorite keyword research tool I use constantly is by Wordtracker which offers their Free Keyword Suggestion Tool to get an idea how popular certain keywords are.