Why am I ranking high for a keyword that is nowhere on my page?
-
There is a specific keyword phrase that I am ranking in the top 10 search results for. When I run page optimizer in Moz, my page is given a score of 73 and I'm predictably told I need to include this keyword somewhere on the page. This specific keyword phrase is not included anywhere on the page - not in image files, image alts, anchor text from inbound links (that I can find), text content, meta-titles or descriptions - it's nowhere.
Meanwhile, a keyword phrase which Moz' page optimizer tells us we are scored 96 for we aren't even in the first three pages of search results for. What's going on here? On the surface, this seems to be telling me the Moz page optimizer is kinda...broken?
Why am I ranking in the top 10 for a keyword phrase nowhere on my page?
Thanks in advance for any help.
-
Hi Jeffrey,
These questions are always so interesting but to give an accurate answer we'd need more info like what the keyword is, if it's at all relevant to what you do etc.
In short, it's been many moons since Google just ranked you for words and phrases that could be found on your website. They do still help, but it's absolutely possible to rank for something without mentioning it, provided the topic is similar.
For example, if you run a car hire company and only ever use the word "hire" across your site, you will definitely still rank for "car rental" as well. For several years now Google has been improving the way they "understand" the content on your site.
As these improvements continue, just how far removed those related terms can be also increases. If a human can make the logical connection between two topics, chances are so can Google and so you can rank for these connected things. I actually wrote quite a lengthy response that covered this same topic a few weeks back which might be worth a read too. Basically, the shoe company Hype DC here in Australia almost never uses the word "shoe" or "shoes" yet their rankings for those terms are excellent.
Hope that 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
-
How can I see the keywords my competitors are ranking highly for?
I want to know which keywords I should be targeting to get the traffic from rival companies. I work for a travel company. Is there a way I can do this on Moz? Thanks so much!
Moz Pro | | nicolewretham1 -
What is the difference between my pages' keyword rank and keyword-specific SERP?
I've been tasked with identifying high volume keywords for products our company sells and optimizing our copy and listings to rank higher on Google. The Keyword Explorer and On-Page Grader have been fantastic for this, but as I write my reports, i'm not sure whether SERP or Moz's keyword page rank would be more accurate for reporting results and movement. For instance, one of our product pages ranks #12 for the highest (relevant) volume keyword, but when looking at the SERP analysis for that keyword, our product page actually shows up at #7 down the list. I've tried naturally searching in Google in case it was an issue of private results based on my user data but it seems to give the same result. Am I conflating two different tools? Or is the Moz rank just an estimate?
Moz Pro | | BJake0 -
How can you tell how many pages rank for a particular keyword?
I know with ranktracker I can see a page that will rank for a certain keyword. What if I have multiple pages that rank for this keyword? How can I see all pages that rank for it?
Moz Pro | | Sika220 -
Accurate Google Keyword Ranking for a domain
Hi Folks, SEO N00b here, in a new job so please go easy on me if i ask stupid questions. I'm looking for some clarification on Google Keyword rankings. I am looking for accurate Google Keywords rankings as when I log into Google Webmaster Tools I am given values like (6-10) for a ranking? When I used SEOMoz (Research Tools -> Keyword & Ranking -> Rank Tracker) it gives me an even less accurate range by simply saying >#50?Why is SEOMoz giving a completely useless metric? Why is its actual rank not shown? I know rankings are becoming less useful as a metric with Google moving toward personalized search but I still have reports to deliver to clients so the conversation of what metrics are going in the report is to be had another day. Right now I just want to get accurate rankings, from what I've found online Google Webmaster tools is recommended as the de-facto ranking tool but it doesn't provide accurate results so how can that be (yes I know it averages out the ranking but 6-10 is a range of values not a single value that represents an average) Dave
Moz Pro | | icanseeu0 -
Universal rankings has made my page not show in rankings any more
We've had a page with a video on it for ages; it always ranks well, generally around no. 5. But I've noticed that it's now ignored in SEMOZ as a page, and only shows as a Universal Result - so it looks as though our top page is no. 22, even thought the video shows as an icon still in the same position, no. 5. That's annoying as I now have to explain to my stakeholders how come our rankings appear to have dropped off a cliff - when i fact they haven't. The page appears in google SERPS exactly as it always has. Can anything be done to make it appear back as it did in SEMOZ? Thanks
Moz Pro | | challMOZ0 -
On Page Ranking Tool Giving Weird Reports
My on page ranking tool is giving two entirely different reports for my website - I get one report for my domain name and a different report for the index.html even though essentially both of those pages are...well...the same. Not sure what's going on, hoping it's not an indication of a more serious issue? I appreciate any help!
Moz Pro | | Virage0 -
"Too many on-page links" warning on all of my Wordpress pages
Hey guys, I've got like 120 "Too many on-page links" warnings in my crawl diagnostics section. They're all the pages of my WordPress blog. Is this an acceptable and expected warning for Wordpress or does something need to be better optimized? Thanks.
Moz Pro | | SheffieldMarketing0 -
Rank Checker Tool
How many keywords/domains can I track using this tool on the Pro membership? Looking at the tool itself, it looks like 100 but in the 'help' section it states up to 300?
Moz Pro | | dentaldesign0