Why is my site not appearing for a generic relevant short-tail keyword?
-
Hi,
I work for a lighting retailer and in the past few weeks, our ranking in Google for the term 'lights' has decreased so much that I can no longer find it in the first 20 pages on Google.
We did receive a manual action but the penalty has since been revoked.
However, this seems to be a keyword specific problem as we are ranking #5 for 'cheap lights' - which is obviously more relevant and specific anyway.
The only reason I'm asking is because the company director is asking why it has decreased so much, and I've tried to explain the keyword is too short and generic to bring in good traffic to the site, but he still wants a reason why that keyword in particular has dropped so much.
It is interesting to note that one of our competitors, had a significant drop like ours. However, they seem to be climbing back up the rankings now.
I was just wondering if anyone had any insight into this issue?
Thanks,
Brian
-
Just to echo what has been said above.
My opinion - Focussing on the term lights is probably not the best idea - very vague and there is no intent in the search request so it could mean anything. Cheap lights (you are 6th - 480 searches PM) or cheap lighting (5 + 6th @ 1000 searches per month) are more worthwhile. Looks like you are ranking for 180+ related terms so focus on them instead of generic words such as 'lights' and you should get better ROI anyway.
From a competition standpoint you are up against the big names such as Tesco and Argos so you need to think a little differently to get past them.
Chasing one single tough keyword can be ten times the effort of going after several with less competition but still give the same results anyway.
-
Thanks for your responses, both very useful.
The URL I'm asking about is www.valuelights.co.uk
-
Brian,
I agree with what Lumina wrote.
Sometimes when I run into this problem I look at the competition for the term, and then figure out how many backlinks my competitors who are ranking in the top 10 for that keyword are showing/their DAs, etc. the top 10 have, and compare it to my own.
It won't give you a super firm answer, but sometimes it's enough to explain why the top 10 is beating you.
-
Without knowing your website's url, it's hard to say. But generally speaking, generic keywords like "lights" are always going to be in a weird flux. So many different companies, mediums, videos, and everything else use that word in some aspect. It's possible that something time-specific (think "holiday lights" for instance) could be taking over the search temporarily, or that your site simply isn't as optimized for "lights" as new-comers. Even news articles and musicians will come up when searching for that term.
Another thing to consider is whether or not whomever's searching has their personal search data enabled in Google. And let's not forget location-based search, which will assuredly have an effect on SERPs. The bottom-line is, there are so many factors in play when it comes to generic search terms that it would be very difficult to tell without a lengthy analysis of your data and that of others.
The good news is, as you mentioned, "lights" likely isn't the most useful search for potential customers. People typically search for something product/service specific when it comes to something like that.
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
-
Unsolved Keyword difficulty (KD) in the Swiss market's
What are the most effective strategies for managing keyword difficulty (KD) in the Swiss market's competitive landscape, considering factors such as language variations, regional preferences, and search engine algorithms?
Keyword Research | | digitavision22880 -
How do I do keyword research when search volume is unknown
Hi Mozzers! I do a lot of work in niche areas, and one issue I often confront in keyword research is unknown search volume. That is, I'll be doing keyword research in Keyword Explorer or Gooogle Search Console, and for the most relevant keywords, I find either very low search volumes, null search volumes, or "Data not available." How do I make good keyword planning decisions when I can't find good data for search volume? Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Andy
Keyword Research | | AndyKubrin0 -
How can I "target keywords"?
Hello everyone, Could you please explain how can I "target keywords"? So from my understanding, I do a research on keywords, then find those which I can rank for easily, and then what? Do I build links to my website pages with these keywords? Or do I create different articles on the website with this keyword?
Keyword Research | | moneywise_test0 -
Keyword ranking tool?
I am looking for a tool that would show ranking keywords for my website - except Google Anlaytics and Webmaster. I don't want to enter the keywords to see if my website is ranking I'd like to see if there are any keywords that rank already Thanks!
Keyword Research | | Rubix0 -
Combining keyword phrases
http://www.drillingtrader.com I am wanting to combine; oilfield classifieds
Keyword Research | | drillingtrader
drilling classifieds
oilfield services classifieds A keyword phrase generator reflected; oilfield classifieds drilling classifieds oilfield services classifieds [oilfield classifieds drilling classifieds oilfield services classifieds] or oilfield classifieds drilling classifieds oilfield services classifieds "oilfield classifieds drilling classifieds oilfield services classifieds" or oilfield classifieds drilling classifieds oilfield services classifieds +oilfield +classifieds +drilling +classifieds +oilfield +services +classifieds I don't know which keyword phrase would be most effective, nor do I understand if I am to combine the two lines, utilized in a keyword phrase or just one.0 -
Is there really "keyword strategy" for sites with User Generated content? Any experiences?
I am starting website focused on consumer complaints/reviews with purely User Generated content. Is there really "keyword strategy" for such sites? I can only think of analyzing competition's keywords and understanding long tail http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-big-is-your-long-tail-whiteboard-friday. Any experiences? Or ideas?
Keyword Research | | ShoutOut0 -
How many keywords should I target per page / per site?
Hi, I am doing some keywords research and I just wanted to check my understanding of keyword theory. Is it best to select 1-2 keywords per page of the site? Or should you target the whole site towards a few keywords? Thanks, Barney.
Keyword Research | | barnst0 -
Google SERPS for similar Keywords?
I have website which is being listed for a keyword which is not in the site. It seems that google is using a Thesaurus to find words with similar meaning. Is this right? How could this be used for SEO purposes?
Keyword Research | | Tinderbox0