Are you wondering why your website traffic is few and far in between despite the impressive layout of your site and the amazing offers you have? Well, you're probably not doing it right with search engines.

You see, increasing the amount of visitors to your website requires a high-ranking placement in the search results page. That is, your site should appear on the first page of Google, Bing or Yahoo, whenever users search for a term or keywords related to your website, company, or products or services.

Say you're selling precious jewelry. If someone wants to buy precious jewelry, and type the exact term on a search engine, your website should be one of the top sites that will show in search results. If you are on the top spot, there is a 100% chance that a user will click the link to your website. That's 1 traffic right there.

Sounds simple, right? In application, however, SEO is a complicated beast, with processes that are better left to a branding agency specializing in optimization. It requires several features and factors that dictate the success of an online marketing campaign. You also need to develop a strategy that will satisfy Google's rules and algorithms. Get SEO right, and you’ll get more than the traffic that you need.

How to find the best keywords to use

One of the foundations of SEO is keywords, terms and phrases used by users to search for your business online. This means it has to match your company, its various features, products and services. Think back to the precious jewelry example.

By now, you're probably thinking about the kind of keywords related to your website, and you could be on the right track or not. Because after you list down the keywords you have in mind, you also need to categorize them according to competitive and noncompetitive. But let's not go there just yet. Let's start with the basics.

• Use keyword suggestion tools

Yes, you can spare yourself the trouble of doing it manually. Online, there are several sources for keyword suggestions, such as Google AdWords, SEMrush, Google Suggest and many others. Most people will gravitate towards Google AdWords, because you are optimizing the website for Google. But don't stick to just one keyword tool. It is best to use multiple sources for more suggestions.

• Select keywords with multiple search intent

Precious jewelry is a very broad and highly competitive keyword. It can work for you, but not as well as you would want, since you will be against some of the big names in the industry. So look for search terms and phrases that are specific to your business, and lets you target a certain demographic at the same time. Target keywords, such as "types of precious stones", "best independent jewelry in the US", "provider of precious jewelry online".

Then, develop a content strategy that contains the keywords you chose. The content must be relevant, current and useful. When everything is tight, that is, the keywords are a perfect match and the content matches Google’s requirement, your website will find its way on top of search results.

Need help with search engine optimization? Let Creative Group Studios help.