Introduction 

One of my common rants when talking about making the transition from an offline business to an online business is the need to clearly understand the differences between OFFline and ONline.

There are many obvious differences, but as I am sure you can understand, it is the subtle, hard to recognize differences that can be the most significant.  This is in large part because you, the poor business owner, may be totally unaware of the problems those differences may be causing!

An excellent example of this is the online concept of *Keywords* and *Keyphrases*.

Offline, about the closest you come to this issue having to choose a category to list your business under in the Yellow Pages Directory… and I am sure for most offline businesses, there is only one YP option…

So… what ARE *Keywords* and *Keyphrases*?

The term Keyword refers to a word or phrase that an Internet user would use to search for online information. In many cases, the web surfer would be using a Search Engine to find the word or phrase. The Search Engine could search the entire internet, as Google does, or merely search a specific website, such a looking for a specific book or author on Amazon.com.   

Keyword refers to a general search such as the term *golf club*.

Keyphrase refers to a more detailed and targeted search such as
        *Callaway Big Bertha 08 Individual Iron (Sand Wedge) *.    

Keywords and keyphrases offer insight into what online visitors are looking for, they can provide information about products sought, or information that is needed. They help make up for the minimal interaction between an online business owner and his targeted customer.

Why ARE Keywords and Keyphrases Significant?

Keywords and keyphrases are what drive the external Search Engines, such as Google. In this way, they provide valuable opportunities to get websites and specific web pages seen.

In addition, keywords and keyphrases are what drive the internal Search Engines used by shopping Cart software and Content Management Systems (such as WordPress).

Because of this, the Search Engines (both external and internal) are adding layer of complexity between the information you are offering online and the visitor (Human OR Search Engine Bot) looking for that information.

As I explained in the Short Report – Are You Maximizing Your Web Shop’s Search Options? — offline, someone enters a store, looks around — may or may not check a shopping list – picks out a few items, purchases them, and leaves…

In this example, a Shopper in a physical shop has the following Search Options:

• Shopping List Shopping
• Traffic Pattern Shopping           
•  Mood Shopping
• Task Shopping
• Impulse Shopping

                                           
As illustrated in this example, the most powerful aspect of Search in an Offline store is the ability of the shopper to access, scan, evaluate, filter, and choose. In other words…

 the Shopper IS the Search Engine…

This is one of the significant differences between Offline and Online!

Online, the Search Engines (External and Internal) – and their need for a way to recognize and organize information, which is provided by the careful and accurate use of keywords and keyphrases – are adding an additional layer of complexity and yet another action between the searcher and his or her goal.

As I sure you realize, in this day and age, adding any additional hoops someone to jump through dramatically increases the likelihood that they will abandon the pursuit… and they will never get to your website!

What is the Answer to this Dilemma?

It is extremely important that a business owner understand the importance of keywords and keyphrases… as well as how to find them, organize them, and implement them…

For more on this important issue, check out the Short Report – KEYWORDS  – What Are They and Why Do YOU Need to Know About Them?