Exact match keyword phrases, are they still really important to search engines?
-
This has been bugging me for a while now and I'd like to know what you guys think.
I often find what I can only described as 'oddities' in our rankings for certain search terms. For example, we might rank top 5 for 'A5 week view diary' and then second page for 'Week view diaries A5'. (Not an actual example, I just find stuff like this all the time across our various pages)
They are basically the same query, so I don't understand why so often there is such a discrepancy. I can only put this down to exact match keyword phrase still being an important ranking factor.
What do you guys think? Are exact match phrases still an important part of the SERP results?
Thank you.
Isaac.
-
Hi Isaac,
Those are different queries.
And yes it does matter to Google the exact match keyword phrase. That said, it raises the question: How much leverage does google give it? Well, it depends and varies from site to site.In the case that you are optimizing on-page, keep in mind to not over optimize for that phrase and add some variants (such as you've said, or adding some extra words to the phrase).
In the case that you are analyzing a link profile or willing to "do" backlinks, try to keep the exact match not over the 10%. Of course there is no magic number, its just to be safe.Hope I've helped.
GR. -
Hi Isaac,
Keywords match types mainly for Paid campaign not for SEO. Yes I have seen in paid campaign by changing word order performance also changes.
IMO they are different query.
Thanks
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
-
Keyword Plan Of Attack
We have looked up our direct competitor to see what keywords they rank #1 for (aside from their own company name). We have narrowed it down to 3 that we want to focus on. Our plan is to build internal landing pages, external landing pages and beef up our content. Is that a good strategy to start or are we missing something?
Keyword Research | | IcarusSEO0 -
Keyword tracking for all keywords that contain a specific keyword
Hello, Is it possible to see keyword performance for all keywords that contain a specific phrase? Then see which landing page each keyword is most likely associated to? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | STP_SEO0 -
Keyword Density and ALL CAPS
Hello everyone, New member and first time asking a question! Having a disagreement about keyword stuffing on a home page. The client has 14 mentions of their brand all IN CAPS. So it's sentences like ... BRAND was established in 1968 and has become one of the biggest leaders in the donut industry. In fact, BRAND has created a strong BRAND community ... etc. [the lead paragraph is three sentences and four mentions of BRAND] A design agency that is also in the picture says that this is fine because the word appears naturally in the sentence. Can you either 1) tell me I'm wrong and explain why or 2) give me some ammo to give to my client to support my argument. Thanks! Lisa
Keyword Research | | ChristianRubio1 -
Optimize the ranking with the right keyword
Hi, I would like to know the processs if i want use in the same time 2 keywords. "géolocalisation véhicule" and " geolocalisation vehicule " As you can see the diffence is just the accent and i would like have the same ranking for both Thank for your help Steve
Keyword Research | | fleurya1 -
Google Keyword Research Tool - Monthly Totals for Similar Keywords?
Hi! I am doing some Google keyword research using the Google Adwords Keyword tool to decide what content to create for the masses. That is, to find opportunities to create content that is in-demand where the current offering is not satisfying the need effectively. Here are some keywords I picked out. I hope to produce a single piece of content optimized for some or all of these keywords. (See attached imgur link) The first thing I notice when doing this kind of work is that many similar-sounding keywords are showing the same sum of average monthly totals. This suggests to me that they may not actually be unique. For instance, the first two searches "guitar strings order" and "guitar string notes" each have ~5400 monthly searches. Does that mean 5400 each, or 5400 total between the two? So does anybody know if these are individual numbers or part of a bigger total? And if they are part of a bigger total, how could I estimate the average searches for a piece of content that targets all 8 keywords? If I tally all of the searches, I have over 23,000 potential searches per month. But if some of them are being counted more than once, so to speak, then the number could be much lower. ghmFYOZ
Keyword Research | | garney0 -
Ranking for broad search terms
Hello, ive been getting some good organic traffic lately, i always run the live real time analytics and have noticed that the site is ranking for very broad terms and not specific exact keywords that i have the pages optimized for. Is there a reason for this? thx
Keyword Research | | TP_Marketing0 -
How to find easy keywords to rank for?
We've got fantastic results from a keyword here. After we signed up for SeoMoz, we found that, for luck, this was a very easy keyword (1%) to rank for. How can I find more easy keywords?
Keyword Research | | BrunoReis0 -
Long Tail Keyword Research
Hi, I have read lots of articles on long tail keyword research and all of it seems to apply to models and makes, i.e. "Canon power shot digital _camera _2MP" However, I work in the interior design industry, which doesn't have models and makes, if you see what I mean. Does anyone have any advice on how to do long tail keyword research for this sector or similar? Thanks for your help. Mik
Keyword Research | | increation0