Services

•    Information Architecture
  •    What is an information architect?
  •    How Wide is the Sea? Information Architects and SEO
  •    Information Architecture Articles
  •    Doors and Windows
•    Web Content Writing
•    Web Site Design
  •    Louisiana Web Design
  •    Louisiana Web Site Design
•    Category Management
  •    Keeping the previous structure intact
  •    Virtual Categories
  •    SEO+Categories
  •    One Single Irreducible Attribute
•    Search Engine Optimization
  •    What is SEO? (Search Engine Optimization)
  •    Choose a domain name
  •    Choosing Keywords
  •    Internal Link Structure
  •    SEO Using CSS
  •    URLs: Cleanliness is next to Google-iness.
  •    SEO: Science or Alchemy?
  •    Ascending the Pyramid: Building a successful SEO campaign
  •    Louisiana Web Promotion
•    Local Navigation
  •    Hide and Seek - The dilemma of dynamic content, load time and search engines.
•    Case Studies
  •    Antique China Website
•    Links/Resources

InformationArchiTECH Archives - 3/2006

Ask the owner of any company, service provider or educational resource, whether they would like their website to appear in the top rankings of Google and you will receive a resounding "YES." Of course they do! But the question is, for which term?

It would be nice, of course, if your website appeared on the front page of any search term entered. On the other hand, if such a thing were possible, the concept of a search engine would lose all meaning.

This is where relevancy comes into play. More is not always more. A concrete example is in order here...

Let us suppose you own a website that sells landscape lighting fixtures for pathways, trees and fountains. What terms might you consider? According to Wordtracker, on the day of this article's writing, the term "light" was searched for over 2,000 times in the last 100 days (a very high incidence rate.) While this is a very commonly searched term, it would be a mistake to target this as the primary term for your website. Even if you managed to be successful in gaining any kind of ranking (let us say, in the first 50 results) for such a broad terms, the majority of those coming to your site would be looking for something entirely different from what you offer. This wastes your time as much as it does their's.

"Landcape lighting" would perhaps be a better choice, however this is still very broad. A quick search will find that the URL "landscapelighting" and all imaginable variations have been purchased. The availability of domain names is usually an excellent indicator of the level of competition you will be facing for that term. If you just want to sell Haviland teacups online, and find the domain name "Haviland-teacups.com" is available, top ranking (especially with the help of a professional service like informationarchitech.com) is most definitely an attainable goal.

It is important to not be misled in one's market research of good key terms. A common mistake is to search for key terms while allowing one's own personal passion (or obsessions) to distort the meaning of the results. At least half, if not the majority of web surfers are looking for information, and not the direct purchase of a product or service. Certain terms appeal more to one audience more than the other. For example, someone searching for "porcelain history" could be looking to write a research paper, while another searching for "antique china teacup" is probably looking to buy. Being able to tell target the desired audience for any given need is a key facet of an information architect's craft.

If you are embarking upon a new web project, or find that your current website is not getting the attention you feel it deserves in the search engines, contact informationarchiTECH for a free consultation.  In many cases only a few minor changes can have a dramatic impact upon the visibility of your website in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, or MSN.

Need help choosing key terms?  For free assistance with key term selection, we recommend NicheBot Classic:  "search engine ranking and website promotion Uncover your site's true potential with the free set of keyword research tools that will give you all the quick data you need to gain the kind of web site traffic you need in order to get all the visitors to your site."