Not quite sure what keywords are? What about keyword research? We won’t hold it against you. While in our world, these little babies are the life’s blood of … well … pretty much EVERYTHING we do, many online retailers and business platforms do not use them effectively.

Let me put it this way. If you aren’t versed in keywords, guys, then you are missing OuT on essentially the most important part about online marketing: relevant search.

Now, now, before you wrap yourselves in cyber sackcloth and give up, take a deep breath and know there’s help. Here are five ways to begin to use keyword research to gain readership, achieve search engine results, and receive valuable click-through to your website that leads to generated revenue – because, let’s be honest, isn’t that what we’re all after here, ladies and gentlemen? Here you go, no more dallying:

Keyword Your Images

I’m going to start with the most obvious that’s often forgotten. Your pictures, whether they be on Houzz, Pinterest, your blog, or elsewhere, should play a major role in your SEO campaign.

Let me put it this way. If all you have written behind an image on your blog is “0222977563” you get nothing. If all you have written on an image on your blog is “Pic 2,” guess what? You get nothing. No one searches for “Pic 2” or “0222977563.” That would be absurd. Choose titles and descriptions for your images that will make that image relevant to your audience and easier for them to find it.

On your blog, adding the Title and Alt text is NUMERO UNO when it comes to updating for 2015. Never before has social media been so optimized to localized and specific search. Adding keywords and Alt to your images helps with everything from organic search to the elusive Google SERPS and beyond.

Key (get it! LOL) players in the social media keyword game are often image-based platforms such as Pinterest and Houzz. But if we catch you not adding keywords to your blogs you’re missing OuT on the worst of it, so pay heed!

Keyword EVERY Platform

Another doozie here, ladies and gentlemen. Keywording effectively across all social platforms ensures that users find you when they need you. In 2015, the majority of online users are still on Facebook, but other platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Houzz are regularly searching for direct items. Each time they click that age-old (too soon? I think not) magnifying glass icon on their toolbar, you want to be sure those looking for YOU find YOU.

Who are you? Why would someone search for you, your services, or your products? All these questions go into the words you put into your profile, your images, your posts and your content.

Keywords Aren’t Just One Word

There’s such a thing as a longtail keyword. The longtail, unlike its singular counterpart, is supremely useful in gaining readership and traction online. Here’s an illustration:

How often would you search for, “hoses?” not often? Once in a blue moon?

How about “garden hoses?”

Or… “home kitchen hoses”

Or… “plumbing hoses for the bathroom?”

Or … GED Practice Tests

The longtail keyword is basically a compound set of words that coincide with the search item a user might type into a search engine. “Las Vegas Social Media” will far outweigh “Media” on any given day. Even Sunday.

Sooooo … How to Research Keywords?

Here’s the nitty gritty. Many social platforms treat keywords like hashtags. Often times, keywords ARE hashtags. Need a brush up on hashtags? I don’t blame you.

Searching for good keywords should often use an outside source. Here’s where keyword research comes into play. There are tons of programs that do that, many of them are free.

If you want to use an outside source for effective Keywords, here is a list of just a few possible services (there are too many to count these days!). Find one that works for you. We use these tools to ensure that keywords are actual terms that people search on a regular basis. Many offer a gauge of how often people search the keywords and offer a frame of reference for any social profile.

Google Adwords
Wordstream
KeywordEye
Seo Book

Keywords in Your Blog

One of the most important places to use keywords is your blog. Your blog, while it has tags and other keywords within, should have one longtail or compound keyword in this sequence:

Once in your Title
Once in your first paragraph
2-5 times occurring in sub headers or within the text itself (depending on word count)
Once in your final paragraph
Reaching an audience isn’t the same anymore, people. This is why social media is the new stomping ground for marketing. This is what keeps all of us coming back for new and inventive ways to create a brand and make it memorable. Now that you’ve got the rundown, you’ll better understand how retailers are using social media to grow their business online, especially with home design platforms like Houzz… and find new ways to use your keywords!!!!

Have you “keyworded” your blogs? What about images? Where will you keyword like you never have before in 2015?