Optimising a page for multiple key phrases?
-
Is there a technique to optimising for multiple key phrases?
In the "old days", we'd have written doorway pages targeted at different key phrases, or just written a landing page for each key phrase. Now we're told that more is better and having all the info about a topic in one place will get you better SEO outcomes. But that means pages must be optimised for multiple key phrases.
For example, I currently have three pages that are related topically:
- Bangkok Skytrain (Guide to BTS and MRT Lines) - this page is a description of the metro train system in Bangkok and how to use it. Gets traffic from key phrases like "bangkok BTS line", "bangkok commuter trains", "BTS and MRT lines".
- Attractions near the Bangkok Skytrain - this page has a map for each major skytrain station and details of nearby attractions including hotels and restaurants. Gets traffic from phrases like "bangkok mrt and bts map", "bangkok rail link map", "how to get to siam on MRT" and "bangkok airport rail link map" (so mostly gets key phrases with "map" in them).
- Best shopping from the Bangkok Skytrain - this page talks about the shopping centres in easy walking distance of each skytrain station. Doesn't really get a lot of traffic and probably pulls that from the other two.
Ideally, I probably should combine all of these into one page now. But how to optimise for all those key phrases? Should I just optimise within each Heading 2 as I would within a page? Does that risk confusing the overall page SEO?
-
I agree with Travis & Moosa. You shouldn't try to target a page to more than one phrase. You will quickly run into keyword dilution (cannibalisation) where Google won't really know which page to rank for a particular phrase. The net result here is that generally, none of the pages will rank well, or perhaps only one of them.
Keep each page highly targeted, make good use of prominent internal links and ensure that the content on each page is well written to explain exactly what is on there.
Remember, there are billions of pages out there, millions of them all trying to compete for the same phrases - do everything you can to make yours the best it can possibly be, but try not to do everything (or anything) just for the search engines. Write and design your pages for maximum user experience.
-Andy
-
Ok, if I would be at your place I probably will keep the 3 page separate and use the idea of internal link strategy as discussed by Travis in his comment. In my opinion the 3 topics are pretty close to each other but still pass different information. Combing all of them to make a single page might not be a very good idea!
I keep the simple rule here, ask yourself a question will your readers/customer be happy to see all the information at one page or on connected pages… whatever your answer is go for it! Job of the search engine at the end of the day is to display the best possible items to users so if your idea fits exactly what people are looking for then Google will choose you too!
Hope this helps!
-
Open the window and make love to the world, and you will catch a cold. In my opinion, you may be diluting what you already have. Perhaps it would be best to go with an internal linking strategy. "Hey, I'm related to page A and page B - but only in these ways."
Topically, it's all pretty close. It's all related to tourism and the mass transit system. But generally, it's best to keep a page to a limited theme. Since they are all related, it would seem best to link from page to page within the body.
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
-
Duplicate pages
Hi I have recently signed up to Moz Pro and the first crawl report on my wordpress site has brought up some duplicate content issues. I don't know what to do with this data! The original page : http://www.dwliverpoolphotography.co.uk/blog/ and the duplicate content page : http://www.dwliverpoolphotography.co.uk/author/david/ If anyone can point me to a resource or explain what I need to do thanks! David.
On-Page Optimization | | WallerD0 -
Too Many On-Page Links
Hello. So, my SEO team has worked very hard to finally resolve RogerBot/GoogleBot specific Crawl Errors either manually or programmatically can be fixed for our Budget Blinds USA Pro Campaign. We've done a good job even if a lot of it came from Robots.txt file entries as this was the most efficient way our client chose to do it. Good news is most of it is CMS configuration and not bad site architecture. That being said our next big volume of Crawl Errors is "Too Many On-Page Links". Our Moz DomainRank is 61. Our client, on this new version of the website, added a large nav-based footer which has duplicate links from the Header Main Navigation. I believe our solution is to put in No-Follow Metatags at the Footer Link Level, so we don't zap Page Authority by over-dividing as you recommend. Is this the best way to resolve this? Is there any risk in this? Or is a 61 DomainRank high enough for RogerBot and GoogleBot to crawl these anyway? Please advise,
On-Page Optimization | | Aviatech0 -
How to: Meta description for home page
My latest crawl diagnostic is telling me that my homepage is missing a meta description. I am using wordpress and thesis. How do I add a meta description to my main page? ex www.mynewsite.com Mahalo!
On-Page Optimization | | dealblogger0 -
Please review page for on page SEO
I'm working on an adult dating site review blog and am hoping to build links to the category pages. It's a wordpress blog so the posts are categorised by topics. However can you tell me if there is enough content on the page for google to identify what the page is about? The problem is that the content of each category pages is pulled from the posts. What I think is needed is some static text on the page 2-300 words that use the keyword. Here's an example of a page targeting the keywords 'online dating'. http://www.top-10-dating-reviews.com/category/online-dating/
On-Page Optimization | | SamCUK
[editor's note -- thumbnails on site may not be appropriate for some workplaces] Will the page rank like this if there are a good amount of authorative links or does the page itself need work?0 -
My website is saying I have duplicate page content and page title. How do I fix it?
Hi, I created a website on webstarts.com. After I launched it then ran a scan through SEO it says I have duplicate page content and page title. The 2 pages it is reading are technically the same page. www.mobilemowermedicsinc.com and www.mobilemowermedicsinc.com/index . I am unsure how to get rid of on of these as it keeps saying this is an error in the SEO scan. Could someone please advise me of what to do from here. Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | bcarp880 -
Duplicate Page Titles
I have over 200 duplicate page titles on a site that I am working on. Does putting a date at the end of some of them make it a unique enough title?
On-Page Optimization | | SavingSense0 -
Optimisation for Google Images
What techniques do you use for the optimisation of images on Google. Alt tag , image title Surrounding text Anyone tested actual linking to the image url and not the page url. I have achieved hundreds of top listed images but when it gets competitive what is the most useful technique you have used. Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | onlinemediadirect0 -
SEO Value of Within-Page Links vs. Separate Pages
Title says it all. Assuming that you're talking about similar content (let's say, widgets), which is better: using within-page links for variations or using separate pages? I.e., do we have a widget page and then do in-page links to describe green, blue, and red widgets, or separate pages for each type of widget? In-page pro: more content on a single page, thus more keywords, key phrases, and general appearance of real content. In-page con: Jakob Neilsen says they're confusing. Also, for SEO, you only get one page title, rather than a separate page title for each. My personal bias is for in-page, since I hate creating dozens of short pages for what could be on one page, but my suspicion is that separate pages are better for SEO.
On-Page Optimization | | maxkennerly0