Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Keyword ranking by word order
-
If we have a keyword with 2 words like "SSL Audit". Will it rank in the same position the other way "Audit SSL" ?
-
Hi Reda,
Not exactly. Google doesn't determine rankings just by looking at how well optimized a site is for individual words. They look at many other factors both on and off the site, so it's really hard to say why you're ranking slightly higher for one.
To be honest, I wouldn't stress over individual keyword rankings too much. You'll end up driving yourself insane. With so much personalization in search results today, what you see in search results isn't necessarily what someone else will see. I think its better to look at overall trends and just make sure you're moving in the right direction.
Tim
-
Hi Tim,
I see your point and thank you very much for your assistance with that matter. So, does my position in google: 38th for "audit ssl" and 44th for "ssl audit" imply that "audit" is ranked better than "ssl" ?
Reda
-
Hi Reda,
Not necessarily. In most cases, switching the word order like that will return similar, but not exactly the same, results. Take a look at these searches:
The Top 10 basically contains the same pages for both searches but they appear in a slightly different order. So if you're ranking well for one keyword, chances are you'll be ranking well for the re-ordered phrase but you might not be in the exact same position.
Hope this helps
Tim
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
-
Domain keyword ranking
I used to use Searchmetrics (years ago) which enabled me to add in the domain name into their website, and it would provide all the keywords that rank for it. Does Moz do that do you know? Thanks
Keyword Research | | patn_studio0 -
How many keywords do you recommend tracking?
I am working through thousands of organic keywords and would like to create a list of core keywords. I want the list to be small enough that we can really go after these keywords and track progress. I work for a B2B software company. I am thinking between 20-30 but I would love to hear any tips, opinions and recommendations! Thank you!
Keyword Research | | NikCall0 -
I have two keywords. If I combine them do I get credit for both keywords?
For example I have a keyword - IPA Beer, and I have a keyword - IPA Beer Kit. If I use the keyword IPA Beer Kit will I get the benefit of the IPA Beer keyword as well as the IPA Beer Kit keyword? Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance for the help!
Keyword Research | | brewngrow0 -
A Solution to Keywords Being Grouped in Google Keyword Planner
Hi guys, I am trying to get search traffic for a list of keywords which I put together a few years ago for one of my clients, this was before Google made changes to their Keyword Planner. When I am adding the list into Google Keyword Planner it is "grouping" a number of the keywords/phrases together, and therefore removing 13 of the keywords from the original list of 59 keywords. Is there a way around this so I can get search volume for the original list, and not the cut down one? I am specifically using Google Keyword Planner as I want to get search volume for a number of specific locations in the UK. Any comments/feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Jack. I19Op
Keyword Research | | ChemistryMarketing1 -
Does adding the suffix "-ing" affect ranking for a keyword? E.g. "build" vs "building"
In other words, let's say the keyword I wanted to rank for was "building a home" but the SERP only showed sites ranking for "build a home". If I specifically optimized my page for "building a home" would that increase my chances for ranking for "building a home"?
Keyword Research | | JanssenM.0 -
Keyword Research (dash or no dash)
I have a client that has been optimizing for "print and apply" for the past 5 months. Yesterday they decided it was more grammatically correct to use "print-and-apply." There question to me was "is this going to effect our SEO?" So... I checked the difficulty using the keyword analysis tool, both keywords had the same broad/exact adwords traffic as well as difficulty percentage. When reviewing the top 25 listings for each keyword it looks like the same sites rank in the SERPs between 1-8 and then after that it is completely different. So, is there a better keyword to target? Are these two keywords different enough to truly have separate search results?
Keyword Research | | kchandler
The top 8 results didn't even target "print-and-apply" in there content or title tags... Thanks for the input/discussion - Kyle0 -
Keyword Difficulty Score Assesment
What is a good keyword difficulty score to pursue when deciding which keywords to try and rank on? I'm in a very competitive field and I am currently in the process of doing keyword research to look for the low hanging fruit.
Keyword Research | | 13375auc30 -
Keyword Traffic Estimator Tools
Hello, I'm relatively new to SEO and looking to find a good tool for estimating the search traffic volume of different keywords in order to focus efforts on higher yielding terms. Right now I'm using Google's traffic estimator but it doesn't seem to have much data for long-tail keywords. Is anything else out there better or more accurate? Thank you!
Keyword Research | | rawberg0