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-- Keyword Discussion
---- Are singular and plural keywords the same?

Receptional_Andy - 8:38 pm on Dec 4, 2008 (gmt 0)


Hi Halim :)

As an aside, we avoid the use of specific keywords if possible - widget being a good replacement ;)

If Google is your target, then it's an easy test:

[google.com...]
[google.com...]

These types of searches generally return:

So, the suggestion is:

  • It's possible to rank well for both
  • Some sites won't rank for both
  • Google does not consider them to be identical searches, with identical relevance
  • You don't need to be using both in your textual copy to appear for both variations (although, of course, most sites do)

Google is IMO some distance ahead of it's competitors in terms of "translating" a search keyword so as to retrieve documents that don't necessarily contain the exact wording the searcher used (query expansion, as it's known). So you can optimise for word variations without particularly trying to do so. But equally (especially if the keywords are competitive) you want to back a winning horse, in case you don't succeed in appearing for both.

Your other consideration is whether plural or singular forms are better at driving the right visitors. For transactional keywords there can be a big difference in both traffic and conversion rate for word variations. The goal is to predict searcher behaviour. So is "Buy a widget" better than "Buy widgets"? It depends on both the conversion rate and overall traffic volume as to which is better for a particular site.

Adwords is a great playground for keyword research, if you're prepared to spend money to get reliable data. IMO it can be money well spent if you're making decisions with long-lasting implications. Otherwise, there are SERPs and free keyword tools on which to base any decisions.

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