Different versions of keywords. Which one to optimize?
-
For some keywords, we have slightly different versions available.
For example: people search for 'webhosting', but also for 'web hosting'. Same for 'cloudserver' and 'cloud server'.
I used google trends to compare the keywords and find the more popular one. But in different countries, different keywords are searched more often. So we can't really optimize for the BEST version of the keyword, since there is no real BEST version.
What would you suggest to do? We could also just develop pages for both keywords, but that could end in duplicated content. Would be an option to use canonicalization then, but this would not really improve ranking for one of the versions.
I'm very confused. If anyone has a good idea on how to optimize here, please let me know.
Thank you in advance!
Best regards
Klemens -
There are different types of keywords that have different intent. I'm working with bestcoffeemaker2021.us and I'm using buying intent keywords.
-
Dear Miriam
I will definitely check those Whiteboard Fridays. Thank you!
-
Hi Joe
Thank you for your answer. However, as you can see, the search results are not exactly the same. Still, the difference is not that huge, so I will stick with your answer
-
Hi Klemens,
Joe's advice is right on, and I'd recommend these Whiteboard Fridays to help you get into a powerful mindset about this topic:
https://moz.com/blog/beat-your-competitors-rankings-comprehensive-content-whiteboard-friday
https://moz.com/blog/optimizing-for-rankbrain-whiteboard-friday
Hope you enjoy those!
-
Hi Klemens,
Do not create individual pages for both variations of keywords, this is an old school tactic and hasn't worked well in years. You'll just be creating near duplicate content that does not provide additional value.
I'd optimize for whichever is grammatically correct. Google has come a long way and will understand that people searching for "webhosting" are also looking for the same results as those searching for "web hosting".
Search Results for "Webhosting" - https://www.screencast.com/t/AAEv5f4B6EN
Search Results for "Web hosting" - https://www.screencast.com/t/t3ztacXDCM
Hope this helps!
-
I would recommend using the Google Keyword Planner or Moz's Keyword Explorer to track different search volumes for keyword phrases. I looked it up in the GKP and found the following numbers for searches in the United States:
- "web hosting" = 165,000/mo.
- "webhosting" = 40,500/mo.
- "cloud server" = 49,500/mo.
- "cloudserver" = 49,500/mo.
So they all have a pretty decent amount of traffic and are going to be fairly competitive to rank for I would imagine, however if you are simply wanting to target the keyword phrase with the most monthly searches, do "web hosting" and then whichever version of "cloud server" is grammatically correct. Hope this helps!
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
-
Should I target low competition related keywords to rank my main keyword?
Hi everyone, I created a product review based blog about finding the best outdoor basketball but it's MOZ keyword difficulty is increasing drastically. I'm finding it difficult to rank. Is it a good practice to target low competition related keywords to rank the main keyword?
Algorithm Updates | | rosie16
Please advise, Thank you!1 -
Did anyone else notice all their keyword rankings go down after the last Panda refresh on January 17th 2013?
Even before January 17th I noticed my keyword ranking slowly going from the top 3 to around 8, 9 and 10. Then between January 15 and January 30th, (SEO MOZ) is not showing the exact date) they all went down to the second page and worse. The rankings dropped for an e-commerce website petsspark.com. They sell a tear stain removal product which is a pretty competitive market. After January i started to notice that Google was starting to rank blogs, forums, overal product review websites and of course amazon, better than me and my competitors. Was anyone else effected by the panda refresh or have any idea what may have gone wrong? Please help ScreenShot2013-04-10at50852PM.png?t=1365628252
Algorithm Updates | | DTOSI1 -
Optimizing Main URL with Various Relevant Keywords
Hi, I am new to working with SEO on my website and making attempts to create rich content to allow me to rank above and near competitors of our very niche market for LED microlights. I understand the concept now of on-page optimization. I have found key words that are perfect for optimizing specific products. I am working on structuring my website with enriching content that specific key words will direct organic search traffic to products. However, what techniques do I use to drive traffic to my main domain with a keyword that is relevant to my site but no specific products? For example, the phrase "light show gloves" or "light show" is a keyword relevant to my site in general, so I would like my main URL to show in search results when these phrases are searched. What can I do to optimize my site for such phrases? Do I merely use them in related categories and product content? And if yes, how can I ensure I have optimized my domain fully for various relevant keywords and compare to competitors? Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | Rofldew0 -
Sub-domains and keyword rich domains
Hello All I'm hoping for some opinions as i am confused as to the best action for me to take. The problem:
Algorithm Updates | | jonny512379
Although i say the below, we have never been penalised by Google, not taken part in any bad link building and don't do too bad with SERP. but i worry Google may not like what i do these days. We have one main site that is broken down into areas/cities (i,e London, Manchester, etc) so the domain looks like www.domain.co.uk/London But in addition to this we also use Sub-domains to target popular areas (i,e. http://London.domain.co.uk).
These sub-domains take the content from the main site but of course only display results relevant to London and are optimised for "London + Keyword"
Any page that gets duplicated (i.e London.domain.co.uk/profile123 and www.domain.co.uk/profile123 are ALMOST the same content) we add a rel="canonical" link that points to the main domain+page on www.
All these sites have a large amount of links back to www.domain.co.uk/?Page so the user can also search in other areas other then London, etc. This method has worked well for us and is popular with both users and Google search results. All sites/sub-domains are added to GWT under the same account and all sites have unique sitemaps. I do however worry that Google may class this as link manipulation owing to the amount of links pointing back to the main domain and its pages (this is not the reason we use the sub-domains though) In addition to the above sub-domains we have a few domain names (5/6) that are keyword rich that we also place the same content on (i,e www.manchester-keyword.co.uk would show only content relevant to Manchester), and again these sites have links back to the main domain, so users can navigate other areas of the UK. I worry that these additional domains may also not be liked by Google What do people think? I have started to reduce/replace some of the additional keyword rich domains with sub-domains from the main site and then 301 the keyword rich domain (i.e. www.manchester-Keyword.co.uk now goes to http://Manchester.domain.co.uk) as i feel sub-domains may not be penalised as much as unique domains are.
There are domains that i dont really want to 301 as they bring in good amounts of traffic and users have bookmarked them, etc. Any opinions or what you think i should do would be great, as i really worry that if Google stops giving us good results, i'm in real trouble. Although im not sure if what we do is wrong with Google or not.0 -
Double Listings On Page One
I've been noticing a trend over the past month and a half. My sites that use to get more than one page listed in certain SERPs are now being adjusted. It almost looks manual but I know it is most likely a change in the algorithm. Let's say I had a SERP where my site was showing two different sub-pages in a single SERP at #4 and #6 are now having one page being pushed up to #3 but the other page is being pushed back past the first page. I'm not worried about penalizations or loss of value. I have been seeing this accross many of my client's sites. I just wanted to confirm that others were seeing it as well (so I'm not going crazy) and/or if Google has made any announcements or leaks regarding this shift. Maybe it's just my sites coming of age or something but I would love to be able to explain it more knowledgeably than with a "Google might be doing this". BTW - This is not effecting any of my Brand SERPs.
Algorithm Updates | | BenRWoodard0 -
Title Tags and Over Optimization Penalty
In the past, it was always a good thing to put your most important keyword or phrase at the beginning of the Title Tag with the company name at the end. Now according to the over optimization penalty in the Whiteboard Friday video, it seems to be better to be more human and put the company name at the beginning with the keyword or phrase following. Am I understanding this correctly?
Algorithm Updates | | hfranz0 -
Hyphenated Words as Keywords what is spam?
Do you know of any evidence that explains how Google or any SE would handle pages with words that are commonly hyphenate? Our site for example has a large O-ring section. A couple years ago when we did our SEO we used Google's keyword tool and found that these words all have different Cost Per Click, Global / Local searches. O-Rings
Algorithm Updates | | donford
O-Ring
oring
o-ring So we assumed they were each unique keywords and designed our pages to alternate usage of the terms as they are fairly interchangeable. However we have not achieved the position we would have expected from all that work, now while I'm doing another SEO pass with the tools here.. I want to make sure we don't spam them, but still cover all our bases. Thanks for any tips, advice or links.0 -
To use the same content just changing the keywords could be seen as duplicate content?
I want to offer the same service or product in many different cities, so instead of creating a new content for each city what I want to do it to copy the content already created for the product and service of a city and then change the name of the city and create a new url inside my website for each city. for example let say I sell handmade rings in the USA, but I want o target each principal city in the USA, so I have want to have a unque url for ecxh city so for example for Miami I want to have www.mydomain.com/handmade-rings-miami and for LA the url would be www.mydomain.com/handmade-rings-la Can I have the same content talking about the handmade rings and just change the keywords and key phrases? or this will count as a duplicate content? content: TITLE: Miami Handmade Rings URL :www.mydomain.com/handmade-rings-miami Shop Now handmade rings in Miami in our online store and get a special discount in Miami purchases over $50 and also get free shipping on Miami Local address... See what our Miami handmade rings clients say about our products.... TITLE: LA Handmade Rings URL: www.mydomain.com/handmade-rings-la Shop Now handmade rings in LA in our online store and get a special discount in LA purchases over $50 and also get free shipping on LA Local address... See what our LA handmade rings clients say about our products.... There are more than 100 location in the country I want to do this, so that is why I want to copy paste and replace.. Thanks in advance, David Orion
Algorithm Updates | | sellonline1230