Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Does adding the suffix "-ing" affect ranking for a keyword? E.g. "build" vs "building"
-
In other words, let's say the keyword I wanted to rank for was "building a home" but the SERP only showed sites ranking for "build a home".
If I specifically optimized my page for "building a home" would that increase my chances for ranking for "building a home"?
-
Thanks so much!
-
Yes, suffixes matter, tenses matter, singular vs plurals matter. These are all different keywords. Search for "build" vs "building" in Google, and you will get different results. Look up the search volume in the Adwords tool, and you will see that the keywords have different search volumes.
TLDR: Yes, it matters. Choose the version that has the highest search volume or your customers tend to use the most.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Ranking for keywords in multiple zip codes
Hello, We are trying to rank for keywords locally. We are on the edge of four zip codes in our area and are competing with businesses in those zip codes. Should we track each keyword separately for each zip code, or just one zip code we're in?
Keyword Research | Oct 11, 2021, 7:34 PM | ifixcars0 -
Does the traffic that a page get affects the page ranking?
I am asking this as I would like to know if we can include this advice in our Search strategy. For instance, can we say for the keywords that has high business priority, but we are not currently rank above the fold we can boost the traffic and therefore the organic ranking by investing on these keywords on PPC.
Keyword Research | Aug 26, 2023, 7:21 AM | aliki_rigopoulou0 -
Reverse rankings check
Usually, we will have a set of keywords of which we check rankings for a designated website... however, is there a tool that is able to find all the keywords a website is currently ranking on the top page of Google for?
Keyword Research | Aug 11, 2014, 4:19 AM | Gavo0 -
Keywords with and without diacritics
Hi, I am trying to make my site to appear in the search results even the searched term have or have not been wrote with diacritics for example: "șarpe" or "sarpe". The language is Romanian. If I seach for "Românul cu maşină, marea victimă" or "Romanul cu masina, marea victima" the first result for both searches is the same. I don't see anything special on their html code and I am wondering how do they did it. Regards, Bogdan
Keyword Research | Apr 1, 2014, 5:47 AM | RIAdig0 -
The same keyword on multiple pages, but not all (combined with other relevant keywords) for products.
Hi Guys, I want to get an opinion/advice on this. My client has a site that have all their products (I am working on expanding the product descriptions, benefits and how they differ from each other) listed and I just want to know if I can use the term 'gear oil' for example on multiple pages as one of the keywords. The product range (among others like transmission fluid and anti-freeze) is gear oil (with the different types of gear oils available described) and I can't really change what the product is. I do have different variations (such as gear lubricant, automotive gear lubricant, car gear oil etc.) but will it do damage if I use the same keyword (like gear oil) on multiple pages (along with another relevant keyword that does not involve the words gear oil)? Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!
Keyword Research | Mar 10, 2021, 10:07 PM | annabel.schoeman0 -
Keyword ranking by word order
If we have a keyword with 2 words like "SSL Audit". Will it rank in the same position the other way "Audit SSL" ?
Keyword Research | Jan 23, 2014, 3:05 PM | Cistrust.com0 -
How do you check your KW rankings?
I'm currently using the PRO campaigns to track my main keywords. However, I'm trying to do some research on KW opportunities, and having no luck finding a way to conveniently check rankings for new keywords. What tool do you use to get ranking results for large keyword lists?
Keyword Research | Sep 30, 2011, 6:16 PM | AdoptionHelp0 -
How do you optimize for compound keywords
What is the best way to handle keywords like "switchplate covers"? The key word may be seen as either a 2 or 3 word phrase, depending how you handle the compound term: "switch plate" or "switchplate" In google KW it shows different results for switch plate vs switchplate as well as using cover vs covers. I've tried using all the variations in my descriptions, titles and H2s but I think this is diluting them all. Can anyone show me best practice guidelenes or examples of good solutions to these kinds of compound key words? Thanks Handcrafter
Keyword Research | Aug 28, 2011, 11:11 AM | stephenfishman0
