Stop Words and keyword optimization
-
Ok, so I understand Google doesn't use stopwords (like "a" or "the").
Therefore if I am optimize for a keyword phrase, and say find an opportunity for say:
"how to create stuff something"
But it actually reads better as (although doesn't sound completely out of place as above)
"how to create stuff in something"
Which is better for SEO? (ignore usability \ readability in your replies please and assume it reads reasonably either way as that was just an example)
-
"how to create stuff something" (some people would pick this because they think that the absence of "in" makes for better keyword optimization)
"how to create stuff in something" (I pick this because in addition to sounding better to the user it might be clicked more, and being clicked more, in my opinion, is more valuable today than keyword optimization. Why? Because google is pretty good at getting the keywords from your article into the title tag but getting people to do what you want them to do takes much more finesse. )
-
Hi there
Use the latter. Google and search engines are phenomenal at topic association and reading the important aspects of what you are saying in your titles and content. If something reads better to your eyes and ears, but most importantly, your audience's eyes and ears, then go with that - remember, users will type in search how they speak naturally - they won't type like a search engine. Google and other search engines will catch up. Don't write for SEO, write for the user.
Hope this helps - let me know if you have any other questions or comments! Good luck!
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 to optimize for software carousels? [2019]
There was a lot of discussion back in spring 2017 when carousels were expanded in Google. But no definitive answers on how Google determines which sites rank for these results and what SEOs can do to get listed. My site (ansys.com) ranks for some of these results (example: "cfd software"), but the product listed in the result is not the primary product from our suite that should rank for these queries. Also the image Google displays is an outdated product logo pulled from a low-level blog post. This despite having structured data on our site with correct logos. Also, we only rank for carousels in one of our product categories and not others, despite ranking on pg. 1 for those results. So rank doesn't seem to be a primary factor. What is the secret sauce for ranking for these software carousels? And is it even worth it to try?
Technical SEO | | KHritz1 -
Meta Keywords - Should I define them myself
Hi All, Im sure this has been answered somewhere but I couldn't find it. SEOQuake etc suggest you should define meta keywords. However I was under the impression that this was not best practice Can anyone confirm what I should do/ is best practice? Cheers Bowey
Technical SEO | | CFCU0 -
Has Google Stopped Listing URLs with Crawl Errors in Webmaster Tools?
I went to Google Webmaster Tools this morning and found that one of my clients had 11 crawl errors. However, Webmaster Tools is not showing which URLs are having experiencing the errors, which it used to do. (I checked several other clients that I manage and they list crawl errors without showing the specific URLs. Does anyone know how I can find out which URLs are experiencing problems? (I checked with Bing Webmaster Tools and the number of errors are different).
Technical SEO | | TopFloor0 -
Which is better Title length vs. keywords?
We run a jobboard. The title tag on a page for a job is often over 70 characters. An example of one would be: " Supplier Quality Inspector (Electrical Manufacturing) Job in Orlando, FL 32809 at Pro Image Solutions | Orlando Jobs!" The company name 'Orlando Jobs!" comes at the end but is also a really good keyword e.g. 'Orlando' and 'Jobs' I am interested in suggestions as to how to make these titles better. For example take off the company name when we go over 70 characters? Move the company name to the front of the title because the company name is also good keywords? I am looking for the best way to handle the issue is all. Thanks.
Technical SEO | | JobBiz0 -
Is it possible to be penalized as duplicate content for one keyword but not another?
I help develop an online shopping cart and after a request from management about some products not showing up in the SERP's I was able to pinpoint it down to mostly a duplicate content issue. It's a no brainer as some times new products are inserted in with copied text from the manufacturers website. I recently though stumbled across a odd problem. When we partially re-wrote the content to seem unique enough it seemed to remedy the issue for some keywords and not others. A) If you search the company name our category listing shows as #1 ahead of the manufacturers website. We always did rank for this term. B) If you search the product name our product page is listed #3 behind two other listings which belong to the manufacturer. C) If you search the keywords together as "company product" we are still being filtered out as duplicate content. When I allow the filtered results to show we are ranking #4 It's been a full month since the changes were indexed. Before I rewrite the content even further I thought I would ask to see if any one has any insight as to what could be happening.
Technical SEO | | moondog6040 -
Importance of keyword in the content to rank well
Well, I am very beginner seo. our website is www.theprinterdepo.com and our main keyword for the moment is refurbished printers, but there might be hundreds of more keywords. I was analyzing the SERPs and found that for our keyword, the first 2 websites that come up have very different content 1.http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=PRN They rank first, but I dont see a lot of text with the keyword in their text or links 2. http://www.valstarprinters.com/ They mention the keywords lots of times in the text, probably they are doing keyword stuffing? So this makes me thing, how the 1st one ranked there? just by link builiding?
Technical SEO | | levalencia10 -
Ensuring Assets (PDFs, PowerPoint Files, Word Docs, etc.) are Indexable on Site
Hi there - I'm working on an educational site in which users will be able to search our repository of PDF articles, PowerPoint files, and so on through an on-site search engine. What is the best way to ensure each of these documents/assets are indexable by Google since they technically don't reside on an HTML page....they are just pulled up if the user searches for them? The site itself is just a few pages, but the files, articles, and videos in the repository are in the hundreds. Should I just name and tag them properly and make sure they're all included in an XML site map? Anything else suggested? Thanks very much!
Technical SEO | | MedThinkCommunications0 -
Sending signals to Google to rank the correct page for a set of Keywords.
Hi All, Out of all our keywords their are 3 that are showing our home page in the serps rather than the specific product page URL on Google.co.za (Google.com ranks the correct URL) Im not sure why this is happening as most links built using the anchor text are pointing to the correct page. Why would google prefer ranking our home page on local search and rank the correct page on Google.com? (only 3 keywords have this problem) I have tried to correct this by creating links from strong internal pages with anchor text pointing to the correct URL. I have also concentrated on building links from .co.za domains using the anchor text and correct URL but to no avail. It has been 2 weeks now, since i tried to sort it out, but im not sure what else i can do to tell Google to rank the correct page. Any ideas? Regards Greg
Technical SEO | | AndreVanKets0