Choosing the right keywords is the first step to better search engine positioning. Analyze your business carefully and think of all the words that relate to your company or product. Relevant, targeted keywords can get you to the top of search engine rankings and help you attract visitors interested in your web site's content and products. When your customers enter keywords to search, do they find you - or your competitors?

Keywords Reflect Your Site's Focus
Develop your keyword strategy during the site design process when you are already focused on how to communicate the purpose of your Web site. Selecting your keywords is much like writing an extremely short mission statement. Ask yourself several questions:

• What is the site's focus?
• Why is the site's information valuable?
• Who is your audience?

The answers to those questions will help you select appropriate keywords because they force you to think about how your site's content serves its intended audience. If you already have an established business (online or not), go one step further and ask your customers what words they would use to find you. Don't limit your keywords to your products; people visit your site looking for information too.

Who needs your service?
Think about who will use your services, then target them with keywords. For example, people whose dogs are about to have puppies will need puppy food, so you can add phrases like "dog pregnancy" and "puppy health" to your list.

Include variations of your keywords
People will search for your site using all sorts of keywords. Making your site easy to find means including misspelled, capitalized and plural keywords. Always include the longer forms of keywords too. For example, use "domestication" as well as "domestic."

Avoid wrong keywords
Do not use "stop words" -- particles like "and" and "the" and common words like "Internet." Remember, the more specific your keywords are, the better the chance that people who find your site through search engines will actually benefit from its content.

A Delicate Balance
Are the keywords you chose during design still effective? Maybe not. Search engines index new Web sites every day; you have to work to stand out in the crowd. Be prepared to modify your keywords as your site and competition changes.

Keyword selection is a delicate balancing act that begins during design and continues as long as your site is posted. It's can be time-consuming, but it's also critically important to your site's success.