also included here. Look at the sites for which you have a record and look for

sites in the major search engines using some of the keyword phrases you have

gathered so far.

       You want to see what sites are in the top 10 positions and understand them.

By reviewing top-ranking Web sites, you can look for themes and patterns in

the sites that give you a good indication of what they are going after and how

they are doing it. You can then turn around and apply this newfound knowledge

to your own Web site.

       When reviewing competing Web sites, you should look at the same general

areas you would optimize on your own Web site. As mentioned earlier, the most

critical keyword placement areas include:

         Check to see what meta-tags your competitors have. Not only can you learn from the sites that catch your eye, you can also learn from your competitors’ mistakes. After you have done a thorough job of this market research, you are in a good position to develop a description that is catchy and adequately describes your site.

         To check your competition’s meta-tags in Microsoft Internet Explorer, you simply go to their site, then click “View” on your menu bar, and select “Source” from the drop-down menu. This brings up the source code for that page in whatever your default text browser is. Pay special attention to the title tag of the top-ranked Web sites. To get a little more specific, you can narrow your search to keywords in a title tag. The reason for doing this is that optimizing a title tag is a given when it comes to search engine optimization, so it only makes sense to look at who else is doing it as well. On Google you can enter “allintitle: keyword phrase,” without the quotes, to search for all pages with the noted keywords in their title tag. This approach is a little more focused than simply looking for all pages with a certain set of keywords because the keywords might just be there in passing, as a part of an article, and not something the site is intentionally trying to target. If the keywords are found in the title tag, there is a better chance their reason for being there is intentional.

As noted earlier, you can learn not only from the sites that catch your eye, but also from your competitors’ mistakes.

        Your Web site traffic logs can be a source of pertinent keyword information. You can view your traffic logs to see what search terms and search engines people are using to locate your Web site and to help you fine-tune future search engine optimization efforts.

        If you are not sure whether you have access to a Web site traffic analysis program, check with your current Web site host to see if they provide one to you. If not, there are plenty of tools available to you.
        Understand that the search terms displayed may not be the most relevant; they just happen to be the search terms people are executing to find your site during the selected time frame. Applying new search engine optimization techniques with relevant keywords changes how people find your Web site. The Web site traffic analysis package you use gives you the power to measure the impact of your optimization efforts.

      Your traffic logs can be a source of inspiration for generating your master keyword list. Note the search terms people are currently using and add them to your list. For a more complete look at the search phrases reported on your Web site, expand the date range to cover a larger spread—say, over the period of a year.
      When your site is optimized, your Web traffic analysis tool will become your best friend in monitoring your success.

Keyword Suggestion and Evaluation Tools
      There are a number of services available that can help you with selecting the most appropriate keywords for your site. These services base their suggestions on results from actual search queries. Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com) is an example of such a service.

         Keyword research tools can help meet your current needs, whether you’re looking for a place to start, are plum out of ideas, or simply feel like you’re missing something.