Question about keyword analysis
-
I am working on a keyword analysis for a range of keywords. I want to target these keywords in the Denver market. I know if you search google for something like "IT Support" and you are located in Denver it knows where you are and caters the results to be more Denver IT Support oriented. I did notice that those results are different than if you search for "Denver IT Support"
My pages are optimized for the Denver market and the keyword like "IT Support" but I am a bit confused on how I should be doing my research into keywords.
Should I be putting Denver into all my keyword analysis research even though I still want to rank for just the keyword when they are searching from the Denver area.
I hope this all makes sense. I guess I just need some guidance on how to deal with the location specifics of my keywords.
Thanks in advance for any help.
-
Great, Steve. So glad you found the explanations helpful. Good luck with your campaign!
-
Ben & Miriam thanks for the help. Very useful information.
I have a better understanding now. I will continue to optimize on Denver and the keywords. I will also runs some geo-targeted PPC.
Thanks again!
-
Hi Steve,
The important thing to understand is that there is not currently a KW research tool that gives accurate data on geographic terms. Maybe someday, but for now, the KW research process involves mainly searching for your product/service/informational terms and then adding in the geo phrases. Because you are in Denver (a major city) you will get some KW data with 'denver' included, but I wouldn't consider it totally accurate.
That out of the way, yes, the results are typically slightly different for people searching from a Denver IP address vs. people using 'Denver' in the search phrase. They are not usually wildly different, but there is definitely some variation.
If your clients are in Denver, you need not be overly concerned about this, because Google will typically identify them as Denver based and show them Denver results regardless of whether they use a geo-modifier or not. In optimizing your website, follow the basic example Ben has given. Include 'Denver' in the titles, headers, copy, etc. of your core pages and city landing pages and you will be doing what is customary. You are not attempting to compete for IT Support nationally; you are trying to compete locally, so those geo terms are critical for you.
Hope this clarifies things, but if my answer brings up more questions on your part, don't hesitate to ask.
-
Hi Steve,
I think it's possible for you to do both. Conduct your research as if you want to rank for both [IT support] and [Denver IT support] and group those terms onto the same page.
Then optimize the page to put emphasis on the generic term. So in this example your title tag would be something like "It Support in Denver - Steve Sequenzia". That way you're hitting both possible avenues.
My only concern with this would be CTR from the SERPs and whether people who type in [IT support] really want a local firm or a local branch of a national firm. I'd probably run a couple of short tests using geo-targeted PPC to see which types of ads get the most interest.
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
-
Point of diminishing returns for keyword research?
Hey, something I've been thinking about lately is "where is the point of diminishing returns for keyword research detail?" I get that keyword research is important for finding out stuff like "people generally search for 'doctor' way more often than they search for 'licensed medical professional'", but what about after that? Is there much useful information to be found by sifting through spreadsheets of stats about "doctor" vs "dr" vs "doctors" vs "physician" vs "physicians" etc? Especially when Google seems to treat a lot of those as interchangable? Or another example: If a remodeling company did basements, do you think there's much to be gleaned from AdWords data comparing "basement remodeler", "basement remodelers", basement remodeling", "basement remodeling contractor", "basement remodeling contractors", "basement renovation", "basement renovations", "basement renovators", "finished basements", "basement finishers", "basement finishing", etc.? Should those variations be analyzed and each targeted by their own sets of pages and pieces of content (e.g. a blog post that specifically targets "basement remodeler" and a blog post that targets "basement finisher" and a third blog post that specifically targets "renovated basement") Or should the takeaway be "there aren't any combinations that people overwhelmingly prefer to use, so let's just make content about basements and topics relevant to basements. Keyword research complete."
Keyword Research | | BrianAlpert782 -
Yoast SEO Question
Hello I have put my focus keyword in the first paragraph of the product description in a tag yet Yoast tells me it is not there. Here you can see my problem: My question to you is: will this affect anything negatively on my SEO? Link to see full picture of what I'm explaining: https://likechimp.com/facebook-shop/buy-10000-facebook-event-attendees/ Your thoughts and feedback on my content would be greatly appreciated as I constantly want to improve! DLoEu
Keyword Research | | xdunningx0 -
The same keyword on multiple pages, but not all (combined with other relevant keywords) for products.
Hi Guys, I want to get an opinion/advice on this. My client has a site that have all their products (I am working on expanding the product descriptions, benefits and how they differ from each other) listed and I just want to know if I can use the term 'gear oil' for example on multiple pages as one of the keywords. The product range (among others like transmission fluid and anti-freeze) is gear oil (with the different types of gear oils available described) and I can't really change what the product is. I do have different variations (such as gear lubricant, automotive gear lubricant, car gear oil etc.) but will it do damage if I use the same keyword (like gear oil) on multiple pages (along with another relevant keyword that does not involve the words gear oil)? Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!
Keyword Research | | annabel.schoeman0 -
Best Tools for Keyword Research?
Hi guys, Please share your best and recommended tools for keyword research. Thanks in advance.
Keyword Research | | KLLC0 -
Targeting nearly identical keywords
Hi, I have a website selling home furniture and I can't work out the best way to target keywords relating to sofas/couches. They both have very similar search volume and so I would like to target both. However, I obviously can't create different pages for couches and sofas as this will likely be seen as duplicate content, I also think it wouldn't read well if the content swaps between using couch and then sofa. I would really appreciate some advice on how best I can target both keywords. Thanks in advance!
Keyword Research | | uSwSEO0 -
Any thoughts as to the best keyword tool about today?
I have found similar questions on the forum but is there a best keyword tool to use or is it a case of using a few and cross referecing them?
Keyword Research | | bunac10 -
Do you use broad match or exact match on Adwords Keyword Tool when doing keyword research?
I wasn't sure whether to classify this as a discussion or a question. I'd love "the right answer" but I'm not sure if we're going to get one... Let's try. When you use the Adwords Keyword Tool for doing keyword research, do you use the numbers from "broad match" or "exact match" when comparing relative search volume of keywords? (And yes, I know the numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt, but when it comes down to it, you're using the numbers to compare and come to conclusions regarding the best keyword to use - so which match type gives you the data you're looking for?) To be a little more specific - when you select "exact match" for, let's say the keyword "baking supplies", is that telling you how many people searched for that phrase within quotes <"baking supplies">, or how many people searched for only <baking supplies="">, as opposed to that word within a phrase <baking supplies="" stores="">or with the words reversed <supplies baking="">?</supplies></baking></baking> Based on some keyword research we had done a year ago where any phrase reversals like <water bottles="">and <bottles water="">were coming out with the exact same numbers, even when it wasn't so intuitive that there would be the same search volume, we came to the conclusion - with the tentative suggestion of the SEOMoz staff on the old Q & A - that broad match would include all instances of the keywords in reverse order, so if you wanted to know how many people were searching for <water bottles="">only, you needed to use exact match. </water></bottles></water> That's what we did for about a year (I also think I saw Rand mention that somewhere in a presentation slide recently, although I could be mistaken and I don't recall exactly where it was to check it up) and then based on a recent forum discussion I had where someone was questioning that premise, I did another check with two KW reversals and while <water bottles="">and <bottles water="">still give the same number, <baking supplies="">and <supplies baking="">do not. </supplies></baking></bottles></water> So I'm left with a big question here as to what the best policy is. Google Adwords Help is very vague on what the match type means in the tool (it seems to be talking about only your settings for your campaigns). So - any input after this long saga? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | debi_zyx0 -
Tags and Keywords
I am trying to improve the SEO for my client's website - http://www.petmedicalcenter.com. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for improving my h1, h2, etc., tags and keyword usage on the home page? The top 5 search terms are: vet las vegas (most searched) las vegas vets vets las vegas las vegas vet pet hospital las vegas vets in las vegas Any suggestions you have is appreciated. Thanks! -Brant
Keyword Research | | PMC-3120870