Keyword ranking by word order
-
If we have a keyword with 2 words like "SSL Audit". Will it rank in the same position the other way "Audit SSL" ?
-
Hi Reda,
Not exactly. Google doesn't determine rankings just by looking at how well optimized a site is for individual words. They look at many other factors both on and off the site, so it's really hard to say why you're ranking slightly higher for one.
To be honest, I wouldn't stress over individual keyword rankings too much. You'll end up driving yourself insane. With so much personalization in search results today, what you see in search results isn't necessarily what someone else will see. I think its better to look at overall trends and just make sure you're moving in the right direction.
Tim
-
Hi Tim,
I see your point and thank you very much for your assistance with that matter. So, does my position in google: 38th for "audit ssl" and 44th for "ssl audit" imply that "audit" is ranked better than "ssl" ?
Reda
-
Hi Reda,
Not necessarily. In most cases, switching the word order like that will return similar, but not exactly the same, results. Take a look at these searches:
The Top 10 basically contains the same pages for both searches but they appear in a slightly different order. So if you're ranking well for one keyword, chances are you'll be ranking well for the re-ordered phrase but you might not be in the exact same position.
Hope this helps
Tim
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
-
How important is it to use a keyterm word-for-word to rank for that term?
I need your help to settle an argument here in our office. It boils down to improving our ranking for “driver education course Michigan.” One guy is convinced that if we want a site to rank for a multi-word keyterm like that, we need to use those exact words, in that order. He keeps creating pages with really awkward H1 titles and H2 subheadings using that exact phrase. H e claims appeal to search engines, but I think the cumbersome syntax is off-putting to any potential people who come to our site. Another guy claims that search engines are more sophisticated than that. He says we don’t need those exact words; it’s enough that the text on the page include “Michigan,” “driver education,” and “driver education course” a few times each. Even related terms like “drivers ed,” “driving school,” and “driver education classes” will help us to rank higher for “driver education course Michigan,” according to this guy. Neither of them can convince the other, and meanwhile I don’t know which to believe. Can you help?
Keyword Research | | dbcooper0 -
Two major pages ranking for the same keyword phrase
Hola all, So I'm having an issue where I have two important pages (homepage and page that lists products) that seemingly take turns ranking for an important keyword phrase. One day the homepage is in the top 20, one day the other, one day neither. And it's gone on like this for a couple of months. Both are optimized for keyword phrases that contain a shorter keyword phrase. So for example, let's say the homepage is optimized for: "Get paid to take polls" and the other page is optimized for "Earn cash for paid polls and more." Both contain: "paid polls." Is there cannibalization happening here? Should I completely remove "paid polls" from one keyword phrase? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Roman
Keyword Research | | Dynata_panel_marketing0 -
Newbie Keyword optmization question
I'm optimizing this page: http://gainesvilleholistichealthcare.com/treatment-options/acupuncture/ This is for a local, Gainesville, Fl acupuncturist. The words that show the most search volume on GKT for the city of gainesville are "acupuncture" followed by "acupuncture gainesville fl". Will optimizing for "Acupuncture in gainesville" or "Your Gainesville Florida Acupuncture solution" optimize it for both of these important terms? I guess my question really is, how specific does the match between the searcher's phrase and the KW's I use need to be.
Keyword Research | | Graphbyte0 -
Setting Up a Keyword Matrix
Greetings MOZ community!! My real estate web site contains about 500 pages with perhaps 70 pages targeting low volume, somewhat valuable but not very competitive keywords. Three to four URLs target very competitive terms. The following terms are among the most valuable: New York City office space,
Keyword Research | | Kingalan1
New York office space,
Manhattan office space,
NYC office space Such variants as: Office space in New York City,
Office space in New York,
Office space in Manhattan,
Office space in NYC
ETCETERA convert really well How would I match different terms to different URLs? For example I have just re-written the following two critical URLs: www.nyc-officespace-leader.com (home page)
http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/commercial-space/office-space (product page) Would it make sense to use "Manhattan office space" and variants on the home page while excluding "New York City office space" variants? At the same time I would use "New York City office space" variants on the "office-space" product page while excluding all mention of "Manhattan office space". Is this logical and does it conform to SEO best practices? For the "NYC office space" terms I would add them to http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/listings. This URL has almost no text but a strong potential to rent because of a high number of incoming internal links. Is this approach sensible? In general what measures should I take to prevent URLs from competing for the same keywords? Also, is there a software package or tools that I can use to come up with keyword variants? As a non SEO professional, can I create my own keyword matrix or is this really in the realm of a professional SEO consultant? Thanks, Alan0 -
How do you check keyword rankings for your sites?
The other day I used Rank Tracker form SEO PowerSuite and SEO small tools ranking checker http://smallseotools.com/keyword-position/ to check a keyword ranking. Both said that my clients keyword is not in top 50, but when I used Rank Tracker from Moz.com it showed that my client's keyword ranks #30 ! What's the tool that works for you all the time and is 100% reliable?
Keyword Research | | vitaliykolos1 -
Key word query
I work for a company that sells vitamins and sports supplements. I'm just looking at the key words in google analytics that people are searching to land on our page and they don’t appear to be using any product names /ailments etc. So with that in mind how does this affect my key word strategy when it comes to adding words to the pages? I had it in mind I would be adding brand names and product types etc? Any feedback would once again be much appreciated Cheers,
Keyword Research | | dawsonski0 -
Two for the price of one: Can I rank for multiple keywords when only targeting one keyword?
If I'm optimizing for a specific keyword, is it accurate to assume that by ranking for that specific keyword that I will also be able to rank for similar or root keywords merely by ranking for the original keyword? For example, if I'm targeting 'free online bucket list' is it safe to assume that I will also be able to inadvertently rank for 'online bucket list' or 'free bucket list'? Can I assure clients of this? Or if I'm targeting 'Colorado grocery store' should I also naturally rank for 'grocery store Colorado' and not need to make both of these my targeted keywords?
Keyword Research | | derrickkuhn0 -
Should I be optimizing for Keywords that we already rank for?
When selecting which Keywords to optimize for, should I choose all words that I want us to move up for? Like that my company appears ranked for 5, 10, 42, 44, etc.? Or should I select a mix of some that rank well (top 1-2 pgs in Google) /rank near pg 5/ and some that aren't showing up in the top 50 yet? I don't want to waste my time optimizing for words I don't need to. Thanks!
Keyword Research | | aircyclemegan0