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Category: Keyword Research

Learn about keyword research best practices and how to improve your keyword strategy.

  • Sparkstone


    Hi, I've noticed recently that our site is ranking for a fraction of the keywords that our competitors are ranking for. In terms of increasing the number of keyword rankings per page would it simply be a case of adding optimised copy to each page? Thanks, Dan

    | Sparkstone
    0
  • davhad


    The two keywords are [publicity] and [product placement] (both in exact search - not broad) and have 22,200 searches each. Is it purely coincidental or are the two keywords kind of related in Google's eyes and that's why we're seeing the same amount of searches for each?

    | davhad
    0
  • nyc-seo


    Hello, There are some keywords that have no monthly search data in the Google Keyword Tool. In many cases, this is because there have been very few searches for the keyword. Would you recommend focusing on other keywords that do have search data in the Google Keyword Tool? Perhaps focusing too far out on the long tail of search results can be less productive than focusing on keywords that have proven that at least some people care about them. What do you think? Thanks!

    | nyc-seo
    0
  • BobGW


    Hello, We have a site that is in the google sandbox www.thewealthymind(dot)com How long is the sandbox these days?

    | BobGW
    0
  • webctp


    Hi, I'm checking the SEOMoz keyword rankings report. I've set about 30 keywords and it's awesome to see how they rank and how many times they were clicked. However it would be interesting to see whether the keywords that I entered are competitive or not. It's not worth putting a lot of energy in making non competitive words rank higher I guess. So my question is: is it possible to see whether or not ranked keywords are competitive or not? Thanks!

    | webctp
    0
  • inhouseseo


    I am looking for a comprehensive guide to keyword research. Anyone read articles or guides they would recommend? Thanks 🙂

    | inhouseseo
    0
  • littlesthobo


    Just wondered whether you think the footer text here on tis page constitues 'keyword stuffing'. I think it does but wondering why they haven't been penalised for it. http://www . lippyliciouscakes . co.uk/ Thoughts? Many thanks.

    | littlesthobo
    1
  • bethkmac


    Why is Keyword Tool volume data showing as unavailable? I already linked my Google Analytics account.

    | bethkmac
    0
  • nyc-seo


    Hello, Is the Google Keyword Tool the only reliable source for stats on keyword search volume on Google? The tool returns "no data" results for keywords I would expect to have some, if not much, search volume. I would like to cross-check these results, if possible. Thanks!

    | nyc-seo
    0
  • davhad


    The exact match option shows you much smaller numbers. And Google's explanation of each isn't comprehensive. Can someone explain the difference between the two with examples? Also, which one is it better to target while doing SEO research?

    | davhad
    0
  • dwallner


    I provide local services to a number of small cities and am trying to decide the best way to attack local keywords.   I need to decide if I should target all 4 cities or narrow it down to 1 or 2.   I used the google keyword tool and none of my keywords have enough results to show data so I am left guessing by using the nearest major city and population sizes. Anyway, I have read over and over about how keywords in the title / description are imperative.  Well, thats tough to accomplish without being spammy when you offer two services for four cities.   I don't think lakeville snow removal, apple valley snow removal, eagan snow removal makes for a good title of a page.   Also, it's not an easy task to get any kind of keyword density in the content as well.  So how do you recommend I attack this? I have seen sites that create a page for each keyword with basically the same content excpet replacing city x with city y and they do well.  I find this spammy and hope that eventually they get penalized for it.   I guess I would be willing to do it, but would prefer a more natural solution. One more question, if I do keyword a single city, say Lakeville, what is the prefered way to keyword the home page compared to the service pages.  Example, I have a snow removal page that the keywords would be lakeville snow removal and a lawn care page with the same.. So what is the target for the home page? Here is the results of my keyword research. ** Monthy Google Searches** Minneapolis lawn care - 880 Minneapolis lawn service - 590 Minneapolis lawn mowing - 260 Minneapolis Snow Removal - 590 Minneapolis Snow Plowing - 320 Minneapolis Snow Removal services - 58 Service Area Data (Minni has Pop of 385K) Lakeville - Pop;56K Income;86K Apple Valley - Pop;49K Income;74K Burnsville - Pop;60K Income;60K Eagan - Pop;64K Income;74K Northfield - Pop;20K Income;62K

    | dwallner
    0
  • kevinjanet


    I want to find out what keywords my competitors are using and several people have mentioned the term -extractor toll.  but I can't find it on the site. is it gone?  moved?

    | kevinjanet
    0
  • praxiscredit


    I'm looking at the keyword research tool and notice that some of the boxes are checked. I dont really see a reason why? does anyone have this answer? i did attempt look in the Q&A section with no luck.

    | praxiscredit
    1
  • NoahsDad


    When using google keyword tool what type of match type do you find most helpful? broad, exact match, phrase? I know they all have their own benefits, but if you just want to test out which term gets more searches I'm not sure what the difference is between the exact match and phrase. Thanks!

    | NoahsDad
    0
  • BeytzNet


    Hi, I am looking for a recommended company which specializes in content creation to fluently create posts for our blog. This content needs to be of the highest quality. Areas of expertise - luxury goods, diamonds, diamond jewelry, fashion Any recommendations?

    | BeytzNet
    0
  • GroundFloorSEO


    I have a friend who owns an IT business in Pennsylvania.  I have been on the adwords tool begging for keywords that people are searching for and I am getting no search results at all.  I have tried all types of combinations- IT consultant Pennsylvania IT consultant PA network solutions pennsylvania computer tech pennsylvania ...and many variations thereof.  Does this mean that maybe just no one looks for this type of business on google?  What would you guys do in this situation? Thanks!

    | GroundFloorSEO
    0
  • lauratagdigital


    My site http://www.electric-heatingcompany.co.uk/ performs quite well for most of my keywords and gets ok traffic. But for "electric radiators" it just isn't ranking? I was thinking about redoing the landing page for it? Can anyone offer some insight as to what else I could do? Here is the current electric radiators page http://www.electric-heatingcompany.co.uk/index.php/electric-radiators-2/ Thanks, Laura

    | lauratagdigital
    0
  • ProjectLabs


    What are your considerations when deciding whether to create a brand new page versus adding content to an existing page when targeting a new keyword phrase on your site? My thought is that if it is mildly competitive, a new page would make more sense since you can optimize the title tags and URL. But if it is long tail and low competition, you would be better off to add a paragraph to an existing page to minimize diluting your website by adding more pages.

    | ProjectLabs
    0
  • IOSC


    Hi I have read a number of ppl suggest that the best way to learn SEO is to build a low stakes site and experiment and measure how the effects of those experiments.  Agree? Disagree? Anybody have success doing this? Anybody find it a waste of time? Finally, I know Code Academy, what are some other good resources? Thanks

    | IOSC
    0
  • jasonwdexter


    Let's say I wanted to target a website design company for "Web Design Manchester". Now, that doesn't read well in a sentence, however I could fit it in if it was "Web Design, Manchester" What does Google do with the comma? Ta!

    | jasonwdexter
    0
  • CleanEdisonInc


    My product page had been solidly in the middle of the first page for months. Now, it is being replaced by my homepage for the same keywords. I don't understand why this is happening and I'm worried about it, particularly from a business stand-point (we offer a variety of products that appeal to completely different audiences) In terms of SEO, Is this necessarily a problem? What can I do to ensure that Google recognizes that the content that those keywords are tied to is on the product page, not the homepage. One thing I did notice is that the 2nd and 3rd most common anchor text for the links to my homepage are the two keywords in question (they are a distant 2nd and 3rd however). If nothing else, is there a way I can get SeoMoz to recognize the homepage on its page rankings so that my heart doesn't drop once a week. Thanks,

    | CleanEdisonInc
    0
  • theLotter


    Any stats about whether the number of long tail searches has been increasing or decreasing in the past year? Thanks!

    | theLotter
    0
  • CLTMichael


    Hey Guys, How do you handle keywords for an attorney going after local keywords. City, Keyword Attorney?  Example:  Dallas, TX DUI Attorney City, Keyword Lawyer?  Example: Dallas, TX DUI Lawyer City, Keyword Attorney / Lawyers?  Example: Dallas, TX DUI Attorney / Lawyer? Looking forward to good responses!

    | CLTMichael
    0
  • Angelos_Savvaidis


    I am having a problem with the Keyword Analysis report that i am downloading as excell docs. There are password protected. Anyone knows the password?

    | Angelos_Savvaidis
    0
  • StephenForde


    OK. I know some will say "same as any other SEO". But I am keen to get one of my sites ranking for it's EMD. Nothing I do seems to be working at all. As far as I can tell it's not even in the top 100. Because the site is managed for a business, it needs income. I've managed to increase it's ranks in some low terms.

    | StephenForde
    0
  • TracSoft


    The more I read the more I realize that meta keywords are not as helpful as they once were. Is there any SEO value to meta keywords anymore or should the emphasis be put on the content and title tags in regards to keywords? As always, I appreciate any feedback.

    | TracSoft
    0
  • iain


    Could anyone give me a little advice about the best way to do keyword research in different languages? French and Spanish specifically (unsurprisingly). Are there any tools or systems available that will give local language keyword variants on English keywords so that I can have a look at real world searches in local languages - rather than what I take to be the best translation (if that makes any sense). Many thanks, Iain

    | iain
    0
  • Alchemist23


    I'm trying to research keywords using Google's Keyword Tool.  After looking at results, I have the following questions: 1.  Does singular/plurals of a word count as two different keywords to Google (ie: photobooth and photobooths)?  Would I need to have a unique page targeting each word or will one page on my site be sufficient for targeting both? 2. I've noticed that different variations of keywords have the same global monthly search results.  This leads me to believe that Google see's all of them as one keyword.  ie: "photo booth props" and "props for a photo booth" and "props with photo booth", all have 22,200 search global monthly search resluts.  On the other hand "moustache prop" and "prop moustache" have different global monthly search results (480 and 590).  Can anyone explain this?

    | Alchemist23
    0
  • BobGW


    Hello, Some of my client's internal categories only rank for long tail terms. Should we make the title keyword rich or should we stick to one very small keyword phrase and use that as the title. Also, is there any reason to write a full 500 words for category descriptions on weak, internal categories(PA 15)? Thanks

    | BobGW
    0
  • HasanPK


    Hey, I'm a brand's person with no SEO experience, yet I'm in a position where I have to carry out an SEO audit of our telecom company's website. Though our website is up and running for some years now, nobody bothered to undertake keyword research. From the little I've read over months on SEOmoz, I've just done the following: took out keywords bringing organic traffic on to our website and checked our rankings for those keywords on major search engines. My observation is that most of these words are long-tail keywords. Since we only have product/service information related to our offerings, most of the head terms we've used for packages/offers/services pages are branded keywords. My understanding is that we need to rank top for our branded keywords (a must) and try to rank as high as possible for long tail. In addition, we can use those keywords in our copy so that the right page ranks top for the respective keyword. Am I missing anything here? What else do I need to do?

    | HasanPK
    0
  • sd11sine


    I have a customer suggesting the use of keywords related to his competitors but not in the content of his site or how he promotes his brand. The page content is product specific and I use keyword matches for page and site strength. 1.) Does it hurt or help  to load up the keywords with misc. keywords (example- the site is for a premium product use the terms  "cheap", "affordable") 2.) Any suggestion for almost blank/generic landing pages ? 3.) Any benefit or penalty for using fewer keywords on multiple pages ? (example - target 6-8 words on 30 pages) I need a few discussion points for my next meeting and to clarify my position.

    | sd11sine
    0
  • BrightIdeas


    Hi all! I've got head scratcher here, your input would be super valuable! We have these 3 exact match domains. FloatTank.ca
    IsolationTank.ca
    SensoryDeprivationTank.ca The domains are all 3 different ways of saying the exact same thing - and each of the 3 keywords have roughly the same amount of traffic. Right now we are just providing information on Float Tanks / Isolation Tanks / Sensory Deprivation Tanks, their benefits are and how to use them, where to find a location etc. Do you have any strategies or advice considering the current domains and the points below? The content on each site would be VERY SIMILAR, as they are all talking about the same thing, "floating". Any suggestions for this? We want to (sometime in the near future) create a branded website. ie. FloatNation.ca in which we rank for all 3 of the above terms. Should we spin content for each site, and then create a 301 down the road to our main domain? Your input is appreciated! All the best,
    Bright.

    | BrightIdeas
    0
  • PeterRota


    Okay, so i have read around, and watched Matt Cutts' video on this and read rand's post about this. But, I still have questions; how many times should I use a keyword on a page? I have read for shorter pages 2-3X and 4-6X for longer pages. I know to put it in the url title h1, the first paragraph and sprinkle it around the page. Is it all realtive to how long the content is? or should I just be following the 2-3X and 4-6X rule? Thanks for your help. Peter

    | PeterRota
    0
  • te_c


    Hi Everybody, We are adding a new feature to my site, and it is a add classifieds section. I spend the whole weekend making a research for keywords that could fit the category names. What I did, is to search for the exact phrases that people use related to the different categories that a classified site has. For example, if the category is to sell and buy cars, I search for the most popular query, in my language: cars second hand. So far so good, but the problem is that if I do so, I will have far too many categories, because those would be too specific. Any of my future competitors use the most search keywords, they are more pragmatic and use general wording. They also do not have more that one level subcategories, for the sake of usability and probably SEO. Today I entered all the almost 100 categories on the system, and it looks horrible. Also, too many links in the main page, the categories are difficult to find in the drop box list, users would need to scroll down to find what they are looking for: even in the main page! Other unwanted consequence is that too many categories will lead to too many empty categories in the first months, giving a bad impression of inactivity to the site, and making it even more difficult to create momentum. My question is: would be there any SEO benefit for using a long list of keyword categories, that compensate the problems generated for being too specific? Since any of our future competitors use many categories, I would answer myself as: keep it simple and short. But probably somebody with experience can give me some ideas. Many thanks in advance for your help, Daniel

    | te_c
    0
  • SSS1986


    I am about to run adwords campaign. I have questions- I want to know best adwords keywords that competitors are targetting. Is there any good way to find out the best keywords that competitors use which generate large amount of traffic to them? Can someone guide me how to use adwords in best possible way such as how to pay less and yet receive large number of targeted traffic? Tips are welcome from the community. I am about to start a campaign for this website which deals with Independent Sales Reps. So the adwords keywords will be related to Independent sales representatives who help in establishing new businesses and exporters.

    | SSS1986
    0
  • creybot


    I'm currently in the beginning stages of doing SEO analysis for a new client. They're an IT support company here in Phoenix, AZ. In doing some keyword research and competitive research, I've noticed that one of their competitors (who ranks in the top 3 for many of the targeted keywords), is doing something that I thought would surely be a duplicate content issue. On their home page, they have dozens of links of zip codes in the Phoenix area. Each link leads to a page devoted to that zip code. Each page is identical, except that the zip code is changed in the header tag. Most of these zip code pages are indexed in Google. Isn't this an example of duplicate content, or better yet, content spamming? I've seen this thing quite a bit with high ranking sites, and I thought these were the kinds of things that were getting taken care of in the post "Panda" era. I might just be misunderstanding this whole thing, but any guidance or intel would be greatly appreciated.

    | creybot
    0
  • Gordon_Hall


    Whilst researching keywords I often find the global monthly search on google adwords tool differs, yet the local (UK) is the same (or vice versa) Example: ready mix concrete - global 90,500 & local 18,100 ready mixed concrete - global 60,500 & local 18,100 or forklift truck hire - global 18,100 & local 4,400
    forklift truck rental - global 22,200 & local 4,400 I'm making an assumption that for my local country, the phrases ready mix" and "ready mixed" are being treated the same, as are "hire" and "rental" but globally they are not. Am I correct? Of course, they could be two completely separate terms according to Google but coincidentally, have the same search volume. However, I find this happens quite regularly. Anybody shed any light?

    | Gordon_Hall
    0
  • lauratagdigital


    In my reports this week I was delighted to see "emergency power" at #8 for http://apexgenerators.co.uk/emergency-power/ but then today seems to have jumped to page 4 in SERPS? Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks, Laura

    | lauratagdigital
    0
  • seointern


    I'm looking for two things: 1. Some top notch  articles on building out a content strategy for a blog (coupon blog is more relevant). 2. Tools that can help to determine target keywords to focus on (Most I've seen are where the keywords start with me, are their any that will help to predict which keywords are relevant for our blog & that would be great to target). Any feedback/discussion on either is greatly appreciated!

    | seointern
    0
  • Arfath


    It has been more than 24 hours now since I got this error while checking my rankings for keywords : (Whoa! We're dusting off the cobwebs from your keyword history. Don't worry, your data is fine. Check back soon to see your updates.). The error is being shown only for new keywords that I added. Any help is appreciated. Arfath

    | Arfath
    0
  • Arfath


    While searching for Rankings for a couple of NEW keywords I got this message : (Whoa! We're dusting off the cobwebs from your keyword history. Don't worry, your data is fine. Check back soon to see your updates.). I don't know what this means, can somebody please provide some info on this error message as to what it means

    | Arfath
    0
  • bronxpad


    What are the best free keyword research tools online?

    | bronxpad
    0
  • MagicianUK


    I thought that Google treated the singular and plural versions of search terms as the same, but my experiments show that isn't the case.  Do you need to put both versions into your title, URL, keywords and so on to cover both bases?  And is there any way to do this without looking horribly spammy?  Thanks!

    | MagicianUK
    0
  • russelgz


    I'm confused with Keyword Analysis tool because when i run it it show me like this: Keywords: Alpaca Scarves Rank 1. page1 2 page2 3 page3 4 page4 Rank 1: page1 p. authority: 26, page linking root domains: 2 domain autority: 31 root domain linking root domains: 33 Rank 4: page4 p. authority: 26, page linking root domains: 2 domain autority: 45 root domain linking root domains: 232 I think that the rank 4 should be in the 1. can you help me to understand it? Alfredo

    | russelgz
    0
  • shanky1


    Hello All, Would like to understand the relation between selecting a domain name and the branding of ones organization. Recently a friend came upto me and asked as to how he could select his domain name so that factors like seo visibility and uniqueness fall into place correctly. Is there some website which could permutate / combine few keywords and suggest domain names. Also help in deciding whether selecting that domain name would be advantegous over other or not. Common names like cart , food, vacation etc if names formed keeping these in between as domain names could cause issues where in a lot of influential names could pop up on the searches and make your domain irrelavant. Any ideas how to overcome this problem

    | shanky1
    0
  • tdawgtoo


    It's been months and you guys still say you're working with the Google API. Not buying it anymore.  I notice you don't have any trouble charging my card $99/month while I wait. I am new to SEOMoz, so if I am being a jerk and you have some other good method to determine the organic volume of a key phrase,, please let me know!

    | tdawgtoo
    0
  • Titan552


    Hello, When doing manual keyword lookups, are people counting Google Places listings in their rankings?  E.g. If the website's places listing is the "5th" item on the results page, do you count that keyword as "5"?  -- even if the organic listing comes up first at, say, position $20? On one hand I'd be in favor of including them in order because "who cares" if the user sees your website first, or the Places listing that points to your website first? But then again, it's my understanding that places listings are highly variable, so that they should be skipped entirely in calculating rank positions. So what are others out there doing? And by places of course I mean Google + Local/Plus or whatever they are calling it this week. Thanks!

    | Titan552
    0
  • Titan552


    Hi, I'm new to SEOMoz and one of the reasons I joined is for the automated keyword lookup feature.  I have a few questions I'm hoping people here can sort out for me: Is SEOMoz is "danger" of losing the ranking tool as happened to Raven Tools? I've been doing manual keyword lookups for a very long time.  With the # of KW (in multiple search engines) that I now need to track, a tool like SEOMoz seems invaluable. Now I appreciate that there are differences in the exact rankings, but I've noticed that while the SEOMoz google results are very close to my manual lookups (in Chrome Incognito mode), the Bing results are pretty far off.  Is this a function of Bing? Or is this the nature of the beast?  I'd like to save time by automating the lookups (and of course all of the other features in the rank tool), but I want to make sure I'm accurate. Are many people out there using an automated tool only? Thank you!

    | Titan552
    0
  • JamesG075


    I am using the Keyword Analysis tool and it is telling me that almost all the keywords I put in are "highly competitive" even though there is very little competition on Google. Example: I enter the keyword "christian web designers" on Google, United Kingdom It then reports that this keyword is 53% Highly Competitive. However I Google this term in quotes and there is less then 4,000 results. I also enter this keyword into Traffic Travis which tells me the the difficulty is Relatively Easy. Am I doing something wrong here?

    | JamesG075
    0
  • BrandLabs


    I'm the copy writer for a marketing firm, who is doing the SEO work for a website that sells wholesale Disney apparel. I was recently asked to rewrite their homepage blurb, as it was all over the place. However, one thing I'm wondering is if you guys felt the various Disney keyword combinations (IE: Disney Beach Towels, Disney Mugs, Disney Travel Mugs, etc) were necessary for SEO purposes? Or, if they would be considered keyword stuffing? I thought they seemed pretty spammy, but I just wanted to run it by you guys and get your thoughts. Both versions are below. Thanks! Current: Welcome to our website. We are so glad that you have found us, and hope that your ordering experience is a positive one. Here you will find all the Licensed Disney apparel you will ever need to fill your store. We offer Disney apparel in all sizes; infant through plus size. Styles include adult, men, women, youth, toddler, boys, girls, infants, sleepwear, fleece, tanks, dresses, short sets, tee shirts, and much more! Are you looking for Disney licensed accessories?  Want Disney licensed collectable pins? We have 80+ designs.  We also carry Disney beach towels,  Disney mugs, Disney travel mugs, Disney tumblers,  Disney beach bags, Disney totes bags, and Disney messenger bags, and more. In addition to all of our Disney products, we also offer other high demand licenses such as Marvel, and Nickelodeon. **REVISED:**Welcome to -------  online shop! Our top priority is providing retailers with a wide array of wholesale licensed apparel and accessories from renown brands like Disney, Nickelodeon & Marvel. We carry a vast inventory of products, in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and styles - so your store can always stay stocked with all the in-demand items kids and adults crave! Whether your customers want Mickey Mouse t-shirts and beach towels for their next vacation, or Tinkerbell travel mugs and tote bags for everyday use, our wholesale Disney selection has you covered. We also carry over 80 designs of Disney’s popular collectible pins and an equally rich selection of licensed Marvel and Nickelodeon goods.

    | BrandLabs
    0

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