Yet another question about keywords! Yikes!

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   lorlie6posted 14 years ago

   Okay, here's the deal.  I've been a Hubber for 20+ months and am still clueless about keywords.  I've read the HP take on keywords, watched videos, played around on Google's AdWords, read Hubber's offerings about the subject, but am still in the dark.
   Maybe I'm slow??   I am usually a quick study, but this has me bamboozled.  Here goes:
   I am starting to write a Hub about drug addiction.  I went to AdWords and found a couple of keywords that have low-medium competition and quite a few searches.  I've put them in the title.  If I repeat these terms in my first paragraph, will they 'become' keywords?  Am I to add them sporadically into the text without keyword 'stuffing'?
   I've used the terms 'drug addict' and 'journey'.
   Thanks so much for reading this-I'd love some very patient advice!

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   1. 64

      WoodsmensPostposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      keyword:
      
      1.a word or words related to your topic that will help you find information when conducting a search. You will want to use more than one keyword in order to find the best information.
      
      keyword phrase:
      
      1. A word or group of words that comprise a search term. "strung out narcotics addict" is a keyword phrase.
      
      2. A search phrase made up of keywords or phrases of two or more words
      
      3. A search comprising of two or more keywords that a search engine user will input into a search engine to find a relevant web page.
      
      4. A phrase of two or more words used together that an individual may search for, such as “drug addicts journey.”
      
      5. A series of words used to advertise or search for a particular product, service or type of information in a search engine.
      
      Another words the words or keywords that best describe what is the subject you are writing about
      
      Example: drug addict
      
      Definition: person addicted to narcotics
      
      Synonyms : addict, burnout, dopehead, doper, drug abuser, drug fiend, drug user, druggie, freak, hophead, junkie, narcotics addict, space cadet, user
      
      these would be some examples of words similar to drug addict
      
      then you have relevant keyword pharses : drug help, drug rehab, drug addictions, drug rehab center, drug treatment, drug detox, drug abuse and so on using the google keywordtool
      
      some words and phrases are searched for more often than others and thats where the competion comes into play for the CPC of that particular word.
      
      Add this to some of the other posts here and you will get a clearer picture.

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   2. 79

      sunforgedposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Well from this statement alone, I am seeing one possible error. I am assuming that since you say that you went to adwords and found "competition" - that you have mixed up advertiser competition and search competition.
      
      So you must learn how to gauge search competition. Which is probably the most important factor in assuring any actual eyes ever land on your hub.
      
      What do you consider "quite a few"
      
      Drug addiction is a high value, well known, competitive niche.
      
      
      Drug addict, drug addiction , addiction should all be impossible terms without a specialized or localized qualifier.
      
      Ive tried to explain how to use "keywords" (as LWR said, all words are keywords..and the amount of times they are used in text should be natural) and the keyword tool here ( Keyword Tips)
      
      as for where to use the keywords and how, thats specific to on page optimization

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      1. 0

         ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Since you have turned up Sunforged, there's a little thread for you:
         
         http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/68428

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   Will Apseposted 14 years ago

   Keyword research is really for people looking to make money, I reckon. Is this you? Or are you just writing because you have something to say?

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   1. 72

      lorlie6posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'd love to make money while writing on topics I care about-maybe that's a tall  order, but I imagine it can be done.

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      1. 72

         Reality Bytesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         
         
         I also just like the writing, although the money would be nice.
         
         I use the google search bar for keyword ideas. I just type in the term I want to start with and google offers all kinds of keyword ideas. 
         
         I do not have time to study trends. 

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3. 73

   livewithrichardposted 14 years ago

   Every word in your hub has the potential to be a keyword, the words you use most often are the words the SE's see as keywords but if you use them too much they see them as stuffing and can have a negative affect.  It's a very tricky matter so you want to write in a way that is clear and precise and looks and sounds natural. 
   
   Placing the keywords that you want to target in your URL, your title, your module headings, your picture captions, your unique summary, and within your content all add up.  I try to shoot for a 3% density which means that in a 500 word article I want to mention my targeted keyword 15 times.  If you want to target multiple keywords then I would suggest a longer word count so that it sounds natural. 
   
   I usually have at least 4 text modules, 1 or 2 pictures, a video module, an amazon or ebay module, a link module and an rss or news module. So right there I can get my keyword placed 10 times which makes it very easy to place another 5 keywords within a 500 word hub.

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   1. 0

      Will Apseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      If you put the keyword phrase in the title, the summary and the first paragraph that is plenty and it doesn't tax the brain...

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      1. 73

         livewithrichardposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry but no, it's not enough which is probably why your "more worthwhile pages never make a penny."
         
         HP is a great platform and they do give you quite a boost but you also have to compete against hundreds or thousands of others. The trick is to write for the SE's as well as the people searching. You can't have it one way or the other.

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            Will Apseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Its been a long time since anyone worried about keywords in the way you describe. You are hanging on to what is now just a superstition.

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4. 0

   Will Apseposted 14 years ago

   I hate to be depressing but I reckon the only way to make money is to do what everyone else does- hunt out keywords that look like they might be profitable without any concern about your own interests.
   
   It makes writing a chore but there are a lot worse jobs. And you can contribute to the greater good, now and then, too. My more worthwhile pages never make a penny, sigh...

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5. 66

   Daniel Carterposted 14 years ago

   Others will have a better response for you Lorlie, than me, but I write what I feel passionate about. It took 16 months to get my first Google payout, and 4 months for the second. I figure that it's slow going for me because I'm not much into SEO. My first love is music, second, writing. So I'm just learning slowly as I go and I'm learning huge amounts.
   
   If you don't mind this approach, I think it will work for you. But if you want to see more money more quickly, then maybe try writing a mix of hubs. Some based specifically for sales and keywords, and other more about your favorite subjects.
   
   I've written a couple of hubs about bad experiences and how I over came them—about hackers and another on foreclosure, and those hubs are getting massive hits. Practical experience and advice can be valuable depending on how much of a need it may be.

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6. 76

   IzzyMposted 14 years ago

   Lorlie, I think Livewithrichard has given great advice here.
   
   The other thing you will want too is to find related keywords and use them too throughout the body of the hub, so that Google can put the lot together and knows what your hub is about.
   
   
   You mentioned "drug addict" - "drug addicts" or drug addiction" are related but not the same, that's just for starters. Having said that, they have the exact words "drug addict" in them so they would be good to use. "journey" is harder, I think. There is "trip" which also has a drug meaning but that isn't what you want I don't think. You might mean "recovery" or "road to recovery". These are all good words to add in.
   
   Actually I am hopeless at putting in keywords apart from the main ones. I seem to write away and when I'm finished not even notice that I haven't put keywords in.

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