When it comes to online business, keyword research is probably the most important part of your job when you’re setting out to design and construct a website. It really doesn’t matter what you’ve planned for the website, assuming that you do indeed have something planned for it, because if you want your website to be seen by others in any meaningful number, then you’ll need to pay particular attention to this task.

In simple terms, a keyword is a single word or a few words put together into a phrase which describe something in particular. Hence, your keyword could be “dogs” or something more complex, such as “yellow Labrador retrievers”. This latter phrase is known as a long tail keyword, or in other words, a more detailed description of a simpler term. The real success of any website is primarily due to the relevance of a specific keyword or set of keywords - even if the administrator of the website doesn’t realize it! In most circumstances, your chosen keywords should directly relate to the nature and purpose of your website.

It goes without saying, that if you’re going to get involved with website development for a meaningful purpose, maybe as a commercial entity, then you’ll need to plan its construction carefully. Part of this construction involves the correct selection of keywords appropriate to your subject, topic or niche. Once these keywords have been correctly selected you should construct your website accordingly, and in a fairly regimented fashion. This is commonly known as search engine optimisation, as it’s the method by which you can ensure that everyone else - across the world, can find your site if they’re interested in what you’re discussing, promoting or selling.

Keyword research is the cornerstone of this task. There are a number of different trains of thought, but in this highly competitive world market of ours, you need to ensure that your chosen keywords are not only appropriate, but are realistic too. As you will be trying to “rank” for your keywords (or end up as high as you possibly can within the ubiquitous search engine rankings of sites relevant to your niche), you must make sure that you have a good chance of doing so, firstly, and then secondly orchestrate your approach to give yourself the best chance possible.

One of the most common mistakes that most individuals (including some so-called SEO experts) make is to misinterpret the actual supply and demand for your chosen keywords.

Demand: there are many tools, some more complex and more costly than others, which determine the demand for your keyword or long-tail keyword. In simple terms, how many people are searching for information directly related to your keywords. Google and others have a way of measuring the number of times that someone will search their engines for that exact keyword. They will supply you with figures which show, on a monthly basis and broken down into geographical territories if you wish, the number of times someone entered that phrase into the search box. This will give you a good idea of what the actual “demand” for information about your keyword is.

Supply: if you go to Google’s search page and enter your keyword in the search box, you’ll come up with a number of sites which Google considers to be relevant to that phrase. In some cases this can run into the many, many millions. If your keyword is – and it probably will be, a long tail, you should know that this initial supply figure is based on a broad analysis, and in order to get a realistic return on the number of relevant sites, you’ll need to enter your keyword in quotes “”. By doing this you’ll see that the number of sites returned is significantly lower, this being a good indication of the “supply” for that keyword. The websites returned in this way will be your competitors.

As you’ll quickly see from conducting this exercise, a very broad keyword – such as “dog”, has a very high demand and a very high supply. Don’t be tempted to run after this demand as the chances of ranking highly for this keyword are not that good. Generally speaking - the higher the demand, the higher the existing supply. However, part of the skill of keyword research is in developing long tail keywords that more accurately describe your particular niche. For example, if we research “yellow Labrador retrievers”, we can see that there is a reasonable amount of demand – somewhere in the region of 3000 searches per month for that term, and a low amount of supply – less than 1000 competing sites. In this example, we would likely include this exact keyword in our campaign.

This is just an overview into keyword research, which should be an integral part of your plan to develop your business. The correct implementation of chosen keywords is an entirely different issue, but you must make sure that your keyword research is correctly founded and conducted before you move on.

Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, a state-of-the-art Executive Virtual Assistant Service which assists businesses and individuals with every aspect of their enterprising requirements. Do you want to explore these inspiring online business building success strategies? Contact VMF Now!

Entrepreneurs and VA’s are a fairly recent combination, yet an increasingly desirable strategy for operating almost any online business. Who would ever have imagined that the traditional personal assistant could be replaced by a new and improved, ultra-economical and ultra-versatile Virtual Assistant?

The Internet has a great many purposes, but the most advantageous application for small to medium sized business owners is that the Internet can - with a bit of very carefully designed website development, literally be their place of business, where all of their information and personal files can be stored, employees can be taken on and an office can be set up and maintained - all entirely online, so irrespective of where you happen to be and what you’re up to, you can log into the office whenever it suits your schedule.

Some people may be put off by the idea of never meeting the person they’re working with, some may be concerned that they’re not there to oversee the work activity, while others may feel that their information is too vulnerable online. All of these are certainly reasonable things to be concerned about, but with an expert virtual assistant at you side, these issues will soon feel insignificant, and you’ll rapidly develop a more profitable, more streamlined and far less stressful business.

From your point of view, doesn’t this seem far better than regularly paying out for the massive overhead to maintain an office, shelling out for sick pay and searching through piles of papers and files to discover what might of happened to a lost invoice or to a new client’s phone number?

However, if this virtual paradise is to be realised, you’re going to need to find a truly exceptional VA to point your business in the right direction.

Here are a few tips:

First, decide what you would like to achieve with your business, tell your potential VA what your goals are, and develop an idea of how you see things working for you. This information will allow a VA to understand how best they can assist you. Leave the employee mindset. Your VA will most likely be a business owner as well, with as much drive and ambition as you have! Treating your VA as an employee will only lead to problems in the long term. Virtual assistance is a partnership on equal terms, and mutual respect is paramount to success.

Every VA will need to establish whether your business would be a good fit for theirs. Make a list of all the tasks and jobs (no matter how large or small) you would like to see the back of, then speak to a few VA’s who have the skills and capabilities to take them off your hands - you will soon find out which VA’s are on your wavelength. Shortlist the ones you see with the most potential to fulfil your plans.

Finding your VA is slightly harder; there are thousands out there, from all walks of life, and all corners of the world. You may need to do some research to find the right one that meets your criteria. Other times, you may just get lucky first time round. The internet should be your first port of call, and Google is a great place to start, just type in “Virtual Assistant” and see what you find. You can also search “Virtual Assistant Directory” or “Virtual Assistant Networks” which will bring up a host of sites where VA’s congregate and list themselves and their services.

A virtual relationship is built on trust, and this will come in time. In a virtual world, if you move, then so does your VA - it’s perfect for the makings of a reliable, long lasting relationship.

Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, an Experienced Executive Virtual Assistant who collaborates with businesses and individuals with the sole aim of accomplishing their professional goals. Want to learn more about these comprehensive online business building success strategies? Contact VMF Today!