Targeting multiple keywords - is it always wise?

[barney]

If I operate say [widgets] and I am number 1 under [best widgets]. [widgets reviews], and [widgets ratings] but lets say for about fifty keywords like that. Would I be hurting myself if I continue to target long tail keywords? because if you optimize for one keyword, aren't you hurting your ranking for the other keywords since you will concentrate less on them since you now have so many different keywords to focus on?

[tedster]

If you are talking about getting the same page to rank for many keywords, then no, that is not always wise. You certainly may undermine one set of rankings by trying to rank for something else in addition.

If you are talking about creating new content pages to rank for search terms you have seen some traffic on, that can be a good approach to increasing traffic. This also gives you much nore freedom to tailor a well-targeted title element. It's not a good idea to try to put 50 words into the title for one url.

So the core of the matter is what kind of actions you are taking in order to "target" keywords.

[barney]

Well I am talking about getting the main homepage for rank for many keywords. The main keyword is there, but there are many long tail extensions of the main keyword. If you target the main keyword but focus on the 50+ variations of the long tail ones, would that be a wise idea or would it better to focus just on the main keyword and limit it to lesser but more powerful keywords?

[tedster]

To address your question better, let's get into a bit more detail.

Suppose you want to get your home page to rank for another longtail phrase. How would you decide on what that phrase is? and what changes would you make to "target" the page for the new phrase?

[barney]

To initially target for a very competitive keyword such as [widgets], I would target [best widgets], [fast widgets], [cheap widgets], hoping that the longer tail keywords would contribute to my ultimate goal of targeting for widgets. I am not sure if this way of thinking is correct to target optimally for a website. I decide what that phrase is by looking at the average click volume per month using the google adwords tool.

[tedster]

It's a decent approach to finding long-tail keywords - but I'd suggest putting a lot of attention on your actual server logs to see whether you are getting traffic for real. In toher words, I would make decisions at least as much from real traffic as from hoped for traffic from some database of keywords. Google is very good at sending at least some long tail traffic long before those "big" keywords rank. You will see these words in your own logs.

But the crux of the matter - whether it's a good approach - is what steps you take on the site. For example, one of the key factors in whether a page ranks or not is th Title element - but using 50 phrases in one title tag is not a wise thing to do.

Another key factor is anchor text - and if you're going to use the long tail phrase in on-page anchor text, then I would work to see that inner page rank well for the term, rather than burdening the home page with the whole job. The key here - you have an entire site to work with, not just a home page.