Keywords are part of what I call the Traffic Triad: keywords, content, and back links. Keywords are the most important thing to get traffic yo your website. Get this wrong and you won't have any traffic. Keyword research is one of the three things that you must absolutely learn to do correctly and then master.
The reason, of course, is keywords are how search engine view and index you websites, and how people will find your websites when they do an online search. When we discuss keywords, we also mean "keyword phrases". These are, in fact, interchangeable terms when discussing building websites, online marketing and implementing SEO.
Keyword research is the first thing you should concentrate on for SEO and getting traffic after you have selected a niche. Keywords are also important to the construction of RSS link wheels, just like any other blog or website.
It's vital to realize why key phrases are so critical. The entire Internet is fundamentally powered by keywords. You have to learn to think about how people may be searching for information online. You can also learn to use some online tools to discover the best keywords and keyword phrases based on metrics like monthly search volume, geographic parameters, search trends, etc.
Did I mention keywords are important? In the next post we discuss some basic guideline i have learned for selecting and using keywords.