Different versions of keywords. Which one to optimize?
-
For some keywords, we have slightly different versions available.
For example: people search for 'webhosting', but also for 'web hosting'. Same for 'cloudserver' and 'cloud server'.
I used google trends to compare the keywords and find the more popular one. But in different countries, different keywords are searched more often. So we can't really optimize for the BEST version of the keyword, since there is no real BEST version.
What would you suggest to do? We could also just develop pages for both keywords, but that could end in duplicated content. Would be an option to use canonicalization then, but this would not really improve ranking for one of the versions.
I'm very confused. If anyone has a good idea on how to optimize here, please let me know.
Thank you in advance!
Best regards
Klemens -
There are different types of keywords that have different intent. I'm working with bestcoffeemaker2021.us and I'm using buying intent keywords.
-
Dear Miriam
I will definitely check those Whiteboard Fridays. Thank you!
-
Hi Joe
Thank you for your answer. However, as you can see, the search results are not exactly the same. Still, the difference is not that huge, so I will stick with your answer
-
Hi Klemens,
Joe's advice is right on, and I'd recommend these Whiteboard Fridays to help you get into a powerful mindset about this topic:
https://moz.com/blog/beat-your-competitors-rankings-comprehensive-content-whiteboard-friday
https://moz.com/blog/optimizing-for-rankbrain-whiteboard-friday
Hope you enjoy those!
-
Hi Klemens,
Do not create individual pages for both variations of keywords, this is an old school tactic and hasn't worked well in years. You'll just be creating near duplicate content that does not provide additional value.
I'd optimize for whichever is grammatically correct. Google has come a long way and will understand that people searching for "webhosting" are also looking for the same results as those searching for "web hosting".
Search Results for "Webhosting" - https://www.screencast.com/t/AAEv5f4B6EN
Search Results for "Web hosting" - https://www.screencast.com/t/t3ztacXDCM
Hope this helps!
-
I would recommend using the Google Keyword Planner or Moz's Keyword Explorer to track different search volumes for keyword phrases. I looked it up in the GKP and found the following numbers for searches in the United States:
- "web hosting" = 165,000/mo.
- "webhosting" = 40,500/mo.
- "cloud server" = 49,500/mo.
- "cloudserver" = 49,500/mo.
So they all have a pretty decent amount of traffic and are going to be fairly competitive to rank for I would imagine, however if you are simply wanting to target the keyword phrase with the most monthly searches, do "web hosting" and then whichever version of "cloud server" is grammatically correct. Hope this helps!
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
-
Desk top rankings differ from mobile rankings
Hi there! We are working on clients site for SEO. We have noticed that our clients 'desk top search results' on Google differ from the 'mobile / tablet search results'. For the desktop - the client is in the top 4 results of page one for Google, but for mobile / tablet results they are at the bottom of page one. We converted the clients site to be responsive 6 months ago. We have been through Google webmaster tools and made all suggested alterations. All programming is to a high standard. Competitors all seem to keep their current rankings - whilst our clients seem to drop. Any suggestions what the issue is would be very much appreciated 🙂 Thanks in advance. Phil. . We re-built their website so that it was responsive. We have been But -
Algorithm Updates | | Globalgraphics1 -
All keywords increasing rank except URL Keyword, whats going on?
Hello, Our website is a private equity firm database, privateequityfirms.com. We rank well for a number of private equity definitions and terms and have been increasing rank in those terms but unfortunately we have been losing ranking in our main keyword and url "private equity firms" .We have ranked as high as 3rd under wikipedia. The only real changes we have made are too the sitemap that is auto generated every time some thing is changed in the database. Does anyone have any ideas what is going on? I have included a Image to help show the problem. Thank you! MozAnalyticsPDF115_zpsddec64fa.png
Algorithm Updates | | Nicktaylor10 -
Keyword rich domains
Can you share your experience about Keyword rich domains; do they still hold same value as before?
Algorithm Updates | | ShashankGupta0 -
Keywords in Footer
Do keywords in the footer carry the same weight as keywords on the rest of the page? Should we avoid having some keywords in the footer?
Algorithm Updates | | bloomnation0 -
Canonicalization on more than one page?
is it proper to "canocalize" more than one page in a site? Or should it only be on the home page? eg: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com">
Algorithm Updates | | sakeith0 -
Do practitioner listings for the same business need to have different categories?
I'm trying to figure out an issue with practitioner listings, and I wanted to ask more about this because in this Q&A thread ( http://www.seomoz.org/q/multiple-businesses-at-the-same-address-avoiding-google-places-trouble ) it was stated that each listing needs to have a different category. Sorry if this question is redundant, I just wanted to make sure I have a clear understanding before proceeding.... I'm managing local listings for a senior healthcare center that has 4 locations, and multiple practitioners at each location. I'm trying to figure out how to best handle the multiple practitioner listings, most of which appear to be scraped. I was going to claim, verify and begin managing them. However, they all fall under the same category, "practitioner." What I've gathered from the response in the above Q&A thread is that I need to have a different category for each practitioner to please Google Places, despite the fact that "practitioner" is the best/most accurate category available in Google's pre-set categories. Is my interpretation correct? I'm confused because Google's guidelines say you can create a separate listing for each practitioner, which to me implies that it would be ok to use the practitioner category for each one. But then again, I want to make sure before proceeding. Thanks, Kim
Algorithm Updates | | TECHSEO35
#TECHSEO Account Manager0 -
Troubleshooting Decline of Branded Keyword Searches
Hi, Over the past year, I have seen a huge change in the distribution of our organic keyword traffic. I'm trying to research why our branded keywords have gone down. Google analytics only shows me impressions for the past three months. Does anyone have ideas on how to explain this change in traffic? Please see the attached chart. Thanks! branded-v-nonbranded-organic-search.jpg
Algorithm Updates | | netdiva_amy0 -
If you rank first organically for a keyword, will you rank first for variations?
Hi everyone, Hoping that someone will be able to answer this question for us. If we rank first organically for a keyword, are we safe to assume that we'll rank first (or close to it) for variations of that keyword as well? E.g. If we rank first easily for "Hamilton Island", can we safely assume that we will rank well organically for close variations of that keyword such as "Hamilton Islands", "Hamiltonisland", "Hamilton Island Hotel" due to the fact that "Hamilton Island" is in those keywords? We're deciding which keywords to monitor in SEOmoz and we don't want to waste keywords on very similar terms if we don't have to. Really appreciate any responses! Cheers.
Algorithm Updates | | HamiltonIsland0