Given that backlinking is very important for Search Engine Optimization and that most backlinks go to the homepage (index page), should I put all my keyword phrases I want to target on my index page? For instance if I had a web site that sold pet supplies and I want people to search for %26quot;dog collars%26quot;, %26quot;cat litter%26quot; and %26quot;dog bowls%26quot; how should I best configure my Web site so that people searching for all 3 will have my website come up first in the search engines? Also it seems my index page should be optimized for the word %26quot;pet supplies%26quot; or %26quot;pet supply store%26quot; but those search terms are most competitve to place for, so I may be better off optimizing my Web page for less competitive terms like %26quot;dog collars%26quot; or %26quot;cat litter%26quot;. Should I then optimize my index page for the lesser competitve keywords even though %26quot;pet supplies%26quot; is the more relevant keyword phrase that describes my business on the index page? In short should I change my title, meta keyword descriptions, and header tags on my index page to reflect %26quot;dog collars%26quot; rather than %26quot;pet supplies%26quot;?|||Hi there,
The thing a lot of people get confused about is that SEO is not done on a SITE level, it%26#039;s done on a PAGE level.
Let me explain. You%26#039;re right, most ppl link to your index/homepage. It%26#039;s going to almost impossible for you to optimize your homepage, which is just ONE page, for a bunch of different keywords effectively.
Here%26#039;s how you should structure your site. Make your homepage your most broad, general themed page. So, it should be talking about pet supplies in general. Optimize your homepage for a more general, more competitive term.
Then you have subpages on your site, one page about dog supplies, one page about cat supplies, or whatever. Then optimize your subpages for the more specific, and less competitive terms.
The reason it%26#039;s going to be pretty much impossible to truly optimize your index page for more specific terms like %26quot;cat litter%26quot; or %26quot;dog collars%26quot; is because the content on your index page is more general, not specifically about cat litter or dog collars. So your keyword density will not work out. People going to your homepage will be more disappointed that it%26#039;s filled with extra info they don%26#039;t care about, since they were only looking for cat litter, not dog collars.
Your traffic will be much more qualified (i.e. more targeted and higher converting) if you send them to their respective subpages. Ppl searching for %26quot;dog collars%26quot; are brought to the dog collars page, rather than the general pet supplies homepage. Remember, each PAGE can be optimized for a specific keyword. Don%26#039;t try to optimize your index page for everything.
So no, don%26#039;t change your meta, title, header, etc. on your homepage. If you do that, then suddenly your metadata is all about dog collars, when really the content is about pet supplies in general. So all the cat litter people will not be interested, and you lose out on that.
Rather, set up subpages and optimize the subpages for the more specific and less competitive keywords.
Homepage - broader, generic, more competitive keyword w/ highest search volume
Subpage #1 - dog collars
Subpage #2 - cat litter
etc.
To learn more about how to properly do SEO, check out this blog:
http://theinternetmarketingtools.com/
