Meta tag keywords with the same words in them.
-
I'm updating some older pages and was wondering about potential penalties from having keywords that start with the same phrase. It's a geographic area so there is the "full name" and the abbreviated name. I'd like to have keywords for both.
For example:
virginia beach, va beach, virginia beach attraction, virginia beach things to do, va beach attraction, va beach things to do, virginia beach dolphins tour, va beach dolphins tour
Is that spammy? I understand they don't have the same weight as they used to but I'd like to optimize for them anyway since I'm redoing some things.
Thanks in advance.
-
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the time and effort each of you spent helping a newbie. I will stop using them completely.
-
Forgive me, I'm a little confused by your post title. To be clear, are you referring to <meta name="keywords" ...>which would contain a list of all of the keyword referenced within the page?</meta name="keywords" ...>
- If you are, you should know that Google drove a stake through the heart of that abomination years ago. Yahoo and Bing weren't paying much attention (if any) to these as of a few years ago, so this practice can be safely abandoned.
Meta Title and Meta Description are of value to users and a correctly titled page will give you some SEO benefit, so use these in accordance with these guidelines:
https://mza.seotoolninja.com/learn/seo/title-tag
https://mza.seotoolninja.com/learn/seo/meta-description
If you are simply referring to the keywords within the body of your page, I recommend treating your copy as though it were conversation with a prospective customer; if you keep endlessly repeating the same thing in slightly different ways they're going to ignore you at first and then, if you persist, actively avoid you. So what you need to say without trying to say the same thing a thousand different ways; it's a huge turn off for visitors and Google will not reward you for it. That's not to say you can't repeat the phrase a couple of times throughout the copy, with a few slight variations on a theme, but don't labour the point. Read your copy out loud - if you start to annoy yourself (or others) you know you've overdone it. Less is more.
And give Google credit; it's smart. There really is no need to endlessly feed it every variant going. Google have invested huge sums of money in getting smarter and semantic search (https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101-semantic-search-care/119760/) is a big part of that. I'd drop VA altogether (apart from the odd mention in a page or two - if it justified it because it added clarity and stick with 'Virginia Beach', building the main thrust/theme the site (or section of the site) around that, with separate pages for each specific activity or article focus 'dolphin tour' etc. Google will work it out without the need for you to shout at them.
Keep the end user at the forefront of your thinking when you're building your site, answer their questions, scratch their itches, and you'll be rewarded.
Use your keywords appropriately not repetitively, regardless of the context.
Good luck!
Note to self: I must write quicker replies, two other people answered this while I was writing this!
-
Hello Stephen,
A few years ago Matt Cutts said that google does not take into acount the meta keywords tag.
Here the youtube video: Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web rankingI have no information about being penalized for using that tag with keywords like that.
Honestly, very few sites uses them. And some SEOs consider that there is no risk other than your competitor knowing what your keywords are.Best Luck.
GR -
It's not that they don't have the same weight - they have no weight, Stephen. Don't waste your time on them.
(In fact, you'll just be making it even easier for your competition to grab lists of the keywords you're targeting.)
Paul
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
-
Is the meta title written only for google (try to stuff in as many keywords as possible) or is there a user experience aspect as well?
Is the meta title written only for google (try to stuff in as many keywords as possible) or is there a user experience aspect as well?
On-Page Optimization | | whiteonlySEO0 -
Anchor Tag around a Div
Just Curious if this is an SEO No-No! I have set up the box to do some cool SEO transitions but am curious if I am loosing on a signifigant amount of internal linking considering anchor text or if Google recognizes the h2 as anchor text. Thanks. [ Article Title Article Synopsis Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.](internal-page.html)
On-Page Optimization | | Vspeed0 -
Title Tags for a Joomla Website
Does anyone know what is the best way or plugin to use to easily get title tags inserted for a Joomla website? Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | Gavo0 -
2 keyword title tag best format
I have a client that does ski and snowboard rentals in lake tahoe and not sure what the best way to optimize the home page title tag. Lake Tahoe Ski and Snowboard Rental
On-Page Optimization | | tahoemedia
Lake Tahoe Ski & Snowboard Rental
Ski & Snowboard Rental Lake Tahoe
Ski Rental | Snowboard Rental | Lake Tahoe Which one of these is the best or is it not even listed??? Thanks!0 -
Keyword in url, which way better?
Hello, is there a difference between urls for targeting keyword "brazil tourist visa" fastbrazilvisas.com/tourist or fastbrazilvisas.com/brazil-tourist-visa ? ran the report In-Page Optimization it tells "no keyword usage in url". is there an idea behind that? thanks
On-Page Optimization | | Kotkov0 -
Title tag for category page
I'd like to know your views on the best approach for title tags for category pages for ecommerce sites. 3 examples A) Category name | Free delivery on $50 purchase | Brand name B) Discover best "category name" on brand name C) Category Name | 1st Keyword, 2nd keyword | Brand name Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | walidalsaqqaf0 -
Keyword Self- Cannibalization
I have a question about Keyword Self Cannibalization. I have a web page which is targeting the main keyword as "sarees". But this same page has internal linking from the keywords Benarasi Silk Sarees, Silk Saree, Traditional Sarees, cotton sarees,etc to their respectve pages. We are optimizing those pages separately for their respective keywords as well. When I run on-page report card for these web page from seomoz tool, I got an error says "Avoid Keyword Self-Cannibalization". Is this due to the internal linking from these keywords? Can anybody recommend a solution for this problem?
On-Page Optimization | | semvibe1 -
Comments on Title Tag
New to this and I'm working on a title tag. I was wondering if any one had opinions/input on if this looks good/bad/ugly. I replaced the actual name of the client with "Ranch Name" Guest Ranch Dude Ranch Wyoming Jackson Hole Activities RANCH NAME Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | dbaxa-2613380