Many people in business try to market to everyone hoping that what they offer may attract some of them. This causes a lot of frustration on behalf of the potential client because they are sifting through tons of information that does not address specifically what they are interested in.

Simply put, business is much easier if the client who is in search of what you are already offering can find you. The more you narrow down and describe specifically what you have to offer, the easier time your ideal clients will have finding you. You are literally clearing a path so that these ideal clients can find you.

Long-tailed keywords are keywords (or tags) that are entered together in a string (so instead of entering single words like “banjo” or “lessons” into the search engine you may enter “teaching methods for banjo”). You can see how entering a string of information gets you more exactly in line with what you are actually in search of.

It is the same when you are entering your keywords. The more specific you are, the more targeted your audience will be. It lessens your search returns, but you are actually developing an ability to receive an audience who is distinctively looking for what you are already offering! This lets you focus on doing what you do best rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

Here is an example to further illustrate this point.

Suppose you are retiring and just now considering taking up Golf but you are not sure where to begin to learn how. You spend the day driving around in your car to see what you can learn about this in a fun and comfortable way. Finally you find a few stores. One is called “Sports” one is called “Golf.” Which are you more likely to enter?

Both will probably be able to tell you about Golf, but one seems more directly geared to what you are looking for. Then you see another store called “New Golfers” and out front are signs that say “Beginner Classes” and “Taking Up Golf for the First Time.” Now which store do you want to spend time in first? Just from that extra small bit of detail you have a better idea which store may serve your needs best.

The same is true for your articles and posts. Being specific with your Keywords and Titles brings you people who are interested in exactly what you are offering. The search results become less (which means they are more manageable to the person doing the searching). Those who find you are less likely to be those who take up your time asking a bunch of questions and then go away in frustration because they were actually looking for something completely different. Actually, those who locate you this way are more likely to be your ideal clients because your details matched what they were looking for and delivered them directly to you!

Happy Writing!

Healing Light Studio

How does it do it? By referencing what is written in articles and by the placement of what is written. Though we don’t know specifically all of the ways that each Search Engine sorts through the thousands of articles that are presented daily, there are certain things that have shown to matter:

• Titles
• Subtitles
• Headings
• Categories
• Tags
• Tagging within graphics
• What is in the opening paragraph
• What is in the final paragraph
• Who links to your page (is it a site with similar or corresponding info)
• How many people link to your page
• How many hits you typically get to your articles

Adding the keywords that you list as tags to any and all of the above areas makes a difference!

Search Engines don’t just read the words you used as tags. Search Engines look for “relevant tags”. That means that if you are using a tag of “golf for beginners” but the statement of “golf for beginners” is not actually written into your article, the Search Engines overlook that tag as irrelevant.

Putting even more emphasis on words within your articles that are also in your tags is also helpful. This would be doing something to the text itself like underlining, bold, italics, using quotations, using words that are in your links, changing the font color, etc. Certain Search Engines consider this as extra weight on those words and give extra value to your article writing when those tags are entered by someone in their search, thus pushing you further up list in the results of a search.

Can you see the game unfolding here? It becomes not only about writing your article, but also about including your researched words specifically in those articles in designated areas that brings more recognition to your article or niche in the Search Engines.

**Here is a quick tip. If you enter words into a Search Engine, the Engine typically looks for all of those words within the articles of specific sites or articles. To get a more precise result, use Quotation Marks around the words that you want to stay in a chosen order and it will only give you reference to those words in articles which have those words listed right together in that exact order. An example would be to use the name of this blog. If I go to the Google Search Engine today and type in the words without quotations…healing light studio…and press enter, I get a return of 2,340,000 results of pages which use those 3 words somewhere in their pages (of which I’m thrilled to report I am #1 there right now). If I go to the same Google Search Engine today and type in the same words with quotations… “healing light studio” I get only 3,440 results or pages (of which today I hold the entire front page)! This is because only 3,440 articles have used the words healing light studio all in that specific order. As you can see, using this one tip can save you a ton of time when you are looking for exact results.

Understanding Keyword Relevance can mean the difference of having thousands of readers find your articles and having only the ones you notify finding them.

You can spend your time going out and finding clients (and that’s not a bad thing) but it is more efficient to help your potential clients find you. That’s why the “retail” life has been based on “Location, location, location.” Who might walk by and come in?

In the world of the internet, this can be done with keywords used in the articles that you write. When producing articles, assigning keywords to articles is the magic that helps the Search Engines find you.

What are you writing about? If you were looking for information on that topic, what words would you type into a search engine to find it?

Go to a search engine (like Google) and actually type in the words you have chosen and see how many hits you get using those specific key words. This is how many pages your search engine is reporting as using those words. If it is astronomical I would invite you to get out your thesaurus and find what synonyms may work better for you.

Though you may have picked great words that bring a lot of results, recognize that you are competing with that many pages already using those words. It may seem a bit intimidating but you can actually compete with say 60,000 pages (as compared to 160,000,000). When you are doing a search, how often do you look beyond the first page of the search? It stands to reason then that your goal is to eventually get to a high ranking spot on the first page of a search engine. Taking a few minutes to find good keywords is so important in this endeavor.

Google Adwords is a system that can help you find good keywords. (You sign up and are able to use their system whether you actually purchase ads with them or not.) Not only does it tell you the pages that have those words, it also tells you how many times your keywords were typed into the search engine (whether they found anything relevant or not). After all, if people aren’t looking for your keywords, you aren’t going to be found. If you are getting a result that says only 150 people searched for your keyword last month then that is probably not your best choice.

Just like Google is not the only search engine, Adwords is not the only keyword generating system. There are many. I have also used wordtracker.com, alexa.com, kwmap.net, marketsamurai.com to name a few. Each has interesting information that can be beneficial to you. For now, don’t overwhelm yourself. Just choose one and try it out. Once you get to know what it will do for you, then you may one day want to look at another just to see what is there.

Search engines seek out what is relevant to what someone is searching for. If you are doing a search to purchase something you are using different words in the search engines than you would typically use if you were just seeking information on that item. For instance, your keyword for your article may be “Banjo.” Adding keywords like “lessons, beginners, instructions, how to play, chords” helps the search engines define what your article is specifically about. Adding keywords like “purchase, quality, supplies, strings, store, music,” is an entirely different group of people. If you have a single word that describes your article, certainly use that word and also use words that are more descriptive along with it. By using these types of keywords, you are narrowing down the field and providing people with the information they are actually seeking.

Next up…what do I do with these keywords once I have them?

The best way to make your business unique, is to make it “uniquely you!” This is YOUR business! Let it represent the best of you. There is something about you that is unique that people remember you for no matter what. What is it? It is worth a few moments of contemplation. It is probably not at all hidden, it is just that at this point, you have not thought of it from a Marketing Perspective.

With me, it’s my laugh. I have a “quirky” laugh that makes others want to join in and that is something that people do not forget. I remember being at a bridal shower 10+ years after High School and having a friends’ Mother emerge from another room saying, “Where is Holly? I just heard that laugh and it took me back 20 years!” I didn’t, until that point, recognize that something that is such a natural part of me was that memorable. Now I realize, we all have something, and it is a natural part of who we are born to be. If I want to be remembered, I involve laughter! My business has an element of fun involved as a result!

But it’s bigger than that! Without that laugh, people wouldn’t know it was me! If that part of me was missing, people would literally wonder what happened to me.

So I ask you, what is it about you that is naturally unforgettable? Is it your love of nature, golf, cars, fishing, photography? Are you naturally funny? I invite you to take a few moments and figure this out? If you are stumped, be brave and ask others what it is about you that is distinctly memorable?

I remember having computer problems and being frustrated over how to correct a certain issue. I went all over the valley talking to different computer people trying to get ideas of what was available. At one shop, the owner had tons of chess sets inside his shop. He loved chess! In discussing these sets with him he told me that in times when there wasn’t a lot of work in front of him, he would take an hour or so out of his day and list the sets on ebay. He would open late on a certain night and people would meet there for a game. He found a way to bring his love of chess into his work space. It is very easy to remember the things he told me and associate them to him because in a valley filled with computer people, he is the chess guy. That piece of uniqueness is an anchor to him.

Incorporating an element of individuality into your business life is what will make you stand out in the crowd as unique and be remembered by your clients! What is it for you? What is it that you have a natural love of that people remember you by? Bring more of that personal element into your work space and watch things develop! Incorporating unique parts of you into your business world develops joy in your day and gives your customers an anchor to remember you by!

If you have great ideas about creating things in your life, but you are not sharing them because you don’t quite know how to get things off the ground, let that light come on inside of you and share your message.

If you are working in silence, put some balance into your world by opening up the possibility of having assistance.

It is amazing how many answers will come to you just because you stated what your intentions are and what you are in search of. If people have the ability to help, they typically will. If they don’t know what you are in search of, they also don’t know what to offer.

It’s time to start speaking up. What are you creating in your world? How will what you are creating benefit others as well? Someone has the answers you are seeking.

Think of one person you could share your dream with today. Pick up the phone and begin the discussion today.

What is a soul business?  Soul businesses are formed every time an individual (or group) steps forward and recognizes that they have something more within them to do (an inner mission) that betters the world as a whole.

This site  further represents a place for Soul Business people and those in the Healing Arts to join hands.