Ranking first for keyword phrase

Ranking first for a keyword phrase requires keyword research, writing titles, writing content consistently and then . . . finding pleasant surprises.

I recently checked Google Analytics to see what keywords were used to reach my site and I noticed the keyword phrase “local marketing media.” There were 37,000,000 results and my marketing website – a basic Wordpress template - ranked number one on Google.

It even ranked above websites from local search marketing companies.

Here is why ranking high for a keyword phrase or phrases is not an exact science. There is no phrase “local marketing media” on my website. On my home page, I do state about helping companies share their “core competence locally and internationally.”

I put the same phrase into Yahoo and Bing but my site didn’t rank in the first five pages. I didn’t bother looking after that.

Writing keyword phrases and trying to rank high for select keywords does require planning and writing for certain phrases. But I remember a statement from a writer two years ago when I began writing online consistently. She said at the time she didn’t concern herself with keywords; instead, she concerned herself with all words.

And that may be true. But the pleasant surprises are a result of focused thought and effort. The internet today requires focus – and that requires making strategic decisions and discipline on the part of a writer and decision maker.

Other examples of ranking high for keywords include a property management company who hired me to get more traffic to their website.

I wrote a series of articles – actually not as many as I thought would be necessary – and then I rewrote the descriptions of their apartment buildings on their website. I made sure they were listed in Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, and I posted regularly on a few industry-related blogs. They had 26 buildings and I rewrote the content including the name of the local city, major intersections, and quality of life in the neighborhood.

Using Google Analytics, this effort doubled the number of keywords used to locate their website in about 60 days. They had two renters come to them from the Internet but not the sites they normally advertised on. I considered that a success and a lesson in writing focused content to rank high in search engines.

My conclusion in ranking keywords is combine the science of keyword research with effort of writing focused content. You might find yourself ranking high for keyword phrases you didn’t expect.

One note about this Hub: I did not do any keyword research for the title. Just thought I'd mention it.