Categories: SEO

How Keywords Can Help Your Business

We’re midway through our ABCs for small business and this week decided that the word that best defines the letter “K” is one that we use on a fairly regular basis – or if you work in SEO, a word that holds a lot of meaning to the success of getting your business found in an online search. The word this week is “keyword” which is defined differently in database and internet marketing terms.

In database search, this is a word or a phrase that helps to narrow down a search when looking for information specific to that subject. In internet marketing, this often translates to, according to businessdictionary.com, as being “words or phrases ‘sold’ by the owner of a search engine to advertisers so that when a user specifies a keyword for a search the advertiser’s ad automatically appears on top of the searched pages.” Many companies offer this type of service to their clients for an additional fee, to ensure that when their businesses are searched in Google or Yahoo, they are in the top 10 search results on the front page during said search.

When it comes to keywords for your business, it’s important to regularly update your site’s set of keywords and add new ones when (and if) the existing ones are no longer in high demand for searches. However, you want to take care not to overuse your keywords constantly to the point where your site can look spammy.

How can you start finding the right keywords to work with? Google offers a helpful tool called Google AdWords that can allow you to search a word or phrase and see how high it ranks on a local and global monthly search scale. This list changes often so check in regularly to ensure that your keywords are still as up to date as possible.

Deborah Sweeney

Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah provides insightful commentary on the benefits of incorporation and trademark registration.

Education: Deborah received her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in corporate and intellectual property law.

Experience: After becoming a partner at LA-based law firm, Michel & Robinson, she became an in-house attorney for MyCorporation, formerly a division in Intuit. She took the company private in 2009 and after 10 years of entrepreneurship sold the company to Deluxe Corporation. Deborah is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites including Forbes, Business Insider, SCORE, and Fox Business, among others.

Fun facts/Other pursuits: Originally from Southern California, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin and Christopher, and practicing Pilates. Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Deborah, and MyCorporation, have previously been honored by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s List of the Valley’s Largest Women-Owned Businesses in 2012. MyCorporation received the Stevie Award for Best Women-Owned Business in 2011.