How to choose keywords? In this section we will deal particularly with those key words which will identify your website regarding HTML tags. We refer to those words the expert you hire will place in your website code and which will be read by search engines classifying the site and displaying it after a given query. We will not discuss the skills of the person in charge of writing the text for a Web page, however.

Next we will give you some advice that you can take when choosing the keywords that will identify your website. However, we suggest that you consider the recommendations made by the expert. He will be updated on which are the most usual searchs and which encounter more difficulty and competence at the time your company hires a positioning service.

When you start thinking about which words to choose- knowing that there is a limit of approximately 15 words -you will have to develop mental processes that imitate the way in which search engines classify Web pages according to key words or MetaTags. At the same time, you will have to emulate the mental processes of potential clients, bearing in mind that while some clients know exactly what they are looking for, others may be not sure of what they are searching, and others may mistake your company´s name or field.

We will start with the basics and then advance on specific words or phrases you will have to choose together with the positioning expert.

Define your product clearly and perfectly, trying to be as specific and concise as you can. Suppose your company deals in electric heaters, for example. In the first place you will write:

electric heaters

Next it is recommendable- though not essential – that if you have written your product in its singular form, you write it in the plural, or the other way around:

electric heater

From now on you will need to specify and limit searching criteria. If your company manufactures heaters, you write:

electric heaters factory

If your company only sells heaters:

electric heaters retail

If your company sells and manufactures heaters, you need to include both options, but separately:

electric heaters factory

electric heaters retail

But do not write:

electric heaters factory and retail

We do not recommend this latter option because search engines will only find your site if someone enters the search: electric heaters factory and retail. On the other hand, if you choose to write them separately, your site will answer to both searchs: electric heaters factory and electric heaters retail.

Next you have to specify the name of your company

Then, you will add another phrase with your company´s name:

the Homesun company

If people usually have difficulty in remembering or writing the name of your company, you may add some frequent misspellings:

the Homeson company

The third criterion to be taken into account is the geographical location of your company:

According to your company´s field, you will have to choose whether it is convenient to include a phrase that mentions only where it is sited, or that mentions both its site and product:

West coast electric heaters

or

West coast

The fourth criterion has to do with some feature of your company´s product or service:

Choose two or three qualities that you consider the most interesting for potential clients, no matter if these are not the product´s most important features. Continuing with the previous example, you could write:

Energy-saver

The fifth criterion has to do with the target:

For example, if your company makes or sells heaters in big quantities, you can write:

Hotel heating

So far we have dealt with the most basic and simple criteria for choosing key words and phrases. From now on we will give examples of other possible choices. We must warn you that this is a demanding task that you- together with the expert your company hires -will have to do with imagination and caution.

Search engines are ready to realize that a person entering the search electric heater is also interested in those Web pages containing the key words electric heater or electric heaters, without any problem. However, you have to foresee that search engines will not associate your electric heater website with the word heating. Although anyone would establish a relationship between this terms, search engines are not able to do so and therefore you will have to avoid losing potential clients who may be too general in their search.

You will have to be aware of those searchs that may be too general. In the case of electric heaters, for example, you may also add the words:

heating

and

interior

Another good option is to position your site using opposite terms. If we are cautious we may even attract someone who is doing a search as difuse as heaters no gas. In order to include this kind of searchs, you can add some words related to an aspect that is opposed to your product.

gas

firewood

hearth

You can also include things that are not closely related to your product or service, or that are found in a wrong field:

winter

furniture

decoration

Contemplating this kind of mental processes is hard work that you will have to do considering how specific your product is. You should also heed the advice given by the expert hired by your company.