Optimization of keyphrase strategy takes on many forms. It can start with something as simple as choosing between slight variations of your main keyphrase. In the development of joelwardmagic.com, we were faced with the question of whether to target "corporate magic" or "corporate magician". The two considerations were: what are potential clients most likely to search for, and how much competition already exists.
To see existing competition, we searched for each keyphrase on Google and noted the number of results that were returned. Results as of October 5, 2005 are: for corporate magic, 17,700,000 results; for corporate magician, 1,300,000. That means there are over 13 times as many results for corporate magic. It seems that it would make the most sense for the optimization to target corporate magician, because there is less competition. But in considering what his clients were most likely to search for, he decided that corporate magic should be his main keyphrase.
The optimization was a reasonable challenge, but it was successful. As of October 2005, he is on the first page for corporate magic. His secondary keyphrase has also been sharing in the success, listed on the first page for corporate magician. He also holds the top spot for the majority of his approximately 20 product and service keyphrases.
For more information about this keyphrase optimization project, please visit my keyphrase consulting page.