++Key Phrase Density++

From: Tony Summers

Hi Jill

Thanks for all the great tips; you've really helped unlock the "secrets" to good (I mean great!) SEO! I now know how to research phrases properly, how to include them in the copy and where else to place them for maximum results.

However, there is one area that I still can't seem to find a definitive answer to - key phrase density.

Is there an optimum density that will work across all search engines? Is more always better? If so, what is the maximum amount of repetition that won't get you banned? Also, are there different ideal densities for 1, 2 and 3 word key phrases? Finally, does key phrase density apply solely to the body copy, or does it include code as well?

I look forward to being enlightened!

Kind regards,

Tony Summers
E-business Advisor
Hereford and Worcester
Chamber of Commerce and Business Link

 
~~~Jill's Response~~~

Hi Tony,

As far as keyphrase density goes, I don't personally use any particular numbers. My feeling is to use your keyphrases within the text as much as it makes sense to do so. If it reads well, you're doing okay. If it sounds stupid, you probably went overboard.

Although others may have particular numbers to give you, if you look at the various results in the engines, I truly think there are no real numbers. Use common sense and do what works for your copy. That's how I've always done it and it always seems to work!

Good luck!

Jill

++Securing Top Directory Rankings++

From: Brian Raynor

Some SEO experts talk about "securing top rankings" at Yahoo! and LookSmart. Don't directories just give you alpha listings? -- Or have I missed something here?

If you *can* do something to influence your "rankings" in the directories -- apart from inclusion of keywords in the description, that is -- please tell all!

Best regards,

Brian Raynor
Marketing Unlimited -- delivering bankable results
www.marketingunlimited.co.uk

 
~~~Jill's Response~~~

Brian, sure, you can get top rankings at Yahoo! (not sure about "secure them"). It's not just alpha listings, as most people do searches and get results. I don't think the average person drills down through the directory. They do a search just like at a search engine, and results from the directory show up in some sort of ranked order. So yeah, you do have to do things to ensure yours comes up (hopefully) near the top.

>>If you *can* do something to influence your "rankings" in the directories -- apart from inclusion of keywords in the description, that is -- please tell all!>>

Those ARE the things you can do! It's important to do those things right the first time. As you know, what you do on your page won't have an effect on directory rankings.

I wrote a bit more on how Yahoo ranks sites in Rank Write Issue 066.

Jill

++Overuse of Keyword?++

From: Margaret Walsh

Hello,

I have a problem that plagued me when I first wrote my Web site and I want to avoid this from happening for my new rewrite.

My topic is Louis Wain who created Wain Cats (recognizable by traits), at the turn of the last century. In writing my home page, to say what was needed I used the two key phrases "Louis Wain" and "Wain Cats." I ran it through Net Mechanic's optimizer many, many times and Net Mechanic kept telling me I was using "Wain" too much. Both of these keywords are crucial to my site, and I could not eliminate them any more than I did without losing the content of the page. How can I get around this? It is absolutely necessary that both of the above phrases are keywords. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Margaret Walsh

 
~~~Jill's Response~~~

Hi Margaret,

My advice is to ignore NetMechanic and write what sounds good and makes sense to you. If it makes sense to a person, it will make sense to the search engines.

Good luck!

Jill

++Margaret's Follow-Up Questions++

Hi Jill,

Thanks for your quick response. Just two more questions -- (I promise)!

How serious are these engines about description and title length? I try to follow the advice that I've read about, e.g., AltaVista likes descriptions of 150 characters. That's a little low compared to most. But again, if I exceed that for page optimization, Net Mechanic will nail me. Is it better to exceed the length for title and description or follow Net Mechanic's advice?

Last question -- There are sites which just repeat word for word an old article about Wain and that is all; yet they get higher rankings. So when a page concentrates on just one item and has a few key words, it surpasses a more generalized index page, which needs more of a variety of key words. What can I do?

Margaret

 
~~~Jill's Response~~~

Hi Margaret,

I told you, ignore NetMechanic! End of story.

Create your tags in a way that makes sense to you without counting characters. Once again, if it makes sense to a person, it makes sense to the engines.

As to your second question, every page of your site has a chance to rank high for whatever words you're targeting. It doesn't matter all that much what's on the other pages. Make sure that the links to each different page describe that particular page only. You cannot have any "generalized" pages on your site and expect them to rank highly. Every individual page of your site must be tightly focused on the two or three keyphrases it's optimized for. As soon as you start to get too general on a page, you'll lose in the rankings game. Where search engine optimization is concerned, a tight focus is key.

Best,

Jill

+++Submitting Multiple Domains+++

From: Alex Demeyere

Dear Jill,

I have a question about submitting different domain names for the same site. I have a customer who has a site with a domain name that mentions his company name. Now he asks if he should register a second domain name with 2 important keywords in it. I have always read that submitting multiple domain names for the same site will get you penalised or banned from the search engines.

Can it be done without using any "illegal" workarounds? Would it be useful to register a second domain name for the same site but without submitting it to the search engines?

Thanks for your time.

Alex
DUO nv
http://www.duo.be

 
~~~Jill's Response~~~

Hi Alex,

Personally, I don't believe in using different domains for the same site for search engine optimization purposes. For one thing, the search engines will only index one of them if they contain the exact same information on them. For another thing, having a domain name with keywords in it really doesn't gain you much as far as rankings go. You can read more about my feelings on this matter in Rank Write issue 031.

Good luck!

Jill

++More on Multiple Domains++

From: Michael Pedone

Is it okay to create another Web page for a company that already has a Web site (but is not ranking well), that is "keyword phrase specific," and then have it link to their main Web site? Example: Let's say the keyword phrase is: "Web development in Florida." I create a Web page that is specifically optimized for this phrase, and all the links from it go directly to their main web site. Is this okay with the human directories out there? The Web page that would be created for the specific keyword phrase would have its own URL and a different ISP/host from the "main" Web site.

I hope this makes sense, and I look forward to your response.

Best Regards,
Michael J. Pedone
eTrafficJams.com

 
~~~Jill's Response~~~

Well, my question to you would be, why not simply make the main site rank well instead of going to the trouble to build a new site? The fact that you are thinking about hosting the new domain with a different host sounds like you already know what you'd be doing probably isn't something the search engines and directories would like.

If all the links go to the other site, the site will be seen as the doorway domain that it is, and will most likely have trouble getting into the engines. You don't really think you're the first person who came up with this idea do you? Many others have done this for years, and the engines caught on to it long ago. It might work for you for a little while, but eventually your site would get weeded out and/or banned.

The human-edited directories are also aware of this sort of "trick," and you'd possibly end up losing your submission fee with nothing to show for it if you tried it with them.

The bottom line is that you need to make the original site the best it can be by changing it however is necessary to do so. At least that's what I would do!

Best,

Jill

++Questions About Web Position Gold++

From: Meghan Schlueter

A couple of co-workers and I attended a Search Engine Strategies conference in August (2001). We learned a lot about improving our rankings, but I still have questions about Web Position Gold. We attended a roundtable class where someone brought up WPG to the Google rep., and asked why his sites were being blacklisted after using WPG. Google said they would not comment on their relationship, or lack thereof, with WPG.

This scared our company into not using the product to submit our sites. We want to know if WPG could actually hurt us more than it could help us rank on the search engines? Could you tell me some of the pros and cons of using WPG to submit sites? What about SubmitWolf? Is it a reasonable alternative to using WPG? We have both products and are unsure as to which product will get the job done. What do you think?

Thank you,

Meghan Syllogisteks

 
~~~Jill's Response~~~

Hi Meghan,

Google states somewhere that they don't allow automated queries to their search engine. When you check your rankings at Google (or any other engine) with a program such as WPG, you're essentially sending out an automated query to them. If you do this and get caught, they don't ban your site, but they ban your ability to do searches at Google (either automated or by hand). I know, because I was probably one of the first they banned! When it happened to me I had to beg for forgiveness, and promise never to do automated queries at Google again. Once I did that, they unbanned my IP and I could once again perform searches there.

That's the major problem with using WPG to check ranks at Google. It has nothing to do with using WPG's other functions such as their PageCritic or PageGenerator. These modules have totally separate issues. Personally, I only use the Reporter function of WPG (this is the one that performs the automated queries). I don't use it at Google anymore though, because I promised them I wouldn't. I do use WPG at Yahoo Web Pages, which essentially gives you the same results as Google (it's a similar database). Then I tell my clients that those results are similar to what they're getting at Google. Most of my clients aren't obsessive over their positions, so this works fine for me.

As for the Submitter function of WPG, you really don't need it. The engines practically ignore all submitted sites in favor of finding them on their own anyway. As long as you have some links pointing to your site from other sites (especially directories), the engines will usually find yours. Or you can use the paid-inclusion programs and submit that way. (As an aside, I've recently started using some paid-inclusion programs, and I've gotta say, you can't beat seeing those top 5 results within a few days of submission!)

By the way, it's not just WPG automated queries that Google doesn't like, it's any automated queries. If you use any software such as SubmitWolf or TopDog, you're going against Google's terms of service and will run the risk of losing your searching privileges. These software products state that Google can't tell the difference between their automated and manual queries, but you know what? Google is pretty darn smart from where I'm sitting...therefore, I wouldn't be too sure!

Hope this helps!

Jill