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Was hoping you might be able to help me with some questions about SEO.
I have a sales site that is theme based for the products i sell. Meaning, i have a number of different products but they all fall under the one theme....and that it was my site is about.
I'm now adding a whole lot of good informational content to the site to help with relevancy and rankings.
I have a list of keywords i want to target to rank highly.
Is the following correct?:
Should i write one (or more?) page about each of the keywords i'm targeting and then optimize that page for that particular keyword and then do the same for each keyword?
E.g.
www.mysite.com/keyword 1 Content page optimized for that keyword
www.mysite.com/keyword 2 Content page optimized for that keyword
www.mysite.com/keyword 3 Content page optimized for that keyword
etc etc.
If that is the correct kind of way to structure things, when i go to optimize that content page for the related keyword, how much keyword density is ideal for say Google.
Also, I have heard that your keywords should be spread through the page like an hour glass....more at the beggining of the page, only a couple in the middle and more towards the end.
Is that accurate?
Also, if i then wanted to add another content page relating to keyword 1 (so now i would have 2 pages relating to keyword 1 instead of just the one)where would i place it in relation to the original optimized page for keyword 1.
Would i link from the original page about keyword 1 to the second page? Or would i just have it sitting off the same menu as keyword 1.
E.g.
www.mysite.com links to www.mysite.com/keyword 1 ,that then links to www.mysite.com/keyword 1 second page
or would i just do this:
www.mysite.com links to www.mysite.com/keyword1
www.mysite.com links to www.mysite.com/keyword1 second page
I hope this is not to confusing. I'm just trying to work out how to structure all this content i'm going to add and how to set up the individual keyword pages for maximum optimization.
I really appreciate the help that everybody offers on this forum. Thank you very much.
Kind Regards
I was hoping a few other members would chime in before I did, but I guess they realize the same thing I did, this will take some time answering, so here goes...
Should i write one (or more?) page about each of the keywords i'm targeting and then optimize that page for that particular keyword and then do the same for each keyword?
This all depends. If you have keywords that qualify for building a separate page, and you can work those pages into your navigation and they are of benefit for your visitors, then yes, you should build a page for it.
If that is the correct kind of way to structure things, when i go to optimize that content page for the related keyword, how much keyword density is ideal for say Google.
I personally don't lend much weight to having a ideal keyword density. There are a basic set of rules you should follow when developing a page. If you adhere to those, keyword density is not a factor. If, when you read it aloud to yourself it makes sense, then you are probably okay. If you've found that your keyword phrase is appearing in every other sentence, then you may have crossed the line. Do a search for "keyword density" and you'll find some interesting information related to your question.
Also, I have heard that your keywords should be spread through the page like an hour glass....more at the beggining of the page, only a couple in the middle and more towards the end. Is that accurate?
To some degree it is. But, I'm not too certain the hourglass applies. You want to be sure to spread those terms out and balance them from top to bottom. Once in the title, description, keywords, heading, first paragraph, second paragraph, third paragraph, closing paragraph, link text, etc... I think when you do your search for "keyword density" you'll find the formula that most successful site owners use.
Also, if i then wanted to add another content page relating to keyword 1 (so now i would have 2 pages relating to keyword 1 instead of just the one) where would i place it in relation to the original optimized page for keyword 1. Would i link from the original page about keyword 1 to the second page? Or would i just have it sitting off the same menu as keyword 1.
Hmmm, tough question. I'm assuming that you have enough content to logically break down that first keyword page into two. If that is the case, then you would probably link to page 2 from page 1 somewhere in the main body of page 1. An example would be to have a closing paragraph that leads the reader into page 2 with a link (keyword phrase) that takes them to page 2.
It sounds like you are trying to break down your content to the point where you have a page for each keyword you are targeting. If the keywords are distinctly different from one another, then that is okay. But, if you are attempting to build a page for each variation of a keyword phrase, then you may be asking for trouble. You're bound to end up with duplicate content in that type of scenario.
The thing to remember is whether or not your pages are of value to a visitor. If you are building pages just to target keyword phrases, then you've not taken into consideration the whole process. There are a variety of ways to target similar phrases from a single page and not have to build a page for each variation.
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. It's greatly appreciated.
I was of the belief that if you targeted more than one keyword per page that you would dilute the effectivness of this page to rank high. Is that incorrect?
That is why i was looking at creating and then optimizing one (or more pages) for each of my important keywords.
Some of these keywords are similar to each other.
As long as the content is valuable information and is unique and different from the other pages about similar keywords, do you see a problem with doing this?
Is there a more effective way?
Also, you said you didn't put to much weight on Keyword density as long as certain rules are followed. Would i be correct in saying then that lots and lots of good relevant content is the major key to ranking highly in a safe and ethical manner?
Again, thanks for all your help.
Regards,
I was of the belief that if you targeted more than one keyword per page that you would dilute the effectivness of this page to rank high. Is that incorrect?
I find it very difficult to make a page and just target one keyword. I usually end up working in other variations of the phrase or phrases that I am targeting. You can target more than one phrase on a page if they are synonymous.
Read the page aloud to yourself. Does it sound correct? Did you balance the use of your primary phrase within the copy? Did you throw in some secondary phrases that are synonymous or similar in nature? Did you use it in your page title? Description? Heading? First paragraph? In a link? In a bookmark? In an alt tag? How about the title attribute? The list goes on and on.
I look at this way. If I cannot link that page into the overall theme of the site through one or more pages, then it doesn't need to be there. This is also referred to as an orphan. It has no links pointing to it. One link pointing to it is even questionable in my mind. I've seen pages that are heavily linked internally do very well, especially with the transfer of PageRank.
Would i be correct in saying then that lots and lots of good relevant content is the major key to ranking highly in a safe and ethical manner?
Yup! Except that you need to carefully plan that content. Lots and lots of content could easily end up being useless. Just keep it targeted and you'll be okay. If I visit your site and I'm reading a page that is let's say, 6 to 8 paragraphs in length, it better keep my attention. If you provide a link or a bookmark for me to follow, that content where I land better keep my attention. Get my point? Don't make pages just for the sake of making pages. Remember, it is all about the user first, then you want to make sure its spider friendly. ;)
