On-page Optimisation for Keywords That Are Not Natural Language

[intergise]

I would like to know your thoughts on optimising a page for a keyword phrase that is not how you would normally write it.

When someone searches they tend to use the (no pun intended) key words relating to their query rather than natural language. Using these keywords leads to copy that doesn't read well but not doing so gets you a poor mark on On-page graders like Moz.

My clients target an international market but are region specific so, for example, I might want to optimise for 'safari lodge zambia' or variations of that.

Alternatively it might be optimising for a specific tour so the keyword might include a region highlight and the 'safari' or 'tour' qualifier which again can sometimes be problematic. In the title, I would normally use the name of the tour | company name but that may not match an exact likely keyword search and in the main copy/description it would be unnatural to incorporate the keyword phrase.

[xerox432]

Yep, those are all good points!

Intergise - sounds like you are on the right track, so best of luck and keep us posted.

[ForForce]

I agree that you should prioritize for the user.  But would also add that things that don't look natural in a sentence will look normal in other places.... For example, "safari lodge zambia" would be perfectly natural as a caption under an image, or as the text of a menu item.

Google also will ignore allot of 'special' characters.  and will normally register safari loge, zambia as an exact match with or without the comma.

[intergise]

Thanks Xerox.

I agree that good copy is paramount and that is what I do, making sure it reads well and builds trust and interest.

I'm going through my clients' (and my own) website in a schedule of continuous improvement. I realise there's no big wins, just a lot of little steps and am trying to tweak them to get the best possible result.

[xerox432]

For me I would prioritise the quality of the copy. Its the copy that will build trust, create a great user experience and persuade users, and so actually SELL the product.

The on-page grader with MOZ is great but don't be obsessed by it. Measure what you do in terms of sales, not whether you get a B or an A+ on the grader.

Finally, you can see how intelligent Google is getting at understanding and processing synonyms and meaning in different contexts. As good as the MOZ grader is, I don't believe it can operate at that same level. The good news about Google's intelligence is that it can free you from slavishly forcing keywords into your copy.

Hope that helps!