Choosing Primary Keyphrases
September 21, 2005 | Category: Page OptimizationWhen optimizing a page, the basic first step is to know what to optimize for – that is, what words or phrases you want to have a high ranking for.
It is usually a good idea for each individual page of your website to be primarily optimized around a single phrase. That’s certainly not to say that you shouldn’t use other keyphrases as well, but giving one of them priority is a wise strategy.
The main goal of this strategy, of course, is to be number the number one listing (or at least on the first page) in Google, Yahoo, and/or MSN when internet users type your phrase into the search box.
That’s why your primary phrase should be something that people are likely to type into a search engine, and it should also be descriptive of your page’s content.
Smaller websites will generally see better results when their pages are optimized for more specific “niche” terms, rather than highly competitive terms that lots of people are trying to rank for. That’s why it can be much more effective to choose a creative two to five word keyphrase rather than a single keyword with a lot of competition, such as “travel” or “finance”.
Finding a relevant, popular keyphrase that you will realistically be able to rank for certainly isn’t easy, but it’s definitely worth doing. After all, aside from blind luck, having a good idea of what you want is the only way to get it. 
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[...] When choosing primary keyphrases, it may be tempting to optimize for something really competitive, in hopes of getting a position on the second or third page. As much as you may like the idea of ranking for something highly popular, it is usually better to start off with a less competitive niche phrase. [...]
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[...] As discussed in this article, it is a good idea to build each of your pages around its own primary keyphrase, and somehow incorporate that keyphrase into your tag. The question is, of course, what’s the best way to integrate it? The problem is that each search engine has its own unique answer. [...]
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