 June 04, 2009 - Navigation: Articles - Readers Respond - Video - Small Biz Talk  Targeting one keyword per page--controversial?by Mike MoranLast week in this space, I urged organic search marketers to focus on optimizing for one keyword per page, rather than taking a scattershot approach where they are trying to shoehorn many keywords into the same landing page. I knew that it wasn't the normal advice that people hear, but I wasn't prepared for how many comments and questions I got, so I thought it was worth revisiting the topic this week. If you're still unpersuaded about the approach of targeting one keyword per page, I want to take another shot at it....
One keyword per page: once more with feelingby Mike MoranI promise to let go of this one after this week, but there have been so many upset people that I feel the need to revisit this subject once again. There have been many comments about my original post that you should primarily target one keyword per page. I followed that up with some explanation of why. But one commenter called the advice "utter nonsense" (which is even worse that that regular nonsense I usually spew), so I think I'd like to give the explanation one more try, in hopes that perhaps we can at least live with each other...  Bounce Rates and What They Mean To Your Businessby David CarberryYour business needs to determine why a bounce occurs, and evaluate that rate on a page by page basis and a keyword by keyword basis. You need to direct them from start to finish and provide an easy to use solution for why they entered your site in the first place....  Go Blog Yourself: Writing Your Blog Posts with Pen in Hand and SEO In Mindby Stoney deGeyterNobody writes blog posts with a pen as the title suggests, but I think you get the suggestive innuendo. I'll use that theme to further explore what it takes to put together a good blog, not just a good blog post. You'll learn to craft a blog that gets read, repeated, passed on, commented about, processed and put to good use. Oh, and we'll also make sure to cover some of the SEO basics in writing your post. If you've got a great body, no sense keeping it locked in a closet. Return to the Top of this Page 
Return to the Top of this Page  In response to... How many search keywords can I target per page?Noooooo! I strongly take issue with this article, and would in fact suggest the exact opposite. Why shoot for one keyword phrase, when you can get 3 or even 5? Not to mention that it's much easier to write natural copy when you are focusing on multiple phrases per page. Sorry, Mike, just really hate to see this sort of advice given. That said, I know we all have our different methods and there are more than one way to skin the SEO cat, but I wanted to be sure that others here didn't take this article as the absolute way of optimizing. Jill Whalen In response to... Targeting one keyword per page--controversial?I'm disappointed to see such advice and flawed examples being given on a site like SearchEngineGuide.com Let's take an example. Suppose you own a shoe store in Sheboygan, where you feature expensive women's fashion shoes. You could decide that you want your home page to come up when your customers search for "women's fashion shoes in Sheboygan" and I bet you'd have a good chance of your site coming up high in the rankings. And maybe you'd also get high rankings for "shoe store In Sheboygan." And maybe "women's shoes in Sheboygan." It could happen. And it's just fine. But most people that I talk to think that they can also get rankings on that page for "women's shoes"--you won't. Or even "women's fashion shoes"--fat chance. The way you craft your page titles and how your incoming link anchor text looks makes all the difference how your chances are to rank for these keywords: "women's shoes" or "women's fashion shoes A fat chance to be able to rank for the above keywords because you happened to have some other keywords in your page title and on your page as well is just utter nonsense, sorry Mike I can't put it a less subtle way, because it just have to be said and made clear: this article is just plain wrong. Using a page title like for example: "Women's Shoes: Sheboygan Women's Fashion Shoes Offers The Best Deals!" in combination with a lot of quality/authoritative link equity directed to that page will increase your chances a LOT if not obtaining the actual #1 spot for these keywords. The most important thing you forget to mention in this article, that rankings is for the bigger part achieved by having a strong backlink profile. Even if you only target one keyword/phrase per page...it's how competitive the keyword in combination with your backlink profile and on page optimization is that determines your rankings. Conclusion: Craft your page titles right, do your onpage optimization right, get your page to obtain a strong backlink profile and you will rank regardless if your page has other keywords as well. Trying to jump through hoops just to focus on keyword per page will probably have the result you'll be creating a non-user friendly site as well. Ed In response to... Targeting one keyword per page--controversial?There's more to this article than meets the eye. Sure it's best to target pages very specifically, but a major brand's homepage ranks 1st for 6 of our targeted keywords. It's quite possible to rank highly and target many unique keywords - link anchor text is where it's at. However, one point that needs to be discerned is - Are the pages and keywords you're matching going to be the best result for that user? If not, you're wasting your time. Your bouncerate will be huge and the traffic won't convert. SEO requires that you think with the user in mind, first and foremost. If the targeting a page with 3-5 keywords is useful to the user, then do it. But if it's not, then it's worthless. Rob Kingston In response to... Targeting one keyword per page--controversial?What struck me most in this post is the distinction between the skills and abilities of the person to whom you're giving the advice to target a single keyword per page. As you made very clear, people experienced in SEO and search marketing in general - like Jill Whalen - can effectively and successfully target 3-5 terms with a single page. A small business owner struggling to create adequate content and properly optimize it on their own...very different story. I often suggest that the small business owners I consult concentrate on a single target term or phrase per page, especially with the first several pages they optimize. It helps to eliminate confusion and the feeling of being overwhelmed by the amount of content needed to target multiple terms with a single page. Once they've got the hang of optimizing a page for a single target term or phrase, they have a better understanding of the big picture...and can decide at that point whether they can effectively optimize pages for multiple terms. Alysson Return to the Top of this Page  Free SEO ToolsThinking of buying SEO software? Then try the best SEO tools free first! Skaffe.com Directory: Show off your website Express Submit today.Quality directories like Skaffe.com offer you strong search engine exposure. WoW DirectoryPowerful and affordable directory marketing services. Submit your website today! Return to the Top of this Page  WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT Places Online To Buy A Good WebsiteBLOGS & BLOGGING Easy Blog Pinging ToolSEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Bing Is Up How These People Are Giving GuaranteesSOCIAL MEDIA Digg Removes 'Shout' FeaturesRADIO ADVERTISING How To Get The Best Price For Radio AdsSMALL BUSINESS ISSUES How Do I Categorize Investors In An LLC Why I'll Never Buy Another Business 10 Reasons Why Most Businesses Fail What's Your Worst FearPREVIOUS WEEK Small Business Forum Update For May 28, 2009 (If you like our search engine news, you'll love our small business news.) Return to the Top of this Page
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