Do exact keyword matches exclude "in", "based" etc?
-
I am trying to build a landing page for the search term "web design london" and I have included this search term as well as some variations such as "web design in london", "web design based in london" as the content doesn't really read well if I don't put in a connector word (I can't remember what the term for the use of "in" etc is).
However I am using the Moz On-Page Grader to make sure I'm dotting every i and crossing every t, but it doesn't seem to pick up on the search term when "in" or "based" is used. Now is this a limitation of the On-Page Grader or should I expect Google and other search engines to not pick up on the search term when it contains these sorts of words?
-
The Yoast SEO plugin does the same thing. Both it and Moz are intended as a guide only. You have to overlay it with your best judgement.
-
This makes sense. The content is written in a way that makes it easy for the user to read, I think my concern was whether either Google or Moz itself were smart enough to see that. I guess this is something that will improve in the On-Page Grader over time. Thank you!
-
A similar question was asked a while ago and here's what Moz Staffer Keri Morgret had to say.
"Here's some information from Google itself:
http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=136861
Words that are commonly used, like 'the,' 'a,' and 'for,' are usually ignored (these are called stop words). But there are even exceptions to this exception. The search
- [ the who ] likely refers to the band; the query [ who ] probably refers to the World Health Organization -- Google will not ignore the word 'the' in the first query."
So you can see that there is no definitive list of "stop words"; the answer is contextual. Try your proposed title tag with and without the "stop word". If it has the same meaning both ways, you can safely omit it. If you think it will invoke a better response from viewers or clarifies some subtle distinction and you can fit it in within the known pixel constraints, then consider adding it.
-
There are two schools of thought on this.
One school is as you have adopted above, simply frame your title to the customer. I do not 100% agree as I think there are competitive tensions between "customer v SEO" on various aspects of a site build. One is title - So personally I would delete words "in" as the 512 pixels in your title is valuable space and integral in informing search engines what your site does, so the search engines can match it to searchers intent. The "in" does not add anything, it is superfluous. I personally prefer "web design london" as it is succinct and straight to the point. I already know you are based in London - so no need to tell me, web design london does that.
Your call, hope that assists.
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
-
Utilizing the Moz Location in keywords vs including the location in the actual keyword phrase
I've searched the Moz blog as well as Q&A forums - but I specifically have a question about utilizing the Moz Location in keywords vs including the location in the actual keyword phrase. I've done both and get different rankings. For instance, I have "it company" with the Location set to Corpus Christi, Texas and our rank is #3. Then I also have "it company corpus christi" with the Location set to Corpus Christi, Texas and our rank is #6. Additionally, I threw in "it company corpus christi" with the Location set to National and our rank is #7. What is the best practice and what are the determining factors for the differences? Thank you in advance!
Moz Bar | | LBoxerger0 -
Why keywords have zero data for UAE?
I have searched for food delivery keyword for the United Arab Emirates, EN, and AR. Monthly volume has no data whereas difficulty, organic and priority has figures. When I change the country to US; monthly volume has more data. Can you explain; how can I use your service?
Moz Bar | | Twenzy1 -
Keyword Count Incorrect In On Page Grader
Hi, I have found that on one site I am working on seems to have issues when i run it through the on page grader. The problem is that it is saying I am showing the main keyword 24 times in the body, but actually it is 12 times. Could there be a problem on the website that is showing something I cant see, or is this a known issue. Thanks
Moz Bar | | DaleZon0 -
What does it mean when Moz KW explorer returns a negative keyword difficulty score (eg -2)?
I recently did a keyowrd difficulty lookup in Moz keyword explorer as usual and for the first time a saw several (out of 100s) of negative keyowrd scores (generally -2). Is this a bug, what does it mean?
Moz Bar | | FlagshipCons1 -
Need to solve "Oops our crawlers were unable to access" url for new campaign
I'm putting the url designfirstkitchenandbath.com and getting the "oops! our crawlers were unable to access the site. Since this site is a potential client, which shows up online, I can't get access to fix the code, plus while I can write a little html I don't feel comfortable working with hard, live code on someonelse's site. Anyone have a simple solution?
Moz Bar | | alisacromer0 -
When Moz provides an on-page grade report card, what tells Moz which keyword to grade for?
I just started working with the on-page grader and of couse am particularly interested in fixing my pages with not so stellar grades. Can someone tell me how SEO Moz decides what keyword to grade a page for? I receive a report each week that tells me how many pages I have with A's, B's etc. But what tells Moz to grade a page for a particular keyword? Is it the first keyword listed in the meta description?
Moz Bar | | AliciaMarie0 -
Keyword Difficulty Report - Google Engine selected, however system is return Bing results
Is there happening for anybody else?? We run a Keyword difficulty report and select Google Australia, however in the results it is showing the values for Bing search volume ... instead of Google 1083.jpg
Moz Bar | | L10Group1