Do you track both plural and singular variations of your keywords?

[qurve]

Howdy,

In trying to make the most of the keyword tracking slots we get with the SEOmoz tool our discussion turned to the importance of tracking both variations of search terms that could be plural or singular.

The example is that we run a local business search database so we target search terms like "chicago pet stores" and "chicago pet store", however the language of our site almost always uses the plural version of the business category.

On one hand we want to know exactly how we rank for variations of search terms, but on the other, with the number of categories we have we could be tracking thousands upon thousands if we included every variation ("pet store chicago", "pet stores in chicago", etc.)

So what say ye fellow optimizers? Is it worth tracking variations of search terms or do you find that Google is smart enough in coalescing the intent of similar search variants that tracking against the most commonly searched one is enough?

Thank you all!

[RyanKent]

The only concern I have about getting to granular is time. Things like the 80/20 rule come to mind. You don't want to chase down minor details when there are big fish getting away. With that said, there is a lot of traffic involved with plural vs singular keywords. Your time is well spent!

[EGOL]

From watching the SERPs and visitor behavior in my niche... I believe that singular queries tend to be informational.... plural queries seem to be transactional.

[waqid]

I have a subscription at both SEOMOZ & Raventools.

Read up on raven and you will see why, especially when it comes to managing many many keywords and staying on top of reporting.

[qurve]

I completely agree with you, so much so in fact that some people say I go too far with how granular I get in my data collection/analytics. This question was ultimately a spot check to see if I was going too far, or not far enough.

Thank you for your insight!

[RyanKent]

My problem is that I already have over 100 keywords being tracked for one site and I'm getting ready to launch 2 more, this could get cumbersome!

SEO is highly competitive. High quality SEO involves a lot of work. If it was easy, then everyone would do it

It's up to you to determine if it is worthwhile to track both. My answer is yes, it is. If you are here at SEOmoz, you clearly have a desire to implement industry best practices. SEO is purely a competition. Think Rocky and his opponent slugging it out. You are either prepared to stand toe-to-toe with your competitors and fight for rankings, or you are not. If you want to be ranked at the top, you need to EARN the position and that involves a commitment to do all the work involved.

This is my approach to SEO. Not everyone agrees

[qurve]

Yeah the search volume differs greatly, the question is just whether the page I have will rank more or less the same for the plural vs singular and if not would it be so different that it's worth tracking both.

My problem is that I already have over 100 keywords being tracked for one site and I'm getting ready to launch 2 more, this could get cumbersome!

[qurve]

This is my issue. In many cases I rank equally well for both singular and plural so it feels like a waste to use one of my keyword slots tracking both when instead I could use it to track another keyword entirely.

I guess for the time being I'll keep tracking both.

[kchandler]

Agreed, i always check both singular and plural. Not only for traffic reasons but for difficulty as well!

[nsauser]

For me it depends on the search results in question and also the keyword volumes in the Google Keyword Tool. More often than not, in my industry I find different results (and rankings) for the singular and plural keywords so I do keep track. It is also baffling to me that I can rank #3 for the singular version but #8 for the plural variation of the keyword. Or Google Places will show up for the singular version but not the plural!!

I also use Advanced Web Ranking to automate ranking reports so keeping track of rankings is no problem at all.

[RyanKent]

Do you track both plural and singular variations of your keywords?

I track both the singular and plural versions. It makes a difference. Pick a keyword such as "childrens book" and then search for "childrens books". You will see the results vary. In some instances, there is a huge difference.

According to Google's Keyword tool:

Apple - 83 million global monthly searches

Apples - 6 million global monthly searches.

To use a more relevant example:

Chicago pet store - 5400 global monthly searches

Chicago pet stores - 6600 global monthly searches