Search Engine Optimisation – Keywords, Keyphrases or Longphrases?

Web designers know that what you are interested in from them is a good looking, functional site with no glitches, so Search Engine Optimisation is rarely at the top of their list of priorities.
If you are doing your own SEO you are going to be considering exactly what search terms you want your site optimised for.
It's sometimes difficult to know what somebody looking for your product would type into Google to find you. If you had a hamburger shop for example you might think you should simply optimise your site for “Hamburgers”, but is that what you would type if you were looking for one?

Selecting Keywords:
Keywords are easy. In our hamburger shop scenario the obvious Keyword is

• Hamburgers.  

The store may also specialise in 

• Cheeseburgers and 

• Fries.

So now we have 3 Keywords.
That's the easy bit.

Selecting Keyphrases:
It's very rare that a searcher would find what they were looking for with a single word. Living in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne I would not expect my local hamburger shop to pop up when I Google “Hamburgers”. I would expect that I would need to enter three or four words before finding exactly what I want. Keyphrases are often referred to as “Long Tail Keywords”. Why? I don't know, “Keyphrases” works better for me.
To produce a suitable Keyphrase from your Keyword, a good idea is to add a location or a description to your Keyword.

• Best hamburgers Melbourne, 

• Best cheeseburgers Melbourne and 

• Best fries Melbourne
  

might be appropriate Keyphrases. 
When entering these Keyphrases in your Website, use them in your metadata and your copy. Where possible, use the entire Keyphrase but partial is better than nothing if that's all that fits well.  
Remember where the possibility of fitting a Keyphrase clashes with good copy, favour good copy every time.

Selecting Longphrases:
Google has reported a recent rise in the number of Longphrases (search phrases of five or more words) entered into a search. A Longphrase is very specific, so if a user lands on your site after searching for it, there is a good chance they want exactly what you are providing.
A user may search Google for

• Low fat cheeseburgers and fries in Melbourne,

• Hamburgers order online Halal Melbourne

• Where is the best place to get Hamburgers in North Melbourne?

A great way to get these Longphrases into your text is to add an FAQs page to your site. This will allow you to write down the question in the form a searcher may type it and then answer the question with other Longphrases relating to the same point. If you keep it factual you will add value to your content.

Even if you have a Search Engine Optimisation professional to do your site SEO for you, it is a good idea to start thinking about these Keywords, Keyphrases and Longphrases because nobody knows your business and your clientele like you do. It's no good letting your SEO firm assume you are also a fish and chip shop if all you do is hamburgers and fries.  

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