Keywords in google's webmaster tools

[adriandg]

how heavily do the list of keywords in google's webmaster tools reflect your ranking for those keywords?  For example see this screenshot:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/39497/Screen shot 2011-06-04 at 7.22.31 PM.png

we are a self storage company, and our first two keywords in google's webmaster tools are storage and self.  the problem is nobody searches for self storage (from my keyword research). most people search for "storage +cityname" like "storage toronto" for example.

so i guess my question would be this:

would it be effective to change all the instances of "Self" on our website to "Toronto" or other city names to try to push the city names higher in google's webmaster tools keywords rank?

[MarieHaynes]

I find that a lot of the data in  webmaster tools is not that helpful.  It takes some time to sort through and figure out what can help you and what can't.  Some of my suggested keywords are things that no one would search for.  If I optimized my site for these keywords it would just look silly.

Similarly, don't forget that the Adwords Keyword tool is not accurate at all when it comes to search volume.  For my main keyword, it tells me that I should have 12,000 searches per month.  I am number one for this keyword and yet I get 5000 impressions per month.

If you are focusing on targeting local searches, do you have a local listing?  This is REALLY important.  It's not hard to optimize your local listing so that you appear at or the near top for several terms.

[DanielFreedman]

I agree that you are doing many of the right things.

As it happens, I have many Toronto small business clients who compete with much larger players.

In your case, I would suggest:

• A greater focus on Yelp and Google Places reviews. You need more recent reviews. And you can go beyond soliciting reviews on your blog.

• Consider a 90 second video for your home page that summarizes the value proposition and what sets you apart. It should include testimonials. See www.dccentre.ca for an example. See

http://www.youtube.com/user/KiddieProofers

for a YouTube Channel of 90 second videos focussing on consumer tips.

Rationale: Your site is excellent, but very dense and text heavy. It may be scaring people away. Videos might help. (And be sure to include Google video Maps) I would also experiment with  cutting back on content and carefuly monitoring changes in your bounce rate.

• Experiment with Google adwords if you have not already done so. Agencies like mine benefit from an in-house Google team that does the initial campaign set up and tweaks for 30 days. You might want to contact one. Just watch out for big mark ups!

Hope this helps.

-Daniel

KiddieProofers

[blackballonline]

I agree with Alan; you are definitely on the right path. Google Webmaster Tools is only one of many signals you can check. Check out the rankings report Page from SEOMOZ to maximize your use of their Web App as I see you are a PRO member and this is a MUST READ. Also Google Insights, Google Adwords Keyword Tool, and Wordtracker are very helpful in identifying opportunities and search metrics. Then Check your On page Grade in the web app for your specific page and term and try to optimize for one or two keyword phrases per page only.

Hope this helps.

[AlanBleiweiss]

Actually you appear do be doing things right (I did a cursory check of your sit).  I wouldn't worry that you see the single words in the Google Webmaster system - it's just how their system evaluates content.  Self Storage is what you do, so both words occur repeatedly throughout the site.  And that's natural and proper.  So for organic clicks, don't be concerned that you're showing up for words that don't by themselves directly relate to your offerings.  There are probably millions of combinations of other words on your site that you show up for that aren't related to your site.

What matters is how well you show up for the phrases you care about.  And then focus on building content, inbound links, and social engagement around those, as well as brand name...