Improving ranking for a more specific keyword - eg 1 word

[IsaCleanse]

Hi there

Ive managed to get my site ranking in top5 of Organic search for a 2 word keyword "keywordname australia" for example or "buy keywordname" - however finding it a lot slower process improving rankings for just the actual 'keywordname'

Any suggestions  as to what might be the best thing to focus on to improve a more competitive term?

[Toddfoster]

Algorithm updates last year made exact keyword matching a thing of the past - I have clients for whom I do content marketing as a means of link-building and my advice is always to produce content which makes sense when you read it. If it sounds like a keyword is being forced into a sentence, chances are it will be reviewed negatively.

Link-building is one of those nose-to-the-grindstone jobs that requires dedication, focus and the ability to take a bit of criticism. It also requires a lot of outreach and pounding the pavement with authority sources in your market niche. I like content marketing because it covers most of the bases you want to cover without you sounding too "sales-y".

For example, instead of focusing on on-site factors such as your keyword targeting and URL (on-site only involves about 30% of ranking weight), perhaps spend some time creating unique content relevant to your market niche that you think potential customers would be interested in reading/watching. Then take that content and market it to authorities in your market - you might have to spend some time developing relationships since webmasters are bombarded with link requests on a regular basis.

It will take some patience and time, but the overall affects are worth it.

http://moz.com/blog/category/link-building

This link has a ton of resources on up-to-date link building practices that will help you get out on the right track.

http://moz.com/blog/local-event-marketing
http://moz.com/blog/future-of-link-building
http://moz.com/blog/anchor-text-rich-links-without-spam-or-manipulation-whiteboard-friday

These 3 in particular might be of interest to you.

Hope this helps!

Rob

[IsaCleanse]

Thanks Robert!

With link building how would you suggest is most effective way to link back to? Use anchor with exact Keyword im targeting or the URL itself? Or something else?

[Toddfoster]

Hello Sandi,

Obviously you have some SEO knowledge if you are managing 1st page rankings for your chosen keyword, so I will start with the obvious steps:

Content production: Be an authority on your given term/topic/niche to make it easier for people to find you. This also gives you content to market to your prospective audience and helps you with link-building.

Link-building: Presumably you know how to do this, but those quality links have a way of boosting you that extra bit to max out your organic gains.

Thinking outside the box, you might also consider building a client base "below" your current client base as a means of introducing your product/service or brand to them at an earlier stage and making them more likely to find you at a later time. Rand Fishkin made a Whiteboard Friday presentation on this approach and it  might do you some good. The link is here:

http://moz.com/blog/hacking-keyword-targeting-whiteboard-friday

This isn't necessarily a "quick success" option, but it has the potential to be very powerful over time.

Hope this helps and feel free to shoot me some questions if you have any.

Rob

[grobro]

Hello Sandi,

As you mentioned, if it's a more competitive term - it takes a lot more time. Did you check it in the keyword difficulty tool? Is it worth it and possible to get good results soon? If you can answer these questions with yes, keep going.