Does combining keywords in the page title help or hurt you?
-
I am working on a site which sells elliptical equipment. I used Google Adwords to determine number of searches on the following keywords:
Elliptical trainer – 3.,600 searches
Elliptical machine – 14,800 searches
Elliptical trainer machine - 22 searches
I am currently optimizing “elliptical trainer” – but after seeing results above would also like to optimize “elliptical machine”. My question is: if I add “machine” to “elliptical trainer” will Google now only read “elliptical trainer machine” or will it read “elliptical machine” in addition to “elliptical trainer”. How do you know what word or “chunk” of words Google picks up?
-
I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I don't think you need or want separate pages. These are synonyms. The phrases are obviously semantically related. When I type "elliptical machine" and search on Google I see results with the world "elliptical trainer" in bold as well. If it were me and I had one category page to optimize I would title it something like:
Elliptical Machines - StoreName Has the Best Elliptical Trainer Brands in Stock for Less!
Or some variation that allows you to get both of those two-word phrases in there once.
If you do have the opportunity to optimize more than one page, and both are equally relevant to the searches (e.g. Home page and category page), then I agree that you should target one per page, though I would intersperse the other variation here and there on each page too.
Product pages are likely going to rank best for the brand/model of machine/trainer so you can just write naturally and use each keyword interchangeably (e.g. The BrandX elliptical machine is an excellent value, combining affordability with the features, style and durability of the more costly elliptical trainers on the market...)
-
I agree completely...and yes I think when it's not possible to have individual pages, combining but doing so strategically and sparingly is key here. You want to maintain good keyword density for your most lucrative keywords.
-
While I agree with the above comments, it's not always that easy i.e. an ecommerce product page when there is more than one way of naming the product. Also, 1000+ words of unique content on each page in that scenario may look a little bit odd (most people just want a product description and specifications, if necessary).
If she can make two pages, terrific! If not, is it better to combine your keywords?
-
Create a page with your keywords properly optimized for each keyword. Make sure you create 1000+ words of valuable content and build links to each individual page. Another thing you might consider is scrolling down to the bottom of Google for those keywords and creating more pages based on keywords Google suggest. Internally link all your pages together using variations of your keywords.
-
Hi Christle,
I too agree with SEO5 response. All the best.
Ben.
-
Hi Christie,
Based on the search volume, both the keywords warrant their own individual pages. I would suggest sticking with one keyword per page for optimization for best chances to rank for that keyword.
Cheers,
SEO5
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
-
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 -
Local keywords still relevant?
Now with Google localizing search increasingly personalizing queriesquery results, is it still necessary to add geo-specific modifiers to keywords? [reworded for clarity]
Keyword Research | | SSFCU0 -
Keyword Moderator List
Hi Moz Community, I'm wondering if anyone has a comprehensive list of keyword moderators that they could share? For example: online
Keyword Research | | IrishTimes
buy [keyword] online
cheap
cheapest
best
top
free
[country name]
[area name]
store
shop
purchase etc... I always find that it's useful to run [keyword + moderator] for search volumes as it sometimes uncovers some exact match surprises that you may not have thought of. Thanks everyone! Gavin1 -
How Can I Rank My One Keyword ?
I read many places about never use the same keywords/anchor text this will consider as spam by google, so i want to know if suppose my main keyword is Indian bridal sarees than how can i give rank to that keyword, should i use the same exact keyword but in different format like bridal indian sarees or indian bridal sarees shopping something like that. Should i use LSI keywords in that keywords. Please help Second, I also read some people saying they use 70% primary keywords and 30% LSI or generic words, so that mean if i have 10 articles so in 7 articles i have to give primary keyword and the rest of the 3 will be generic. Kindly please advice this also.
Keyword Research | | chandubaba0 -
Best Keyword Tool
WE are a small Internet marketing agency and of need of a new keyword tool. We were using Market Sumeria but they lost access to Google. What would you recommend? I'm not looking for a free service but a good service under $100 per month.
Keyword Research | | Doug_Hay0 -
Keyword Search
Keyword search How low is too low for choosing to use a key phrase for one of your articles, website pages, etc. I see some with 100 local and global searches. Is this too low to really be spending the time working on this key phrase?
Keyword Research | | sansonj1 -
Should i change title tags?
I want to change all of the title tags on my website by adding a couple of more keywords (not keyword stuffing) but our previous media company chose words that were not aas relevant as ones I found. However I was warned this is a bad idea, it will make traffic drop and if it works we will only see about 5% increase to pages. Please advise. Should I change them and hwo should I do it? One by one slowly while changing content to match or all at once?
Keyword Research | | slipnot0 -
Tittle + keywords = ?
Hi everyone so it's time for a refresh. I want to improve my rank for couple of terms on one page, so whats you recommend me. Currently I am thinking to go with option 1 and be as much specific to my main keyword, but at the same time I am not sure if I'll be able to link well for my 2nd keywords. Option 1 Term 1, Term 2, Term 3 - they are more or less related Tittle: Term 1 and Term 2 and Term 3 Keywords: term 1, term 2, term 3 Meta description: Term 1, la lalal mama term 2, ta da da lalaaas term 3 or Option 2 Tittle: Term 1 Keywords: term 1, term 2, term 3 Meta description: Term 1, la lalal mama term 2, ta da da lalaaas term 3
Keyword Research | | DiamondJewelryEmpire0