I just heard that Wordtracker is offering new subscribers unlimited 7 day access to the full version of Wordtracker for FREE! So I wanted to pass this along to you. If you aren't already using Wordtracker to aid your web sites in SEO I recommend you check it out. Keyword research is a valuable tool and Wordtracker is an invaluable resource!

They will ask for your credit card information. This is only to protect them from people abusing the system by registering several times. If you want to take advantage of their 7-day access for free, go Wordtracker - The Premier Keyword Research Tool for Search Engine Optimization and subscribe.

First things first, what are 'keywords'?  When you use a search engine, such as Google, Yahoo and MSN Live to find something on the Internet, you type into the search box a word or phrase.  That words or phrase that you use to get a desired result are your keywords.

You want to use keyword rich content for your website to get traffic to your site.  You want great search engine optimization ( SEO ).  The best way to do this is to think like your visitor or customer.  Here are the steps you can go by to ensure you choose the best keywords for your site.

1. Build your web site on what you know and love ( or at least be willing to learn ) - This way you will know it inside and out.  It is important that you know exactly what it is your site is about.  This will help you to decide what words relate to your services and / or products offered by your site.  For example, if you create a site about your hobby of scrapbooking, you will feel comfortable with this topic and be an expert in your field.
2. Brainstorming - sit down with pen in hand and write down every word or phrase you can think of regarding your business.  In this case, all the words that come to mind concerning scrap booking. 
3. Expand upon your list - you can use a number of tools available on the Internet to help you with this.  I like Google Adwords Keyword Tool, it's free and will help you to find more words that you might not have considered.  You type in a word and phrase that comes to mind about scrapbooking and it will give you more words or variations and synonyms of the words you entered.  Now you have a lengthened list of keywords.
4. Check your competitors - you can do a search of other websites out there about scrapbooking and see how they rank.  Remember you have to compete with thousands upon thousands of web sites and you need to use keywords that will give your site the edge.
5. Analyze your list of keywords - through the use of Goggle Adwords Keyword Tool or Wordtracker you can see the popularity of the words and phrases that people use to search for scrapbooking sites.  For example you may find that the majority of people type in search boxes 'scrapbooking' supplies' and 'scrapbook' ideas'.  You can then check out your competition and see your competition for these keywords.  Once you know the popularity of your keyword and the competition of your keyword you can calculate the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI).   The KEI is a measure of how effective a keyword is for your web site.  KEI = (P^2)/C
6. Narrow your list  - once you finish analyzing your list you will be able to narrow it down to a more concise keyword rich list.  You can eliminate words or phrases that have less than 10 searches a day and any that have a KEI of less than 0.01.  You need to reduce your list down to highly relevant and highly searched and as high a KEI as possible.

Now you are ready to begin your search engine optimization.  You are well on your way to getting your site seen by as many customers as possible and to gain high page ranking among the search engines.  Just remember to have good quality content with keyword density rich pages.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments.  I hope to hear from you.  Enjoy Life!!!