Keywords in google's webmaster tools
-
how heavily do the list of keywords in google's webmaster tools reflect your ranking for those keywords? For example see this screenshot:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/39497/Screen shot 2011-06-04 at 7.22.31 PM.png
we are a self storage company, and our first two keywords in google's webmaster tools are storage and self. the problem is nobody searches for self storage (from my keyword research). most people search for "storage +cityname" like "storage toronto" for example.
so i guess my question would be this:
would it be effective to change all the instances of "Self" on our website to "Toronto" or other city names to try to push the city names higher in google's webmaster tools keywords rank?
-
I find that a lot of the data in webmaster tools is not that helpful. It takes some time to sort through and figure out what can help you and what can't. Some of my suggested keywords are things that no one would search for. If I optimized my site for these keywords it would just look silly.
Similarly, don't forget that the Adwords Keyword tool is not accurate at all when it comes to search volume. For my main keyword, it tells me that I should have 12,000 searches per month. I am number one for this keyword and yet I get 5000 impressions per month.
If you are focusing on targeting local searches, do you have a local listing? This is REALLY important. It's not hard to optimize your local listing so that you appear at or the near top for several terms.
-
I agree that you are doing many of the right things.
As it happens, I have many Toronto small business clients who compete with much larger players.
In your case, I would suggest:
-
A greater focus on Yelp and Google Places reviews. You need more recent reviews. And you can go beyond soliciting reviews on your blog.
-
Consider a 90 second video for your home page that summarizes the value proposition and what sets you apart. It should include testimonials. See www.dccentre.ca for an example. See
http://www.youtube.com/user/KiddieProofers
for a YouTube Channel of 90 second videos focussing on consumer tips.
Rationale: Your site is excellent, but very dense and text heavy. It may be scaring people away. Videos might help. (And be sure to include Google video Maps) I would also experiment with cutting back on content and carefuly monitoring changes in your bounce rate.
- Experiment with Google adwords if you have not already done so. Agencies like mine benefit from an in-house Google team that does the initial campaign set up and tweaks for 30 days. You might want to contact one. Just watch out for big mark ups!
Hope this helps.
-Daniel
-
-
I agree with Alan; you are definitely on the right path. Google Webmaster Tools is only one of many signals you can check. Check out the rankings report Page from SEOMOZ to maximize your use of their Web App as I see you are a PRO member and this is a MUST READ. Also Google Insights, Google Adwords Keyword Tool, and Wordtracker are very helpful in identifying opportunities and search metrics. Then Check your On page Grade in the web app for your specific page and term and try to optimize for one or two keyword phrases per page only.
Hope this helps.
-
Actually you appear do be doing things right (I did a cursory check of your sit). I wouldn't worry that you see the single words in the Google Webmaster system - it's just how their system evaluates content. Self Storage is what you do, so both words occur repeatedly throughout the site. And that's natural and proper. So for organic clicks, don't be concerned that you're showing up for words that don't by themselves directly relate to your offerings. There are probably millions of combinations of other words on your site that you show up for that aren't related to your site.
What matters is how well you show up for the phrases you care about. And then focus on building content, inbound links, and social engagement around those, as well as brand name...
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
-
What tools do you use to find phrase keyword search volume?
I used to use Google Adwords to find broad, phrase and exact search volumes, but now Google only provides exact. Does anyone have any tools or other ways to find phrase search volume?
Keyword Research | | Scratch_MM0 -
I'm a noob. Keywords for new ecommerce site. Should I go for the "big boys" or start small?
Hey guys, My ecommerce site sells fair trade jewelry, bags, shoes from developing countries. I used the Keyword difficulty tool and came up with a list of about 50 keywords. Should I focus on the 29%-50% difficulty keywords or go for the 50%-75%? Or a mix of both? Thanks so much, Adam My list is attached in a .jpeg VmpJ7iQ
Keyword Research | | Adammcconnell0 -
Branded Keywords
I know branded keywords are variations of your company name. However, my company sell a number of exclusive products that have been trademarked so no other company can use that name. Is that counted as a branded keyword?
Keyword Research | | AAttias0 -
Best practice for targeting 'unnatural' location based keyword phrases
When optimising for a local based service, lets say a painter in texas, you will have various keyword phrases which are relevant e.g Texas painter Painter in Texas Painter Texas I have found that often the phrase which has the most searches is: [Service] [Location] = ('Painter Texas' in this example) But unlike the other phrases this is very hard to work into a natural sounding sentence or heading. Is the best practice to try and target the unnatural sounding phrase anyway due to the higher search volume, or target the next one down to stay natural sounding in your copy? thanks d
Keyword Research | | dnaynay1 -
How do I make sure my homepage ranks better than my 2nd page when I need the same keywords for both? I don't want them competing against each other for keywords.
I seen here on SeoMoz something about more than one page having the same keywords so they don't compete against each other for the same keywords that makes sense to me. But I would like my main page (homepage) to be ranked better over time rather than the 2nd page or do I just not care about the second page ranking at all and don't SEO the page very well? ,Both pages have similar content so I need the keywords for both. So im very confused on what to do with the second page. Thanks in advance to any helpful answers, i am a newbie when it comes to SEO.
Keyword Research | | DreamKandy0 -
Ok so i've done all my keyword research and have a good list of keywords, now what do I do???
Ok so i've done all my keyword research and have a good list of keywords and phrases, now what do I do???
Keyword Research | | senreview0 -
What's the best keyword tool for discovering regional/metropolitan area keywords?
Generally I use the Google Keyword Tool for my keyword research, but given the fact that the data is either country specific or global, I was wondering what others use for regional/dma-specific keyword discovery. Regional traffic is very important to my site, so I'm hoping to find a tool that I can use to find keywords germane to my audience.
Keyword Research | | BostonWright0 -
Is there a way to tell google to ignore keywords in Webmaster Tools?
In Google Webmaster Tools for my site, the #1 keyword is "ago", probably because we format datestamps like "3 days ago". Is there a way to tell google not to count the word "ago"? Seems like a common enough word that google should be ignoring it. I have a feeling the answer to my first question is "NO!", so my follow-up question is: is there a best practice for formatting dates for SEO? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | RobotCo-op0