Keyword Research Tools and Tips For Squidoo Lensmasters

eyword optimization is the process of augmenting or building content and coding to hone in on particular keywords and keyword phrases for the purpose of dominating internet searches for those keywords and phrases.

In practical terms, when you build a web page, you should use popular and/or strategic keyword phrases in the content, meta tags, titles and title tags, headings, image names and alt tags, and even the URL so that search engine algorithms will calculate that your web page or site is the most relevant for searches on those keywords.

However, you have to know what keywords to optimize in order to get the most traffic with the least amount of competition. For example, it will be extremely difficult for you as a lensmaster to build a lens that will come up on the first page of Google for the search term "plasma tv" because there are lots of major brands and sellers who pay big bucks to appear at the top of those searches. However, a keyword phrase like "cheap samsung plasma tv" would be much easier to optimize for because it is very specific and not as many people would search for that exact phrase.

here are a few different ways for the non-professional to perform keyword research for free:

'Common Sense' Keyword Research

One simple keyword research method is to think about the keywords that someone would type into their favorite search engine if he or she were looking for information on the topic you are writing about. You have to be completely objective when you do this; everyone doesn't think like you do. So, write down what you would type in, but think about what someone who doesn't know much about your topic might enter. If you, as a devout Christian, are writing about Christian Wedding Invitations, you might think of obvious keyword phrases like "christian wedding invitiations". However, what would someone who is not a practicing Christian look for? They might start with "religious wedding invitations" and then move on to a more specific search. Have you ever heard people call wedding invitiations "invites", or "wedding cards"?

If you can, ask a few friends or family members what they would search for - you might be surprised!

Now take your list and enter those keyword phrases into Google and Yahoo! and see what comes up. If websites containing information similar to or closely related to yours come up, then that's a good sign. If not, either you are truly a pioneer on the internet, or those keywords are not the most relevant to your lens. This doesn't mean that you need to cross it off of your list, but it does mean that they may not be the keywords that you want to work hard to optimize.

Think about as many real world possibilities as you can and take note of all of them; you may just help someone find your lens that way!

Keyword Research Through Search Statistics Tools

There are a number of free (and paid) keyword analysis tools online that you can use to determine which keywords and keyword phrases are the best choice for strategic optimization. These tools analyze the data from past searches and helps you to get an idea of what people are searching for online and what they are not. You can enter one keyword phrase and even get results of a number of other similar and related keyword phrases. Furthermore, some tools can even show you the volume of paid advertising connected to a keyword or phrase. Someone who wishes to optimize a website can use this kind of data to weigh their options and strategically choose which keywords are most likely to appear at the top of the most possible searches in order to maximize traffic.

Some of the most popular web tools for keyword research are:

Google External Keyword Tool for Adwords

Combined Wordtracker/Overture Tool

ecause the good folks at Squidoo have already done a lot of the hard work for you, keyword optimization for Squidoo lenses is easy peasy. The hard part is actually choosing the keyword phrases that you want to focus on.

After you perform your keyword research, you should:

* Add all of your keywords and phrases as tags.

* Make your most important keywords part of the URL.

* Use your most important keywords in the introduction module as much as you can without sounding spammy.

* Use all of your keywords throughout your lens in the content. After you have written the content, go through it and add the appropriate keywords where they apply if you did not add them naturally as you composed the content.

* Make sure your names of your images include important keywords and that you use keywords as image alt tags.

These basic Squidoo SEO tips and techniques will improve your search engine rankings astronomically.

Want to know a secret way to check and see if you have optimized your Squidoo lens properly? One of Squidoo's most active lensmasters, thefluffanutta, is the owner of SquidUtils, a website that provides all kinds of advanced Squidoo tools. One of them is the Squidoo Lens Health Check. I won't tell you too much about it - you've got to see it for yourself!