Keyword Ranking Research Question
-
Hi Mozzers,This is probably a nooby question, but I was wondering how you guys end up deciding if a Keyword is too hard to rank for? Also vice versa, when do you decide that a keyword is too low volume to rank for so you try to rank for a harder keyword?
Eg.
Deciding that ranking for "Dell Computers" is too hard and then deciding to rank for "Dell Small Business Computers"Post-question: Do indirectly rank for Dell Computers if you try to rank for Dell Small Business Computers? If so, how much? Also, how many words inbetween Dell & Computers would there have to be to stop indirectly ranking for Dell Computers?
-
Very good question. It is ultimately a matter for yourself. I always take the primary keyword head on - even if there is no realistic chance of ranking for it in the short term. However I also make sure that I target keywords off the same branch that I can rank for. I usually start with 5-7.
I believe you should always have your eye on the ultimate prize. Ubersuggest is good I also like Semrush.com - as you also get to see what organic keywords your competitors are getting traffic from. Semrush may further fine tune the keywords you target.
On a nexus between primary and secondary - if you are targeting "dell computers" and words around that frame - once you get some traction with your other keywords then you may start to rank for "dell computers" but at 300 etc. . In fairness though it is impossible for anyone to suggest a true nexus as it will all depend on your seo optimization and the keywords you initially target and what you actually publish/do.
Hope that assists and good luck.
-
Hi Steven,
Maybe my view on this matter can help you a little.
First of all you need to analyse the playing field. So use a tool like ubersuggest.org to get all the relevant search queries and variations for your type of business. Check also some Google suggestions at the bottom of the search result page for some good / popular variations.
After you determined all the relevant keywords (including long tail keywords) for your business you can insert them into Google Adwords keyword planner. The output will give you the expected monthly search volume and, very important, the level of competition on a specific keyword.
Based on your domain and page authority compared to the top ranking competitors you can asses whether its possible to get some top rankings on high volume search queries. When the competition is modest, and comparable to the authority of your website, you can challenge them by creating some high quality landing pages. However if you find competitors to have more authority you can decide to try to rank for keywords with a lower level of competition.
If the difference between your site and the top competitors is not gigantic, I would try both. So try to rank between the big boys and go for the long tail search queries. Bear in mind it's all about the visitor. If your visitor finds your landing page useful, then the chances of a good / better ranking will improve. So try to write the page with the customer in mind, make it very relevant. But if your competitors have a lot more authority, I would start with long tail keywords.
It is possible to rank for "dell computers" if you try to rank for "Dell Small Business Computers". However if your competitor has a very relevant page on "Dell computers" he would probably rank higher.
Of course you'll need to analyse the performance of your pages with MOZ In order to make the necessary changes and improvements.
Good luck!
Kind regards,
Herman (from the Netherlands)
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
-
Improving the keyword ranking of a subject that we deal with only one or two months of the year
So I run a tip site based on the popular video game series Madden NFL. We also do NCAA and since I started getting invested in SEO, I noticed we aren't even in the top 50 for a lot of these results. What would be a good way to get started? Just throwing in some keywords that I want to be targeted?
Keyword Research | | taychatha0 -
Keyword research tool - for off site results
New to Moz, and after playing with keyword research, it seems very comprehensive for analysing keywords based on my site content, and showing me how many people are visiting based on those keywords. However what I'm really looking for is 'alternative' keywords that are 'not' on my site, but still relevant to my sector, and how many searchers are using those. basic example My site is optimised for 'soccer for kids' which Moz shows me getting 50 hits for. Google KW tool reports that every month there are over 2000 searches for 'football for kids' Because my site has no mention of 'Football', Moz doesn't show this as an alternative KW Admittedly my site is new in Moz, so do I just wait a bit longer? or do I continue to use Google KW tool? I'm sure I'm missing the obvious. Thanks!
Keyword Research | | petenorris0 -
What does it mean when two keywords in Google's Keyword Research Tool have exactly the same amount of searches?
The two keywords are [publicity] and [product placement] (both in exact search - not broad) and have 22,200 searches each. Is it purely coincidental or are the two keywords kind of related in Google's eyes and that's why we're seeing the same amount of searches for each?
Keyword Research | | davhad0 -
Keyword competitiveness/research
I'm familiar with ranking factors and can get a pretty good idea of whether going for a keyword is realistic by looking at the seomoz keyword difficulty tool. As well as the % score it has a lot of useful information. There was an seomoz article a while ago that detailed how 100 or so experts determine a keyword's competitiveness. Does anybody have the link? Or just as good, any useful guides to interpreting the data to gauge how possible it is to compete? Thanks
Keyword Research | | PTMPercy0 -
Trying to avoid Keyword Cannibalization
I have a navigation menu at the top of my page with drop down menus that lead to different pages of my web site. Very typical navigation. If I have a page that is optimized for a particular keyword, lets say "Awesome Blue Widgets", do I want to remove that link from the navigation menu on the page awesome-blue-widgets.htm since the link uses the keyword phrase "Awesome Blue Widgets'?
Keyword Research | | TRICORSystems0 -
Google Keyword Tool
I have been analysing some specific seasonal keywords in terms of search volume within the Google keyword tool. When I download the google keyword volume for each term, this is displayed as a monthly average. I am wanting to get search volume over previous months which I am sure the Google keyword tool used to offer Does anyone have a solution to this? Thanks Simon
Keyword Research | | simonsw0 -
Is this keyword cannibalization?
Hi, Is using keywords in different orders considered keyword cannibalization? for example, if I my client has a catering business based in mississauga, Ontario, should I create separate 2nd tier pages on the following keywords? 1. mississauga catering 2. catering mississauga 3. catering in mississauga Is that keyword cannibalization? The reason I ask is because it's often hard to find a good # of diverse keywords for local businesses that are also used more than a few times each month in the search engines. thanks, Martin
Keyword Research | | RogersSEO0 -
Keyword Updates
I have a list of keywords in a campaign that I need to update. I use the keyword report card to review those keyword performance by page. I dont currently see a way to update those keywords, I only see the option to add or delete. I don't want to delete and re-enter because then I will lose that "mapping". Is there a way to simply update a keyword?
Keyword Research | | webdecorators0