Question from a non-techie

keyword phrases

[ButterCup]

I manage a small job search web site for [snip], and in many search engines it ranks in the top ten for the prase "[snip]", but for "[snip]" it's hard to break into top ten, let alone top fifty....

Question: Since the primary focus of the site is [snip], and [snip] are secondary, in fact, not mentioned ([snip]) as much on the site: why is placement higher for "[snip]" than "[snip]"? This confuses me. Thanks for any insight.

[edited by: pageoneresults at 10:05 pm (utc) on Mar. 25, 2004]
[edit reason] Removed Specifics - Please Refer to TOS [/edit]

[OrlandoTodd]

Wow... snip1 and snip2 might have been a little clearer to understand the question PageOne. :)

Welcome to WebmasterWorld ButterCup.

If I understand it, you're probably ranked higher for the less popular term than the more popular one dispite mentioning it more times on the web site.

This is due to several SEO factors and you're in the right place to learn about them. Terms more popularity have more competition and are harder to get ranked for than smaller demand niche terms. Things to do to improve your positioning include Title, Meta tags, KW dense content, quality links from quality sites, KW in URL, etc.