Keyword Restrictions - Advice on Best Practices

[AmandaValle.Digital]

Hi.

I looking to the community for support around how others have dealt with restrictions involving keyword usage. I have a client that is within the health supplements industry, and though not as highly regulated as medicine, they still have restrictions on words they CANNOT use on their store/website. Which of course is restrictive when you are trying to help them rank for Diabetes Supplements, but they can't mention the condition at all.

So, what say the community, have you dealt with a similar issue? If so, how did/would you solve it? And can you share the solution/case study/website?

In general, I was thinking they create a stand alone blog that talks about alternative medicine, health conditions, ingredients/recipes, etc. First identify what people around, e.g. Diabetic Supplements are searching for and then build content around those searches. Then once the community has had time to grow, start offering banner ads that direct them to the types of supplements they are selling on their direct website. *Just so you know, I'd also advise to put a disclaimer on the blog so people knew who owned it.

[Adlanera]

Do not try keyword stuffing of your main keyword in the article or your page. It will do a negative effect on your page SEO. I'm working for the page nutrition veganliftz and I'm trying to balance the main keyword with LSI or related keywords.

[AmandaValle.Digital]

Hahaha! Thanks Brent for the advice, and the your approach. It is appreciated.

[pastcatch]

Hurrah! I can contribute to you after your thoughtful reply to mine.

I worked with a supplement company within a different vertical and I was stopped by the exact same thing. Different claims they could not make because even though the supplement supported different functions - if you go out and crush three bags of McDonalds, the supplement isn't going to be able to do it job, thus the legal problem about statements and guarantees (funny world we live in).

I went the influencer route and avoided anything that could be tied to owned media making claims.

I'll use your example just for confidentiality but these were my steps:

• anecdotal diabetic blogs

• parents with diabetic children

• athletes who manage diabetes

• lifestyle blogs where the writer manages the ailment

• etc

• same thing on forums, Instagram, Youtube etc

Once the list was done, we reached out and tried to establish dialogue - admittedly our success rate was low @ around 7%. Some we paid for placement, others we simply produced the content and offered to amplify through owned social channels which had a substantial audience. I did not hit my personal goal in terms of total mentions however it was all done by the book and established some good ongoing relationships for the client which I handed over once we had momentum.

Hope that helps!

[RBradley012cw]

That's a tricky one. Looks like GNC has no fear -- but I'm sure they've also got a long line of corporate lawyers to back them up. I'd love to hear how you make it work. Good luck with the account. Best, Rhonda

[AmandaValle.Digital]

Not sure if it is required by law, but their lawyer has advised them to stay away from what they can and can't do, and having an onsite blog with the mentions of conditions is a no, sadly. To bad as the equity of the home site would help the blog. I also know that the FDA is starting to regulate the supplements industry more, so they are picking and choosing their battles.

[RBradley012cw]

Is that required by law?

[AmandaValle.Digital]

Thanks for your response rhonda002. Your thoughts are along mine, so it's validating - thank you. The only difference is it can't be onsite. It would have to be it's own stand-alone blog.

[RBradley012cw]

I haven't tested this theory, but for what it's worth...

I would create an onsite blog that caters to diabetics and offer information and education that's safe and legal to provide. Healthy diets, research, statistics, personal stories, and more. Think less about selling product and more about helping your visitors deal with diabetes in a healthy way like nutrition and diet.

In each of those articles, I'd toss in a CTA that leads them to the supplements - if there's a way to legally do that. Or perhaps you can link to a story on your site that has a person talking about how this has helped them? Testimonials, maybe?

Also I'd do some competitive research to find out how the big companies do it.

Hope that gets some ideas flowing for you!