Google is ranking the wrong page for the targeted keyword

[DoRM]

I have two examples below where we want it to rank for the targeted page but google picked another page to rank instead.  This is happening a lot on this site I just recently started to work on.

Example 1

Googles Choice for key word Motorcycle Tires: http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/cl/50/Tires-and-Wheels

What we want Google to choice for Motorcycle Tires: http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/c/49/-/181/Motorcycle-Tires

Other pages about Motorcycle tires: http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/d/12/Motorcycle-Tires

We even used the rel="canonical" for this url to point to our target page.  http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/c/50/-/181/Motorcycle-Tires

Example 2

ATV Tires We want this page to rank http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/c/43/81/165/ATV-Tires however google has decided to rank http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/t/43/81/165/723/ATV-Tires-All that is acutally one folder under where we want it.

[DoRM]

Thanks that was good detailed info.  We are starting to do most of those things over the next 1-2 months and hope to see the outcome we want!

[RyanKent]

This is a common problem for site owners. Some guidelines to avoid this problem:

1. Pick a single keyword for each webpage. If you choose a second keyword, have it be a close variation of the main keyword such as Motorcycle Tire and Motorcycle Tires.

2. Offer your website content in as flat of a structure as possible. Think Wikipedia. Ideally all your main content will be a maximum of 3 clicks from the home page.

3. Enforce your keyword choice in every manner possible:

a. the url /motorcycle-tires

b. The page title "Motorcycle Tires"

c. The first words of the first sentence (again, think Wikipedia): Motorcycle tires are a critical piece of your bike's performance. Speed, traction, gas mileage, safety and more are impacted by your tire selection.....

d. Throughout your site use anchor text to direct "motorcycle tire" traffic to your chosen page

e. Earn links to the page. Even if the links do not use anchor text, your URL will serve as natural anchor text for your chosen term. ** Please note I mentioned earn links. That does not mean build directory links, paying for links or using link exchanges.

4. If your site has 100+ pages, you need to have some form of content map. New pages should not be whimsically added but rather carefully planned. Be careful not to cannibalize your chosen key term on other pages.

[DoRM]

Thanks for your help, we are aware of the text and when I was hired they hired a copy writer as well to start writing quality content for the site that will be useful to humans.  If you look at the second example it is the one we want to rank for is actually higher up in the site but the page google chose to rank is one folder lower.

Also what do you think about this.  They also built a page targeting motorcycle parts you can see here http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/s/49/61/Motorcycle-Parts; however google still just pulls up their home page.

My best guess so far has been site structure and that they do not really have any good anchor text/ internal links showing google what pages are important.  What are your thoughts?

[RyanKent]

The primary cause of this issue is related to a lack of proper optimization along with site structure challenges.

If you look at the Tires and Wheels page, the first block of text at the bottom has a headline "Motorcycle Tires, ATV Tires, Dirt Bike Tires...." Elsewhere on the page you have a headline "Top Selling Motorcycle Tires". Under the Dual Sport Tires image you have a listing for Motorcycle Tires. There are other references as well. It is clear this page is highly relevant to Motorcycle Tires.

I have not examined your site structure but I notice the Tires and Wheels URL has fewer layers then the Motorcycle Tires page. /cl/50 versus /c/49/-/181. If that structure means the Motorcycle Tires page is buried deeper on the site, that is another concern as well.

In summary, you are cannibalizing your own keywords and the site lacks focus. It seems low quality SEO was performed as the text at the bottom of the page is what I refer to as "SEO text". In other words, it was not added for users but rather to throw some content on the page for search engines.