Which keyword to use (plural / singular)
-
Hi guys. So I'm racking my brain with a question whether I should use plural or singular keyword as a focus keyphrase of my page. The page that I'm optimizing is basically a review page of different websites offering proofreading services.
Considering the fact that this is a review and I mention a lot of websites on my page, I decided to rank for a plural keyword that ends with "services". However, this keyword is very unpopular (ahrefs doesn't show any volume for it), while singular "service" has about 100 searches per month.
As far as I understand, Google sees both keywords as synonyms, because search results for both keywords are almost identical. Should I change my keyphrase to singular "service" (even though the page mentions a lot of services), or stick with "services" instead?
Do I have a chance of ranking for "service" if I stick with "services" in this case?
Thank you.
-
If the website is fairly old you could also use Google Webmaster Tools: https://search.google.com/ to do this type of research. Go to Performance > click +New tab and enter the page URL. You should check if ppl are searching for singular or plural more.
Now the importance of this is based on user intend, you should ask your self the following question: "Do you provide a LIST /MULTIPLE or things / services or one single service?"
Google may show your page higher in rankings if you use plural and you provide multiple services as it's more relevant. Once you start ranking for plural and users interaction is good (ppl stay on your site, they click action button etc) you will also rank for the singular.
Depending on what you provide you should write the title according to this principle: If you only offer one single thing write singular, otherwise always use plural.
Check out the competitors, check out their title, do they use singular / plural or both? How long is their title, how often they use singular how often they the plural in title.
Another trick: Let's say most searches go for "best service" as singular but you notice a lot of queries with "top","list" or other combinations. As a test you may want to use both plural ans singular in a single title combining this with other relevant searched keywords. For example I would use: Selling Best Services - Top Service List for the situation above and see what happens in a few weeks.
-
Over the past few years, I've tended to use & write for both. There is no hard & fast rule other than writing for the user - intent & context.
-
Hi ghgj2222j,
Please, don't only focus on keywords for its search volume... Focus on WHAT USERS ARE SEARCHING. Usually the most searched is also how users are searching for your product/service.
There is no simple answer for your issue. I'd use logic and common sense there, do you know how users search for your service? In Google Search Console, can you relate impressions with that search volume?
On a side note, placing a keyword in the title and meta description won't send your page to the top, its just another signal for users.
I'd strongly recommend you to take a deep read to these resources:
The Beginner's Guide to SEO: Search Engine Optimization - Moz, specifically the forth chapter: On-Page optimization
And Google has their own guide: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide - Google Search Console HelpHope it helps.
Best luck.
Gaston -
Can I use proper keyword in the meta title or just my word like that Cargo in Dubai its proper keyword its volume 2400/mo? Can I use this keyword in different sequence like that Cargo from Dubai to Iraq? but its complete sentence has 0 volume. please give the answer if possible.
and also check my website URL and Meta Title. Our services from Dubai to Iraq, Dubai to Suadi Arab, Dubai to Turkey, and more than 200 Destination.
I use in URL address just shipping to Iraq, Shipping to Suadi Arab, but most competitors website used "cargo from Dubai to Iraq" but its volume not "0" so What I need for that,
https://www.bbccargo.ae/services/air-cargo/
https://www.bbccargo.ae/destination/shipping-to-iraq/
https://www.bbccargo.ae/destination/shipping-to-kuwait/
please check my URL and give the best Solution for that..
-
Thank you so very much, Gaston! You helped me a lot!
-
Hi Aslan,
The answer here should be to target the phrase that best matches the user intent.
If Google considers you as a good answer for "services" will also be a good answer for "service". Probably won't rank on the same position, yet will be on the same page.
As English is not my mother tongue, I'll try to help you with how I'd solve it.First of all, please don't rely on private metrics and private tools that try to simulate what's seen on google. They do their best but **never will reflect **how Google ranks a page nor how many impressions it might have.
This is the way I'd try to solve this issue:
- As you already have some research, I'd go with that: "... services", the plural one.
- After some time, you'll see in GSC on which phrases your page is ranking.
- There you can check whether the plural or singular version has more search volume
- Update your content with some extra information and, if needed, change the main phrase. Google will reward you
- Go back to 2.
Hope it helps,
Best luck.
Gaston
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
-
Inconsistent Keyword Search Volume & Difficulty Across Tools (e.g., Moz, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush)
Hi there, Moz Community! I'm reaching out for some guidance on keyword research discrepancies. I'm currently targeting the keyword "sui gas bill" for my blog, sngplbill, which focuses on information related to Sui gas bills. I've used several keyword research tools, including Moz, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and Semrush, and each platform provides different search volume and keyword difficulty scores: Moz: No search volume data, Keyword Difficulty (KD) 24
Keyword Research | | Faizali.786
Google Keyword Planner: Search volume 100k-1M, Difficulty (Low)
Semrush: Search volume 90k, KD 31
Ahrefs: KD 1 (Very Easy)
These varying results are causing some confusion. Ideally, I'd like to understand which platform offers the most reliable data for search volume and keyword difficulty. Here are some additional details that might be helpful: My target location: Pakistan My Questions: What factors might contribute to these discrepancies in keyword data across different tools?
Considering my niche (Sui gas bill information in Pakistan), which platform would you recommend for the most accurate search volume and keyword difficulty estimates?
Are there any additional factors to consider beyond search volume and keyword difficulty when selecting keywords for content strategy?
Any insights you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Capture sui gas bill semrush.PNG Capture moz sui gas bill.PNG Capture gkp sui gas bill.PNG Capture ahref sui gas bill.PNG
Thanks,0 -
What makes a keyword good?
Having taken a day-long course not long ago, I'm new to SEO and I'm struggling to decide which keywords to target. I work in a really niche area: we make booking engines that allow travel agencies to sell flights, hotels, cars and other travel services online. I know there are various tools on the web (and on Moz) which give you the average monthly searches and competition for each term but I still don't understand how to decide which ones to target. For example, the term 'travel systems' gets a high amount of search and the competition for it is high. However, Google brings back results about prams and buggies so I think I should avoid this one. Another is 'travel solutions' which gets a high amount of search and is low on competition. Google brings back results about travel agencies. This is more our area but our target audience is travel agencies so I'm not really sure I'd be attracting the right traffic? I'd be really grateful for any advice that you can give me.
Keyword Research | | noortomlinson0 -
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 -
No SERPs contains my keyword phrase
Hi! I have a question that is the best described by an concrete example: When I use Google UK and search for a keyword "wood floor" why the top 100 search results show pages for "wood flooring" instead? Is it because that keyword is simply more popular and pages are in general better optimized for "flooring"?
Keyword Research | | KAN-Malmo1 -
Does anyone know of a good keyword identification tool to be used on a particular piece of content?
I'm hoping for a tool that would extract keyword possibilities from an article, run them through a keyword popularity tool such as Google AdWords Keyword Planner and present ranked results (including number of monthly searches) to the writer. That would enable the writer to choose relevant popular keywords (especially phrases) in the web headline, page title and text. Does anyone know of such a tool? I'm considering having one built in-house if nothing already exists. How it might work Ideally, this might be a browser add-on. The user would highlight the story or blog text, and click on the browser add-on button to start the tool. Using something like viewer.opencalais, the text would plug into a keyword extraction tool and automatically run the results. In the next step the extracted terms would automatically plug into the Google AdWords Keyword Planner and run the results for “Keyword Ideas.” I think this can be done via the AdWords API: https://developers.google.com/adwords/api/docs/reference/v201402/TrafficEstimatorService?hl=fr The user would then be presented with a series of ranked keyword possibilities based on relevance and popularity. Why it’s useful This would make it far more efficient for busy journalists (or anyone) to write effective web headlines.
Keyword Research | | TampaBayTimes0 -
E-Commerce keyword question
We sell ItemA. One of the phrases that brings people to our site is "ItemA for sale". Should I just try to target "ItemA" or should I try to get "for sale" in there? I have seen a few other variations such as "on clearance" or "to purchase" as well. Can I just focus on "ItemA" or do I need all of those variants as well?
Keyword Research | | EcommerceSite0 -
Suggestions for RU Keyword Research
Does anyone have suggestions for a better RU keyword tool than Yandex and/or is there a way to see exact searches in Yandex's keyword tool? It seems like the data is not at all accurate. For example - we are ranked #2 for a keyword which has over 40,000 monthly searches (searches according to Yandex keyword tool and position confirmed with someone doing a manual search in Russia). However, we are not getting any traffic for this keyword and according to Yandex webmaster tools the keyword only got 10 impressions this past month. Any ideas for me... or would using Google be preferable eventhough people in Russia don't really use Google?
Keyword Research | | theLotter0 -
Keyword Ranking
Soooooo, let's just say that I put a lot of keywords into the ranking tracker. Is there an easy way to reduce this list without having to go in word by word and pause or delete them? Like is there a bulk upload type of system? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | PGD20110