Keywords: Why are they important?

I've taken on a freelance project in order to pad my dwindling writing bank account. I'm thrilled to be publishing an urban fantasy in July called Nephilim, but not so thrilled at the time and cost it sometimes takes to promote it. However,  as my buddy Shakespeare says, "It is what it is." Having rediscovered the wonders of the freelance writer, I hope to use that money towards my promotion fund.

Its been a while since I've written any freelance articles, and I found myself in need of a refresher on the importance of using keywords while writing. A keyword is not a single "word," but a phrase people use in a search engine to find what they are looking for. The trick is that it must be exact. For example, if I were writing an article about the pleasures of opening your own at home daycare, the keyword would be "at home daycare." I'd have to use it exactly the same way, with the same punctation every time. Even the slightest variation--at home day care--could throw a search off.

Keywords help drive people to your website, article, or blog. As a re-emerging freelance writer, I want to make sure the keywords I use in my articles are the most profitable for the client. There are lots of sites online available to help you figure out what keywords to use in your own articles. Guess what? All you have to do is type in "keywords" in your search engine to find them!

Think about how this might apply to your personal blog. How might using keywords improve traffic to your site? It's worth the time to do a little research on this!