Coming up with ideas for the best keywords to use on a website can be a difficult process for many to grasp. If a little common sense comes into play and some basic rules of the road are followed, the effort doesn't have to be insurmountable.

It is always a good idea to come up with a basic list of keywords before sitting down to write copy. While it is feasible to write the copy and add the keywords later, this is harder than many think. It often involves total rewriting to avoid nonsensical copy. Considering this, the effort can be counterproductive.

As you go about the process of picking the right keywords, there are several things to consider. The first thing to remember is that different people use search engines in different ways. The key here is to consider the many ways of saying the same thing. How a person searches can be impacted by gender, age, country of origin, profession and so on. What terms come to mind for the exact same product or service can vary greatly depending on the person in question.

Make sure to choose only those keywords that are relevant to your site. Sure, you can get traffic with loaded keywords, but the practice is a bit dishonest. Plus, it can turn visitors off, decrease sales potential and it might even result in those who advertise on your site (if you have ads) becoming dissatisfied with the results.

Before brainstorming for possible words, pick up a notebook and pencil or open a document or spreadsheet file. Jot down every word and phrase you can think of that relates well to your site, its pages and even its products or services. It's not a bad idea to ask others you know to do the same - especially those who fit your demographics.

With a nice long list of potential keywords in hand, it's time to turn to the Internet itself for more ideas. Use search engine databases to revise your list and to actually see the terms people use to find sites like yours. Online keyword tools that can be useful include Overture, Google, or Wordtracker. Ad Word Analyzer is a very powerful desktop software tool. It has all sorts of time-saving features and can also tell you how many other competing sites appear for each of your keywords.

It is now a very good idea to really consider the targeted audience. Consider the words on your list that these folks would actually use to find your site. Cross off those that don't fit. Remember, conversational language is more common in searches than advertising or marketing jargon. Short phrases that are quite basic are generally the best.

No matter how much time is spent on your list, it's important to keep in mind the process to optimize a site for search engine results is always evolving or it should be. You very possibly will have to revise your keywords every so often to keep up with trends, changes in the market, new products or services and so on. Getting it 100 percent perfect isn't important. Close is good enough.

With a good list of keywords ready to go, start writing copy or have it written for you. Make sure the keywords go into copy that's useful, pertains to the topic and isn't keyword stuffed. Don't overload with copy for the sake of overloading. Make sure it's useful, informational or interesting and don't forget to include keywords in titles.

Coming up with the right keywords to optimize a site can be a tough undertaking. View it as an ongoing process and don't be afraid to tweak the effort as you go.

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Author Jeff Alderson develops newbie-friendly search engine marketing tools. He specializes in boosting traffic and sales. Jeff advises using Ad Word Analyzer to find internet keywords for your website. This and other unique content internet marketing articles are available with free reprint rights.