Can't rank with certain keywords for the life of me
-
I have a website http://www.freescrabbledictionary.com in which functions as a scrabble dictionary lookup and word finder for scrabble. There are many keywords that rank well for this niche but the main ones I target are
Scrabble Dictionary
Scrabble Cheat
Scrabble Word Finder
Scrabble Help
I used to rank well for all these keywords, I am 4th with scrabble dictionary currently but with the other 3 am no where near the top. On March 24th I dropped off the map for scrabble cheat, scrabble word finder and scrabble help. I actually dropped to 9/10th for scrabble dictionary on that date as well but since then I have been able to hold on steady to 4th.
I can't figure out why I can't rank for those other keywords anymore. Its almost like Google has penalized me for those keywords. I have contacted Google a few times to ask if I have any penalties and they have told me that I don't.
Even though in my backlinking I have targeted these keywords I can't seem to rank for them no matter what I do. The only idea I have come up with is that Google has re-associated those other 3 keywords in a group and separated scrabble dictionary on its own.
I have other sites I have created in the same niche and I have noticed if the URL contains "word", "Finder" and/or "cheat" I can rank in the 3 keywords within about a week all the way up to the second page. My main site FSD has the highest DA and PA compared to my other sites. Any idea why I can't seem to rank for those other 3 keywords anymore?
-
Thanks for using my site also I have always had a hard time with "content" because no one uses my site for content, they use them for my forms (just like you :)) I consider myself a "tools" based website.
The way I figured was that people care more about my form than anything else, so putting that form on every page will make it easier for users to get what they need. That was my reason for adding the form to almost every page.
Fluff? Yeah totally fluff lol - Good ideas I will make some of those changes
Call to action - with trying to keep a form on every page could I make the call to action scroll down and place the form at the bottom of the page? or you think just have one main page with the form?
-
I agree with Mat that the more content the better. Also be sure to use common scrabble cheating words and cheating methods. Remember that Google is crawling all of your website and that the more keywords it picks up the better.
Also I notice that your website has a Google+ button on the bottom of your page, why not create a Facebook community around scrabble? Many people love this game and being able to share high scores and scrabble game stories might prove to be beneficial for many users? -
Hi Cesar - I've actually used your site in the past! That's cool.
That date sounds suspiciously like you were hit with by the Panda. Panda is a Google update that mostly targeted 'thin' content - it was updated on the 23rd. If you ever get a sudden drop in rankings like that it is always good to check http://www.seomoz.org/google-algorithm-change which lists when updates happen. That is fast becoming the page I link to most frequently in Q&A answers!
So - why might they think you have thin content? I'll look quickly at 2 pages: http://www.freescrabbledictionary.com/ - ranking for scrabble dictionary & http://www.freescrabbledictionary.com/scrabble-cheat/ - presumably the one that has dropped for scrabble cheat.
OK, the two pages have a few paragraphs of unique content, but it is really what I would call "fluff" - it doesn't really serve any purpose other than to tell the search engines that you wish to rank for that page. That is not an accusation - I've written plenty of fluff myself. Just telling it how it is. This text is also quite a way down the page which indicates that it isn't the most important.
The "meat" of the page is the form. This is identical on both pages. So really we really have 2 pages that are only really different in terms of the fluff. That is textbook for the sort of thing that Panda hit.
How to fix it then?
I'd consider actually providing information that is more relevant to the search "scrabble cheat". List common cheat methods (and how to spot them) plus a big call to action pointing back to the main search tool. At first glance I can't see any need to replicate that form on every page.
Your scrabble helper page is actually following roughly this process - although I would make the link back to the main tool much more obvious. However the on page optimisation isn't great on that one - tweak that up and get some people to link to it and I'd imagine that could help quite a bit.
Good luck with it.
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
-
I just want to ask Moz DA help anymore in Rank keywords
Hello Folks, i want to ask i have website related to kullu manali tour package and digital marketing institute, where tour package website DA is 2 and digital marketing institute DA is 26, my institute website rank on almost 1st page on most of keywords where travel website still doing struggle after much good links. please suggest me i need to boost my website DA.
Link Building | | ashux526g0 -
Ugh content! I don't get it
Everyone on this website says the proper way to build links is with great content. I don't get that because I am trying to build links for a classified ads website and there is no "great content" for any of the classified ads websites. None of them have blogs or any content other than the stuff people are selling. When I look at my competitors inbound links using open site explorer, they are all junk. Most of the links listed in open site explorer are dead /broken links and the ones that are not dead links are spammy, low quality links including many link exchanges. So, I don't get the "great content to build links" route because in my vertical it's not being done. Suggestions on how to build links in this situation?
Link Building | | Noob150 -
Can this be done?
Hi, Suppose, a page from Wikipedia ranks on 1st position in Google for "keyphrase1". But when you investigate further, there are no backlinks to that page that have "keyphrase1" as the anchor text. Then how come the page ranks for that keyphrase? Regards
Link Building | | IM_Learner0 -
If Anchor Text is dead, how do I target certain keywords?
I get it, a truly authoritative source will not be able to control the exact anchor text that others link to it with. Google is trying to deliver the most authoritative source, so non-exact anchor text is more likely a good option for them. This makes total sense and I have been varying the anchor text of my blog posts. But this begs the question: How am I supposed to know I am increasing my rankings for the high volume key words in my industry, and not leaving it up to Google to decide which keywords are most important?
Link Building | | CleanEdisonInc1 -
How to out rank well with category page for high competitive keyword?
This is really silly question to ask over here! But, I have to drop my mind bubble after long R & D and efforts! Right now, I am working on Patio Umbrellas keyword and want to out rank with following landing page. http://www.vistastores.com/patio-umbrellas I have implemented too many ways on this page since January 2012. Right now, my website is in top 20 position with this keyword. I want to achieve top 10 ranking with Patio Umbrellas keyword. Now, I have certain limitation to make changes on web page. This is client requirement. So, I have to drill down more with link building. I have started work on link building on since February 2012 and rank well with keyword. Now, I'm searching for link building way which help me to improve ranking in short time frame. I don't want to do any single activity on this page which is UN-productive for me. If you have any on page inputs so it may help me more. SEOmoz is really big source to search and justify answer but, I want to add expert advice in it. Thanks,
Link Building | | CommercePundit0 -
About to get my competition domain, how what I can do?
Hello, I'm trying to get a domain from what it used to be my main competition, if I get this domain can I forward the domain to my website? because they have good local ranking that I don't have and also a lot of links. I don't really want to use that brand name, I just want to take advantage of the links they already created if that possible. Or can I do something else with the domain or just buy it and keep it so nobody else can buy it? Thank you
Link Building | | jpgprinting0 -
Trying to rank highly for specific keyword, any advice?
I run a boating site and its been live since early February. Most of my traffic comes from direct traffic or google, keyword "trawler blogs". However, I am trying to rank highly for the generic keyword "trawler" or "trawlers" and I've had very little success. My homepage just got an A from the on-page analysis for keyword trawler. I've also reached out to several other trawler sites to try to get a link from them, or a reciprocal link. Haven't had much traction. However, our site is listed on a bunch (10-12) trawler related blogs (mostly blogspot) in their blogrolls, although these don't show up in backlinks. Any advice would be great. Thank you!
Link Building | | jacobr2170 -
How specific does keyword anchor text need to be?
I'm trying to get to the bottom of something. If you are trying to optimise for a phrase e.g. "Keyword 1 Keyword 2" And your anchor text is something like "Keyword 1 keyword 2 Another word" Does this still provide as much weight for "keyword 1 keyword 2" or does the additional word come into play and dilute the effect? If it does come into play does it have much of an effect?
Link Building | | RodneyRiley0