Keyword Ranking Research Question
-
Hi Mozzers,This is probably a nooby question, but I was wondering how you guys end up deciding if a Keyword is too hard to rank for? Also vice versa, when do you decide that a keyword is too low volume to rank for so you try to rank for a harder keyword?
Eg.
Deciding that ranking for "Dell Computers" is too hard and then deciding to rank for "Dell Small Business Computers"Post-question: Do indirectly rank for Dell Computers if you try to rank for Dell Small Business Computers? If so, how much? Also, how many words inbetween Dell & Computers would there have to be to stop indirectly ranking for Dell Computers?
-
Very good question. It is ultimately a matter for yourself. I always take the primary keyword head on - even if there is no realistic chance of ranking for it in the short term. However I also make sure that I target keywords off the same branch that I can rank for. I usually start with 5-7.
I believe you should always have your eye on the ultimate prize. Ubersuggest is good I also like Semrush.com - as you also get to see what organic keywords your competitors are getting traffic from. Semrush may further fine tune the keywords you target.
On a nexus between primary and secondary - if you are targeting "dell computers" and words around that frame - once you get some traction with your other keywords then you may start to rank for "dell computers" but at 300 etc. . In fairness though it is impossible for anyone to suggest a true nexus as it will all depend on your seo optimization and the keywords you initially target and what you actually publish/do.
Hope that assists and good luck.
-
Hi Steven,
Maybe my view on this matter can help you a little.
First of all you need to analyse the playing field. So use a tool like ubersuggest.org to get all the relevant search queries and variations for your type of business. Check also some Google suggestions at the bottom of the search result page for some good / popular variations.
After you determined all the relevant keywords (including long tail keywords) for your business you can insert them into Google Adwords keyword planner. The output will give you the expected monthly search volume and, very important, the level of competition on a specific keyword.
Based on your domain and page authority compared to the top ranking competitors you can asses whether its possible to get some top rankings on high volume search queries. When the competition is modest, and comparable to the authority of your website, you can challenge them by creating some high quality landing pages. However if you find competitors to have more authority you can decide to try to rank for keywords with a lower level of competition.
If the difference between your site and the top competitors is not gigantic, I would try both. So try to rank between the big boys and go for the long tail search queries. Bear in mind it's all about the visitor. If your visitor finds your landing page useful, then the chances of a good / better ranking will improve. So try to write the page with the customer in mind, make it very relevant. But if your competitors have a lot more authority, I would start with long tail keywords.
It is possible to rank for "dell computers" if you try to rank for "Dell Small Business Computers". However if your competitor has a very relevant page on "Dell computers" he would probably rank higher.
Of course you'll need to analyse the performance of your pages with MOZ In order to make the necessary changes and improvements.
Good luck!
Kind regards,
Herman (from the Netherlands)
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
-
Question about brand name in title
I know this has been covered a million times but I cannot find one related to mine as far as brand goes. We have a 3 word company name (brand) and all three words are excellent keywords. We rank decent in google and other search engines, but I did not know if I should put our brand all together, or keep them spaced since I am using the keywords in the title in other places. Our company name is ex. A B C Title page is as follows and I am showing where our company name appears in the title for our pages. I am just not wanting to stuff the keywords in the title, although it is hard not to with our brand. I do not want to give out our company name. Below I am showing where part of our name appears in the title of pages. The (C) in the first part of the title is singular. Our name and brand for C is plural. I hope you understand. After 10 years in business we are redoing some things to make it even better. Moz Pro has been wonderful tool for us, the last 40 days. Main Keyword B C | Secondary Keyword | A B C Should it be Main Keyword B C | Secondary Keyword | ABC Thank you all!
Keyword Research | | BJack0 -
Have question about usage of similar keywords on single vs multiple pages within the same site...
I am working on a campaign with someone and have been talking back and forth about some keyword usage thoughts. More precisely multiple keywords that are similar and how to use them on the page for best results in ranking without diluting our own work to rank well. Example: Keywords:
Keyword Research | | allstatetransmission
Vehicle Wraps
Vehicle Wraps Phoenix
Phoenix Vehicle Wraps
Car Wraps
Car Wraps Phoenix
Phoenix Car Wraps One thought is that the keywords are so similar that it would best benefit us to target one page to the grouping of like keywords and long-tail keywords, and not making separate pages as to create competition for the same keyword within the site itself. Also that Google is "smart" enough to see that car wraps and vehicle wraps are like keywords, and that car wraps when linked to a site from Phoenix, will also pull as Car Wraps Phoenix. The other thought is we target one page for each separate keyword although the keywords are so similar. What are your thoughts? I wanted to ask all of your thoughts as I am sure your feedback will be enlightening. (Always helpful!!) Thank you!0 -
New Keyword Planning Tool
In the past we have used google analytics keyword tool to evaluate a keyword for our campaign. Recently though with the changes to the keyword tool becoming the keyword planning tool we've seen an extreme fluctuation in the metrics provided for avg monthly searches. Specifically the keyword "best fries" used to be reported at 33100 avg global monthly searches, now with the new tool its at less than 200 overall for the month. Additional information has the google trends for the keyword to only be increasing and is roughly near peak search interest. So I guess to simplify the question, should I trust this metric? Is there an alternative source I can use for keyword research? Why would a drop like this happen? Why isn't the google trends data similar to that of the keyword data? Surely 100 representing peak interest doesn't translate to 200 searches a month.
Keyword Research | | JamesBSEO0 -
Difference in Keywords and Anchor Text ?
Sorry i am noob here: I thought both are same but when i see GSA tutorials i found that both are different. If suppose my keywords is black german shoes than what is my anchor text will be. Also anchor text isdifferent like generice keywords click here, find more etc. Please give explanation.
Keyword Research | | chandubaba0 -
Google Keyword Tool: What is considered a unique keyword?
I'm trying to research keywords using Google's Keyword Tool. After looking at results, I have the following questions: 1. Does singular/plurals of a word count as two different keywords to Google (ie: photobooth and photobooths)? Would I need to have a unique page targeting each word or will one page on my site be sufficient for targeting both? 2. I've noticed that different variations of keywords have the same global monthly search results. This leads me to believe that Google see's all of them as one keyword. ie: "photo booth props" and "props for a photo booth" and "props with photo booth", all have 22,200 search global monthly search resluts. On the other hand "moustache prop" and "prop moustache" have different global monthly search results (480 and 590). Can anyone explain this?
Keyword Research | | Alchemist230 -
Branded Keywords
I know branded keywords are variations of your company name. However, my company sell a number of exclusive products that have been trademarked so no other company can use that name. Is that counted as a branded keyword?
Keyword Research | | AAttias0 -
What do broad match keywords represent?
Exact match is perfectly easy for me to get my head around - broad match, not so much! Take the phrase, "removing blueberry stains." Is the broad match data for this that I'm seeing in the Google keyword tool for searches that involve any of these particular words, in any phrase, in any order - just so long as they're all there? Any help with this concept would be much appreciated.
Keyword Research | | ZakGottlieb710 -
Newbie has various questions about keywords
Hi All - Im just learning, would appreciate some clarification on how keywords work. Specifically: For a phrase keyword, does order matter? E.g. is 'Bridging loans UK' the same keyword as 'UK bridging loans'? Again in a phrase, do the keywords need to be adjacent? So if I had a an H1 tag on my page which was 'We provide Briding loans for the entire UK', would this be considered a match for the keyword phrase 'Bridging loans uk' ? As I understand it, optimising your site for a certain keyword involves 2 things at a basic level:a) Including that keyword on your site, and b) Getting relevant inbound links from other sites with that keyword as the anchor text. Is this correct? Are there other large scale factors? What is the balance between those 2 (or more) main factors? Which is most important?
Keyword Research | | nebbisch0