The Use Of Keywords And Niche Sites
By Amanda Baker, Tue Jan 10th

Remember the days when internet experts shouted to build portalwebsites everywhere. With the exception of few well-done sites,you just can't build a website about everything. Just like inthe real world, a jack of all trades is a master of none.

Most websites and blogs have switched to niche sites. Thequestion really isn't whether you occupy a niche, but rather howmuch obscure arcane stuff you know about the topic, how much ofan expert you are about it. If you live and breathe a topic andhave a forum full of co-enthusiasts, you have a niche andtherefore, a niche website that can thrive.

When you have a niche website, naturally you want the website tobe among the first results in any search engine, with Googlecurrently the "master" of the search. SEO, or search engineoptimization,is the way to get there.

A good niche website doesn't use SEO as we conventionallyunderstand it. It uses what are known as traditional metakeywords that are the same throughout the entire site, as wellas the same title tag. It uses major keywords with a naturalfrequency, as well as keywords that are commonly related to themain keyword.

But even without what we commonly know as SEO, the number ofpages in a website as well as the number of backlinks a websitehas are a clear factor in a website's rank. Oh, the world of SEOand website ranking can be a very confusing place. What makes asite come out on top within its niche can be quite baffling, infact. So what makes it certain that your niche site will beatout the other random sites that only have a few pages on yourtopic? The natural usage of major keywords and related keywordsthroughout, as well as the use of your major keyword in yourtitle tag. Using ancillary, or related keywords help as well. Itis very important to use words that should show up verynaturally in the topic that your write about. You can find thesewords by scanning search engine results in Google or yourfavorite search engine, using the Google keyword tool or theOverture search suggestion tool.

Using related keywords has more than an SEO benefit. Not onlycould it improve your search engine rankings, but you also makeyour content more comprehensive. Related keywords are points ofreference for your readers! They help them get from point A topoint B to point C - to triangulate where you're coming from,where you are, and where you're going. It'll make your contentmuch more readable, enjoyable and satisfying. And seeing yourwebsite's ranking hit the top page of search results whileincreasing page hits/views is definitely much more enjoyable foryou!

About the author:Amanda Baker writes for All Things Pondered