Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
How should I use keywords in a sentence?
-
The keywords that I target are phrases that wouldn't ever be used in a sentence... Ex: Stained Concrete Virginia
My question is... Is it better to use the phrase, even though its odd?
Ex: Stained Concrete Virginia is a great product
Or is it better to make it a natural sentence?
Ex: Stained Concrete in Virginia is a great product?
Im trying to find a way to use my keyword phrases at least 4 times in the content of the pages...but it seems difficult if I have to use such an odd phrase.
Thanks!
Tim
-
Competition for that phrase is really really low. If you have any kind of power in your site you should be able to rank for it. Plus, if you are located in Virginia and your searcher is there too, that will make it even easier to rank for these terms.
So, it's not worth sounding like a hillbilly to every person who visits your site, just to contrive sentences that put these words in the order of a query that might be used once in a blue moon.
-
I agree with Bail and Keri. The takeaway is that the phrase is always important but so is surrounding text. Mix and match and do it what makes sense for a user, not for a Search Engine. It will always work out better in the long-run and you won't have to worry about over optimization kind of penalties.
Design your website for the user as well as the Search Engines, not just the Search Engines. Search Engines like what the user's like. As it leads to more users engaging with your content, website, therefore improving your site-score, helping you not only in SEO but PPC if at all you do PPC.
-
You can also spread your phrase over two sentences, such as "We service the Shenandoah Valley area in Virginia. Stained Concrete is blah blah blah" and you have "virginia stained concrete" as a phrase.
-
Hi Tim,
great question. The obvious choice here is to use the sentence that makes the most sense which would be "Stained Concrete in Virginia etc.." You should avoid the odd and confusing sentences because it will lead to a bad user experience, resulting in low conversions, regardless of the rank perks you will receive.
Come to think about it, I really don't see too much of a disadvantage on using 'Stained Concrete in Virginia etc.." because, generally, search engines typically pick out irrelevant keywords like: "the, in, a, of" automatically and only concentrate on keywords it sees relevant.
I know coming up with different word variations can be difficult but try playing with the words that relate to your audience to give you more options (e.g. Stained Concrete for Virgina Homes) of even using your business locations for a more targeted search (e.g. [City name], Va stained concrete).
Hope that 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
-
German Keywords
Hi I wanted to check the volume of a keyword in German but unfortunately, it shows no data available.?
Keyword Research | | Raymonda
Is this actually possible to research German keywords with your tool?0 -
Ranking for keywords in multiple zip codes
Hello, We are trying to rank for keywords locally. We are on the edge of four zip codes in our area and are competing with businesses in those zip codes. Should we track each keyword separately for each zip code, or just one zip code we're in?
Keyword Research | | ifixcars0 -
Setting Up a Keyword Matrix
Greetings MOZ community!! My real estate web site contains about 500 pages with perhaps 70 pages targeting low volume, somewhat valuable but not very competitive keywords. Three to four URLs target very competitive terms. The following terms are among the most valuable: New York City office space,
Keyword Research | | Kingalan1
New York office space,
Manhattan office space,
NYC office space Such variants as: Office space in New York City,
Office space in New York,
Office space in Manhattan,
Office space in NYC
ETCETERA convert really well How would I match different terms to different URLs? For example I have just re-written the following two critical URLs: www.nyc-officespace-leader.com (home page)
http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/commercial-space/office-space (product page) Would it make sense to use "Manhattan office space" and variants on the home page while excluding "New York City office space" variants? At the same time I would use "New York City office space" variants on the "office-space" product page while excluding all mention of "Manhattan office space". Is this logical and does it conform to SEO best practices? For the "NYC office space" terms I would add them to http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/listings. This URL has almost no text but a strong potential to rent because of a high number of incoming internal links. Is this approach sensible? In general what measures should I take to prevent URLs from competing for the same keywords? Also, is there a software package or tools that I can use to come up with keyword variants? As a non SEO professional, can I create my own keyword matrix or is this really in the realm of a professional SEO consultant? Thanks, Alan0 -
Keywords with no search volume
Hi there! What are your thoughts on optimizing pages for keywords that have no search volume (using the Keyword Planner)? I'm not sure it should be done, since optimizing for keywords that no one searches for is kind of useless, right? Or should I do it hoping that sometime in the future the keyword will have a surge on searches? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | sararufo0 -
Include Location in Keywords?
I understand Google's local search automatically searches keywords with the location you are searching from. For example if I'm searching from Calgary and query "best shoe repair", Google knows I'm searching from Calgary and presents Calgary based results. I'm using Google's new Keyword Planner tool which allows for city based search results, meaning I don't have to include "Calgary" in the keywords I submit. The question I have is should I be attaching "Calgary" to my keywords for on-page optimization, and why or why not? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Keyword Research | | reidsteven750 -
Google Keyword Tool: What is considered a unique keyword?
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?
Keyword Research | | Alchemist230 -
Keywords for fabrication (welding) company??
I've been tasked with finding the keywords for our website. The difficulty I'm finding is receiving help from the fabrication personal to suggest keywords. I'm not sure if its peoples imagination or if there's a general unwillingness. Can anyone make any suggestions here? Is there a fabrication or welding keyword database I can put to them and hopefully get their brains working? Or even a way to see what keywords our competitors use?
Keyword Research | | Resolver1010 -
How effective the use of preposition in title tag?
I would like to know the value of preposition on title tag and the impact on search engine queries. As for example, I would like to know the difference between TOURS TO NEPAL and TOURS NEPAL keyword, how they had a impact on search engine queries.
Keyword Research | | SuMoksha0