A search engine is a tool people use to find what they're looking for on the Internet.
When you want to find something on the Internet, you first have to decide on the search engine you're going to use (some of the UK's most popular and dominant search engines are Google, Yahoo, Bing, AOL and Alta Vista). Having done that, you then need to enter the word or phrase you're looking for.
But not just a vague, catch-all word or phrase.
Because as the Internet grows, people are realising that the more specific their search term is, the more likely they are to find exactly what they're looking for.
So if for example you lived in south west Cardiff and you were looking for dog kennels, your best option would be to enter the search term "dog kennels in south west Cardiff", rather than just the word 'dog', or indeed the phrases 'dog kennels' or 'dog kennels, Cardiff'.
Having submitted your precise search term (wrapped in double quotes - see here for reasons why), the search engine will then trawl the entire Internet finding web sites containing the specific term 'dog kennels in south west Cardiff''.
Once all those web sites have been found, the search engine will then generate a list in order of perceived relevance.
So what exactly will your customers and prospects be looking for?
It’s very important that you consider the exact words and phrases that people will enter in the search engines to find your product and service.
If for instance I were a collector of railway timetables, then unsurprisingly, ‘railway timetables’ might be one of the first phrases I’d type in. But possibly not the only one.
Perhaps I’m only interested in UK railway timetables? Or rare railway timetables? Or mint-condition collections of railway timetables?
You will have to consider and list all the different phrases that people might type in to a search engine to find what they want to buy and what you’re selling.
Because if you don't, one of your competitors will.