1.) Keywords and phrases are just as important in the content (body) of your webpage as they are in the metatags.
2.) Know what words|phrases your customers search with to find your site and use them.
3.) Phrases produce more specific results than single words. Avoid keywords that are too broad or general. Be more specific and your competition will be less.Think big fish in small pond.
4.) Each page of your website should have relevant and unique keywords|phrases to that page. Keywords in the metatags, and content text should go hand and hand.
5.) When possible, use the key phrase as the page name, page title, meta description, and page headings. Your title is the most important part of your page as far as search engines are concerned. It is what appears in the browser blue bar.
6.) Use keywords in image "alt" tags.
7.) Use the keyword in your links on your page.
8.) Look at the meta tag keywords and text content your competition uses especially those with high ranking in the search engines.
9.) Don't use irrelevant words this will only hurt you or get you sued. For example, sex or Nike if you don't sell Nike's.
10.) Don't dilute your keyword phrases by having too many and being all over the board. Think about your niche and strategically use 1-2 phrases across your site.
11.) Use these tools and get really smart about it:
Tools to help with keyword optimization, analyzation, and selection-
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
.