Social media is an ever evolving medium, and one which flows through change quickly. Working in the Faith-based social media area, we have to keep up with these trends and changes, just like everyone else.

A few years ago, research showed that “keywords” should be general, short, and directly related to the article you are posting. These days, a recent report from Mashable showed that the keyword process has changed.  No longer are keywords that are general and short the best route to go. Instead, current wisdom in the SEO world says that for best representation, you must have a mix of long and short keywords and tags in your articles and posts.

Many marketers feel overwhelmed with these ongoing changes, and are unsure of how to navigate the blending of short words and long phrases.

Here’s how to break that advice down:

– Your keywords/tags should be a variety of short and general words, and searchable phrases. What is a searchable phrase? Think of words and phrases that you would type in to search for your specific article or item. Let’s say you have a Christian DVD that is releasing, and you want to appropriately tag and keyword your press release. The film is a family friendly film without questionable content, and is directed at families with young children. You’d start with your general words: Christian DVD, family films, Christian films, faith based films. Then, you’d move on to your phrases. These are things someone would type in, that would lead them to your film: What’s new in Christian films, clean Christian movies, movies appropriate for the entire family, new releases in Christian movies. The optimal number of keywords/tags is between 8-12, according to the Mashable report, so pick your best, and voila!

– Other ideas for good keywords are location based keywords (i.e.: family movies in Baltimore, family activities in Minnesota, stuff to do in Orange County). Also think about variations on the same words, and synonyms. An example is “Christian DVD” and “Christian films/movies”…they can produce different results. Including all the variations in your keywords means you will be in both ‘pools’ of searches.

– Word order also matters; typing “movies that are Christian” produces different results than typing “Christian movies”, and you want to cover all your bases. Studies show that unpopular keywords include: things that are specific to the company or brand alone, such as a motto or slogan that the company uses, and including keywords that are irrelevant to the site. Customers feel distrust when a website puts keywords like “wedding gifts” on a site that doesn’t sell wedding gifts. Consider your reader’s trust, and while thinking of keywords, make sure you remain truthful.

Still stumped about how to use keywords to boost your SEO? FrontGate offers extensive marketing and social media help! You can contact a FrontGate Engagement Specialist here.