Keywords and phrases help identify the content of a particular web page or web site.  Proper use of keywords and phrases can significantly increase your position in search engine results.  

Every single page should have unique keywords and phrases that relate to the content of that particular page.  You should also be using Meta tags to help search engines relate the page content to the overall subject of your web site.  You can use Meta description and Meta keywords for each page to differentiate one page from the next.  These keywords and descriptions must also match the content of that particular page, otherwise you run the risk of being punished by the search engine by providing false information...this is also a common trap to fall into, and I assure you that no matter how appealing it is to type every keyword and phrase you can think of to get people to your site, it will end up lowering your rank, search engines are much smarter than that.

Image descriptions and URL's are another area to utilize keywords and phrases.  Every image that is of value to your site content should have an "alt" tag with an appropriate description of that image.  Along with that, URL anchor tags should also be used whenever possible.  Instead of:

we would put the description in the clickable anchor tag:

Utilizing keywords or phrases in URLs can also help validate content on a particular page. Example:

looks confusing to some search engines and some won't even follow a dynamic link like that. A better representation would be:

or even:

Keywords and phrases are very important to have on every page of your site that you want a search engine to find. They can increase traffic by ranking your site higher in a search result, but there can also be a down side to keywords and phrases if they are over used, or don't relate to the content on a particular page, so be careful.

We are very proficient in SEO practices and can help you optimize your web site utilizing keywords and phrases the right way. Search engines will punish your site if they decide that you are trying to "game" the system with redundant keywords or phrases, too many of either, or if they think the keywords and phrases do not relate to the page content closely enough. Optimizing a web site for the absolute best search engine placement is like walking a tight rope, and we can help take the guesswork out of a proficient strategy.