Keyword Question

Why do part rank high?

[timycsr]

First off, I'm new to this forum.

Secondly, I have a question that I am really confused about.
Here is my quick senario:

Example:
web page > mysite.com

Keyword Ranking:

Word1 Word2 (#450)
Word1 Word2 Word3 (#1)
Word1 Word2 Word7 (#4)
Word1 Word2 Word8 (#2)

Why is it that when searching the keywords for just "Word1 Word2" is the ranking so low, but when adding additional keywords to "Word1 Word2" does the site rank so high?

Given that there are appropriate links, text on homepage contains "Word1 Word2" throughout it (not spamming though - just a general amount), meta tags are all ok...etc? What causes this?

I just don't understand how there could be such a difference in ranking.

Thanks for your help,
-Tim

[percentages]

timycsr, Welcome to WebmasterWorld.

It is probably due to competition. When you search for keyword1 keyword2 how many sites does Google say are relevant? Then how many for Keyword1 Keyword2 Keyword3?

I expect the 3 word example has far fewer sites competing, and that is one reason why you rank higher.

For example "cheap widgets" may produce millions of relevant sites, but "cheap widgets Kansas" or "cheap widgets blue" may only produce a couple of hundred.

To get your site ranked high for keyword1 keyword2 you need to do a lot of reading in these forums, and then some experimenting. For Google having anchor text links from other sites with keyword1 keyword2 in them is a good starting point. Then look at the threads discussing Page Rank and how it influences results.

Google doesn't care about keywords in the Meta keywords tag, that won't help you at all.

Depending on competition it can take a long time (6 months plus) of time consuming SEO to get on that first page for a 2 word keyphrase. Whether you choose to spend the time or buy adwords sponsorship is always a personal decision.

Good luck!

[timycsr]

Thank you for your welcome and info.

Ah, it is very frustrating doing everything I am "supposed" to do and my main two keywords, being so low! )-:

I guess I'll keep reading and experimenting. I've learned so much during this past dance and made so many changes that perhaps the next dance I'll get higher.

Thanks again!
Tim

[kevinpate]

Another thing to keep in mind. You say your main two key words are kw1 and kw2. But, are they?

Have you checked your logs to confirm that Sam and Susie Surfer use kw1 and kw2 search terms when they are finding your site? If Sam and Susie are in fact using
kw1 - kw2 to find you, you do need to add focus on those words.

But if your traffic, not where you are in the serps, but the actual traffic of peeps popping onto the site, is coming
on kw1 kw5 or even word8 word9 (words you have in your site but don't currently work on as your keywords), then it's time to rethink what words are important.

I know at the info site I'm with, I find new combos that Sam and Susie have used that I hadn't thought about before. But if folks are finding the site on those terms, I gotta pay attention to that.

[timycsr]

What I had to end up doing is using Adwords. I've had a lot of traffic through that (which is really nice), but unfortunately, my main two keywords are too expensive at this point for the budget.

I did lots of research and KW1 KW2 are the main words used. But, there are others though which I use for Adwords. Adwords is great as I am now receiving over 4000 more hits a month, which is actually pretty good (I think).

There are a couple of other Keywords that I started to focus on and I'll see what happens when this dance ends or the end of the next dance. Perhaps there might be a silver lining!

Thx,
Tim