Different versions of keywords. Which one to optimize?
-
For some keywords, we have slightly different versions available.
For example: people search for 'webhosting', but also for 'web hosting'. Same for 'cloudserver' and 'cloud server'.
I used google trends to compare the keywords and find the more popular one. But in different countries, different keywords are searched more often. So we can't really optimize for the BEST version of the keyword, since there is no real BEST version.
What would you suggest to do? We could also just develop pages for both keywords, but that could end in duplicated content. Would be an option to use canonicalization then, but this would not really improve ranking for one of the versions.
I'm very confused. If anyone has a good idea on how to optimize here, please let me know.
Thank you in advance!
Best regards
Klemens -
There are different types of keywords that have different intent. I'm working with bestcoffeemaker2021.us and I'm using buying intent keywords.
-
Dear Miriam
I will definitely check those Whiteboard Fridays. Thank you!
-
Hi Joe
Thank you for your answer. However, as you can see, the search results are not exactly the same. Still, the difference is not that huge, so I will stick with your answer
-
Hi Klemens,
Joe's advice is right on, and I'd recommend these Whiteboard Fridays to help you get into a powerful mindset about this topic:
https://moz.com/blog/beat-your-competitors-rankings-comprehensive-content-whiteboard-friday
https://moz.com/blog/optimizing-for-rankbrain-whiteboard-friday
Hope you enjoy those!
-
Hi Klemens,
Do not create individual pages for both variations of keywords, this is an old school tactic and hasn't worked well in years. You'll just be creating near duplicate content that does not provide additional value.
I'd optimize for whichever is grammatically correct. Google has come a long way and will understand that people searching for "webhosting" are also looking for the same results as those searching for "web hosting".
Search Results for "Webhosting" - https://www.screencast.com/t/AAEv5f4B6EN
Search Results for "Web hosting" - https://www.screencast.com/t/t3ztacXDCM
Hope this helps!
-
I would recommend using the Google Keyword Planner or Moz's Keyword Explorer to track different search volumes for keyword phrases. I looked it up in the GKP and found the following numbers for searches in the United States:
- "web hosting" = 165,000/mo.
- "webhosting" = 40,500/mo.
- "cloud server" = 49,500/mo.
- "cloudserver" = 49,500/mo.
So they all have a pretty decent amount of traffic and are going to be fairly competitive to rank for I would imagine, however if you are simply wanting to target the keyword phrase with the most monthly searches, do "web hosting" and then whichever version of "cloud server" is grammatically correct. Hope this helps!
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
-
How to do effective keyword research with categories and subcategories?
Hi all, I'm trying to breakdown some SEO 101 tips and start from scratch. Starting with Keywords! I would like to audit our site for main keywords, grouping them in categories and subcategories. My questions are: 1. Is it possible to see where we rank on google AND search trends of visits to our site?
Algorithm Updates | | Eric_S
2. What is a good method or structure to document (excel?)
3. What analysis can be made from finding the results of these keywords and how can I make use of this? As a beginner your help is much appreciated!!2 -
Added a few paragraphs with header tags targeting a keyword and dropped immediately!
Hi all, Our website homepage doesn't contain much content associated with our primary keyword or product, it's mostly explaining our features. So we tried adding a section at bottom of the homepage which explains the about our services like "what is seo" and "how seo helps business". We are trying to rank for this primary keyword like "seo" with generic content and we dropped immediately after this deployment. Any suggestions on this why and how to proceed? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | vtmoz0 -
Keywords ranks 1 position up for 24 hours or less and gets back to its normal position.
Hi, I don't know if this is strange or just normal thing for some keywords to rank one position up for around 24 hours and get back to its original position. Making it clear to understand, i have these 3 keywords kw1, kw2, kw3 on first page of google on position #3,#3 and #4 respectively. The content of the site is almost static so adding new contents to the site is out of question for now. I noticed that at least 2 times a week those keywords rises to one position above and then gets back to their own normal position. I noticed the serp position change takes place for around 24 hours only.
Algorithm Updates | | MindlessWizard0 -
How to determine the best keyword strategy/purpose for a blog in 2014?
Currently our blog has been used to add content to our site targeting desired keywords (fairly top-level). For example, if we wanted organic traffic for "Some City Contractors" (by no means a longtail), we would write a blog using this key term in the Title, url, a sub heading perhaps and a couple variations of the term throughout any subheadings or body copy. I think the idea was that since there was so much work to be done to get the static site pages optimized (rewriting that copy), we just decided to crank out fresh content targeting these high level KWs, assuming a search engine result is a result and as long as we got real estate there, a click and there was a link to the relevant site page in that article, we were golden (well, maybe not golden, but good). We are now building a new, responsive site and taking care to make sure that the site's relevant pages are nicely optimized. Higher level page are optimized for high-level KWs and sub pages target longer tail KWs identified in KW research. Along the way an SEO said it was bad that so many of our blogs were better optimized for key terms than the actual site pages (i.e. service pages, things you would find in the main nav.) This does make some sense to me so... So what is the new purpose for our blogs in this new age of Google and ever-increasing social influence? Should we forget about focusing on KWs already addressed within the site's core? Focus more on interesting, super long-tails that maybe don't have a ton of traffic, but are relevant (and oh by they way, something like 3 million terms are searched for the first time each day, right?)? Or forget the keywords, as long as the topic is relevant and interesting the real pay-off is in social interactions. I'm really interested to see if this results in clear-cut answer or more of a lengthy discussion...
Algorithm Updates | | vernonmack1 -
Does adding lots of new content on a site at one time actually hurt you?
When speaking with a client today, he made the comment that he didn't want all of the new content we'd been working to be added to the site all at once for fear that he would get penalized for flooding the site with new content. I don't have any strong data to confirm or refute the claim, is there any truth to it?
Algorithm Updates | | JordanRussell0 -
Google's Local Search Results for Broad Keywords
I have a question regarding Google's local search results for broad keywords. Since Google is changing their algo to reflect local results for broad words, would it be beneficial now to start going after those words as well? For example: we have a client ranking for 'miami security alarm', but I would like to know if it would be beneficial to start optimizing for 'security alarm' as well. Also, since Google's keyword research tool reflects searches on a national level, how would I be able to find out how many searches a broad keyword is receiving on a local level? Thank you in advanced!
Algorithm Updates | | POPCreative0 -
Troubleshooting Decline of Branded Keyword Searches
Hi, Over the past year, I have seen a huge change in the distribution of our organic keyword traffic. I'm trying to research why our branded keywords have gone down. Google analytics only shows me impressions for the past three months. Does anyone have ideas on how to explain this change in traffic? Please see the attached chart. Thanks! branded-v-nonbranded-organic-search.jpg
Algorithm Updates | | netdiva_amy0