Optimizing dog walking site for search phrase "dog walkers nyc"
-
Background: We have a dog walking company that serves NYC. According to our AdWords campaign, most leads come from the search phrase: "dog walkers nyc."
Question: If the goal is to get as much organic traffic as possible for the search phrase "dog walkers nyc," should we just optimize our http://barkbud.com/ domain for the search phrase "dog walkers nyc," OR should we also have a page like http://barkbud.com/dog-walkers-nyc/ optimized for the same phrase?
Thanks!
-
Personally I wouldn't optimize both pages for a single keyword. As Matt says, that is a good way to look spammy. That being said, you probably want to build out your site with other options for potential clients since a single page targeting dog walkers in NYC will not do much to help your overall traffic. It will work well as a lead-generation page, however, so as I said earlier, you probably want to work on converting those folks who come to your website rather than focusing on generating enormous amounts of traffic.
Also, to underline Matt's point, don't use exact match keyword targeting since that will look unnatural. I would personally look for relevant keywords that people are searching for - a great method for this can be found in this article:
Use this method to develop pages that follow user intent when they are looking for dog walking services and generate some pages with respect to those questions. You will improve your website's UX and increase your overall conversion potential.
Best of luck moving forward!
-
Thanks Matt!
-
It's extremely unlikely that you'd rank two pages for one term, so I personally wouldn't recommend optimizing two pages for the same keyword. I also suggest you be very careful about optimizing for an exact match keyword like that, as it could make your copy sound stilted and unnatural ("We're the best dog walkers NYC around!"). If it's very clear that your service is dog walking and that your located in NYC—perhaps use schema markup to establish the location, and make sure to have a presence on the relevant directories—I'd think you'd be fine.
Plus, since BarkBud only offers dog walking, and only in NYC, a page like barkbud.com/dog-walkers-nyc/ is redundant at best, and spammy at worst.
-
Thanks for the response Rob! We are only selling one service, dog walking. I don't see this changing for some time. Also, we are only serving NYC. Given this, do you think we should optimize barkbud.com AND barkbud.com/dog-walkers-nyc/ for the search phrase "dog walkers nyc?"
-
Hi,
For maximizing your traffic, there are a couple of questions you need to ask before optimizing your domain/page for your chosen keyword(s):
- Do you offer additional services?
If you are simply walking dogs, then optimizing your website for these specific search terms is in your best interest. If you are trying to develop new services, or provide information/additional value to potential clients, you may have to use a different tactic.
If you are only providing the single service, you can optimize your home page for the keywords and be done with it. If you are trying to provide additional services/information, it is best if you create multiple pages with each page targeting specific keywords.
- Is organic traffic really your biggest seller?
Organic traffic (presumably new sessions) is a way to go, although it may not provide you with the greatest value when compared to direct traffic. I would suggest setting up goals and conversions for each of your keywords in GA and determining which traffic source provides you with the highest conversion rates. Determine whether repeat visitors or new visitors are the ones generating leads.
You may discover that you are focused on the wrong kind of traffic for your services. If you are set on gathering organic traffic, however, you should definitely have a separate optimized page in your sales funnel for relevant keywords.
- Are you over-stuffing your keywords?
Remember not to keyword stuff your website or provide unnatural links for your profile. This will have an adverse effect on your ranking potential. Perhaps try generating multiple pages which cover topics relevant to your keywords. For example, instead of just targeting "dog walkers nyc", try branching out to "benefits of dog walkers" or "4 things to ask a dog walker" - create a blog that answers questions you expect your customers to have, and create value for them that way.
This way, you are not depending on the quantity of traffic, but on the quality of your lead generation process. You may not need more traffic, you may merely need to optimize your conversion process.
Hope this adds some helpful insight.
Let me know if you have further questions,
Rob
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
-
IYO, What is the Best Language to Build a Site With and Why? Thanks Catherine Corn
IYO, What is the Best Language to Build a Site With and Why? Thanks Catherine Corn
Local Website Optimization | | CatherineCorn10 -
I have 5 sites each targeting a different service my company offers, should I consolidate to one site or merge to one?
I run a photo booth company and have a site for each service I offer. Are smaller sites that are SEO for each service stronger than just having pages for each service on one mother site?thanks,
Local Website Optimization | | hashtagltd0 -
SEO and Redirecting Site to a Different Firm's Domain while Maintaining Current Domain's Rankings
I am a plaintiffs' attorney with a website that ranks well for my major practice areas. I am considering taking a position with a new firm. As part of the discussion, the new firm would allow me to keep my current site so long as it redirects to my bio page on their firm's site. My goal is to keep my current site ranking well and continuously work on SEO efforts, in case I leave the new firm and want to rely on my current site in the future. My questions are: Is there a way to redirect my site every time it shows up in the listings (I have 1000+ indexed pages) without sacrificing its current rankings b/c of bounce rate issues, etc and 2) If I continue to add pages and work on SEO for my site while it redirects to another, will those efforts be worthwhile due to the redirect? I want to keep trying to build my site even though it redirects to a page on a different domain.
Local Website Optimization | | crpoll0 -
Benefits of adding keywords to site structure?
Hello fellow Mozzers, This is kind of a hypothetical, but it might have implications for future projects. Do you think there would be any benefits (or drawbacks) to placing pages of a site into a directory named after a keyword? For example, if I had a local store that sold hockey equipment, and "hockey", "equipment", and "hockey equipment" were the main targets being optimized for, would it be better (assuming the actual pages were the same) to structure the site as hypotheticalwebsite.com/about-us/ hypotheticalwebsite.com/hockey-skates/ hypotheticalwebsite.com/hockey-sticks/ hypotheticalwebsite.com/blog/ or hypotheticalwebsite.com/hockey-equipment/about-us/ hypotheticalwebsite.com/hockey-equipment/hockey-skates/ hypotheticalwebsite.com/hockey-equipment/hockey-sticks/ hypotheticalwebsite.com/hockey-equipment/blog/ Additionally, would any of this change if the root domain or the individual pages ALSO used those keywords (or if both of them used it)? pseudonyms-hockey-gear.com/hockey-equipment/skates/ pseudonyms-penalty-box.com/hockey-equipment/hockey-skates/ pseudonyms-hockey-gear.com/hockey-equipment/hockey-skates/ I've got a hunch that some of these are overkill, but I'm not sure where the scale tips from helpful to negligible to actively counterproductive. Thanks, everyone!
Local Website Optimization | | BrianAlpert780 -
SEO for local business directory type site
I am thinking about creating a local business directory type website that lists all local Tattoo Shops. I am familiar with both local and global SEO and how to differentiate between them, however, I am not sure how I should approach this type of website. It isn't an actual business, but I want to target local searches that are looking for tattoo shops. In other words, when someone types in "tattoo shops" or "tattoo shops near me", or "tattoo parlors", I want the website to appear. Is this something that is manageable, or will the individual Tattoo Shop websites always show before mine since they are real local businesses with google+ pages?
Local Website Optimization | | brfieger0 -
Can I use a state's slang term for local search?
Have a business located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The business name will be BusinessName Indy. The URL will be BusinessName-Indy.com Since I am using Indy instead of Indianapolis or Indiana, is Google's algorithm smart enough to match up local results to my site?
Local Website Optimization | | StevenPeavey1 -
Combining sites. But what domain to use?
So we currently have two websites: www.thephotoboothguys.co.uk and www.thephotoboothguys.com.au We're redeveloping our sites, and combining them to have just a singular website (and then sub sections for each country / location). Unfortunately we can not get the .com of our domain, nor the _.net _And I really can't find a .com that i think will work (for lack of availability, or just because the domain name would not be succinct enough). So, I also have registered - www.photobooth.gy and www.thephotoboothguys.co
Local Website Optimization | | blitzna10
My question ultimately is - is it a bad idea to use a .gy or .co as my main domain - especially when we dont operate in either Guyana or Columbia - but, assuming that the content and structure of the website make it clear what countries and locations we do operate in. Is this something Google et al will figure out over time? Or is it likely to make a huge impact? Or should I be searching harder to find a .com that will work for me? Cheers!0