Search engines are therefore an obvious part of our marketing strategy, but before we can even ask the engines to index our site, we need to have a pretty good idea of what our customers are looking for. The same survey also showed that the vast majority of surfers also used more than one word when looking for something they wanted.

Our search then is for short phrases of two or three words that sum up what we are all about. These are the so called key words or key phrases, they are crucial to our success.

For example if your company name is macdonalds and you sell sealing valves for the gas industry in the U.K you might think your company name is a good enough keyword, but unless you are as well known as Kodak or IBM, don't expect people to use your name to find your product. Better phrases might be 'gas valves uk' 'sealing valves' 'uk valves'. Try to get into the head of the person who is looking for a product or service, what would they instictively describe your service or product as? Is there a slang term for your product, are initials often used instead of the name? This key word exercise is just what it says a key part of your online success.