If you've heard of the Internet, you've probably heard of keywords. Key words are what drive traffic to you website. At least, you hope so!

Well chosen key words, and the way you use them on your site, are important factors in attracting organic search engine traffic, or "type-in traffic." This is when people click to your site because they typed a keyword or a phrase that is relevant to your website into a search engine. You'll need about 10-25 key words and phrases.

How to create good keywords

Meet with a group of people, some of whom know your business, and some of whom do not. Brainstorm a list of key words or phrases that people might use to try to find sites like yours. Think about what people in your target market would do to find your site, or find information on a topic encompassed within your site. Even more important, think what they would do if they didn't know your company existed, and were looking for the types of products and services you sell.

Test this list of keywords or phrases by typing them in, one at a time, to a popular search engine like Google or Yahoo. Do sites like yours come up in the results? If yes, you've found a keyword that you want to use.

You should check your thinking by reviewing competitor and industry leading websites. At these sites, click "View," then click "Page Source;" and then review the "<meta name="keywords" content=" information. Check your list of keyword phrases against theirs. Also, observe how these keywords are used in their page titles, page headers, and body text.

Here are several questions to help you with your brainstorming process:

1. What industry are you in (e.g., landscaping)?

2. What is the focus of your website (e.g., a resource, as guide, a store)? What would people search for if they were looking for a website like yours?

3. What products and services do you sell? What are some of the descriptive words or benefits of your products and/or services that might be familiar to your target market? Also, include words that describe the benefits of these services or the service in more detail.

4. Are there any regional or geographic implications to consider? For example, there could be spelling differences to account for. In the United States the target market might look for color laser printer and in Canada the target market might look for colour laser printer. Also, people typically blend a destination or major landmark with their keyword search.

Again, your list should contain between 10 and 25 key words and phrases. More than this could be deemed "spam" by the search engine mavens. Good luck!