Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Google Keyword Tool: What is considered a unique keyword?
-
I'm trying to research keywords using Google's Keyword Tool. After looking at results, I have the following questions:
1. Does singular/plurals of a word count as two different keywords to Google (ie: photobooth and photobooths)? Would I need to have a unique page targeting each word or will one page on my site be sufficient for targeting both?
2. I've noticed that different variations of keywords have the same global monthly search results. This leads me to believe that Google see's all of them as one keyword. ie: "photo booth props" and "props for a photo booth" and "props with photo booth", all have 22,200 search global monthly search resluts. On the other hand "moustache prop" and "prop moustache" have different global monthly search results (480 and 590). Can anyone explain this?
-
Thanks! That answers it!
-
In regards to question #2, make sure you have Exact Match enabled. The default setting is Broad Match, which groups all related keyword together.
In the left sidebar, look for the drop down that says "Match Types". Uncheck the box marked "Broad", and check the box marked "[Exact]". This will give you the search volume for the exact keywords that you typed in.
For example, using your examples, "photo booth props" has an exact global search volume of 5,400 while "props for a photo booth" only has 36 searches.
-
Answer to your first question. Yes plural and singular count as two different keywords. However, if you implement the plural form of the keyword you will also be using the singular form of the keyword, as normally the plural of a keywords just means to add an "S" (i.e. Best Developer and Best Developers are considered two different keywords but the plural of the keyword still exists within the phrase so it can end up counting as two different keywords).
In answer to your second question, these different keywords may have the same global monthly search but the priority in search ranking will go to the one that matches the search query the closest. So if you have "photo booth props" and "props for a photo booth" but someone is searching for "props with photo booth", the person who has that exact match will normally rank higher than the previous two keywords associated with your site. However, there are exceptions, such as a site that has major authority on photo booths might rank for the keywords solely based on authority.
I hope this helps.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Is it a bad idea to hyphenate keywords?
Hello, my understanding was that Google reads hyphens in keywords as spaces, but if that's accurate how come keywords with hyphens that I research with Keyword Explorer — for instance, hospital-acquired infections — rank lower when I include the hyphen? If the hyphen hurts SEO, do I have to remove them all from the blog or page in question? Removing hyphens means a blog or page will have punctuation errors, which is irritating to an editor, but I don't want to sacrifice the effectiveness of keywords, either. Thanks, in advance, for your response!
Keyword Research | | SallieJ0 -
Tool for wildcard keyword suggestions
Like others, I have also been oblivious to the options which were uncovered in this article, using stars or underscores to uncover more keywords suggestions. However, I am trying to find a way to avoid the manual labour. Did any of you find a successful tool that automatically adds all the possible combinations of these wildcards to give a comprehensive lists of suggestions? I am looking for a tool that also included my country (.nl).
Keyword Research | | Entertainment0 -
Keywords with no search volume
Hi there! What are your thoughts on optimizing pages for keywords that have no search volume (using the Keyword Planner)? I'm not sure it should be done, since optimizing for keywords that no one searches for is kind of useless, right? Or should I do it hoping that sometime in the future the keyword will have a surge on searches? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | sararufo0 -
The same keyword on multiple pages, but not all (combined with other relevant keywords) for products.
Hi Guys, I want to get an opinion/advice on this. My client has a site that have all their products (I am working on expanding the product descriptions, benefits and how they differ from each other) listed and I just want to know if I can use the term 'gear oil' for example on multiple pages as one of the keywords. The product range (among others like transmission fluid and anti-freeze) is gear oil (with the different types of gear oils available described) and I can't really change what the product is. I do have different variations (such as gear lubricant, automotive gear lubricant, car gear oil etc.) but will it do damage if I use the same keyword (like gear oil) on multiple pages (along with another relevant keyword that does not involve the words gear oil)? Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!
Keyword Research | | annabel.schoeman0 -
Ignore keywords that have no data in the Google Keyword Tool?
Hello, There are some keywords that have no monthly search data in the Google Keyword Tool. In many cases, this is because there have been very few searches for the keyword. Would you recommend focusing on other keywords that do have search data in the Google Keyword Tool? Perhaps focusing too far out on the long tail of search results can be less productive than focusing on keywords that have proven that at least some people care about them. What do you think? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | nyc-seo0 -
Adding qualifiers to keywords?
I know that it's worth adding qualifiers to high value keywords to create long-tail variations which will later have the potential to rank well for the main keyword as well... My questions is, how important is it that the newly-formed keyword/phrase also be evaluated for search volume? E.g. "tips for job interviews" has a high search volume, but scores 72 in the Keyword Difficulty tool - quite high. I would therefore be tempted to create a "10 tips for job interviews" articles or something similar, yet THIS particular phrase is searched for <10 times per month... If there are not any easy-to-find qualifiers that also create a well-searched for keyword/phrase, is it still worth adding them?
Keyword Research | | staingurus0 -
How do you optimize for compound keywords
What is the best way to handle keywords like "switchplate covers"? The key word may be seen as either a 2 or 3 word phrase, depending how you handle the compound term: "switch plate" or "switchplate" In google KW it shows different results for switch plate vs switchplate as well as using cover vs covers. I've tried using all the variations in my descriptions, titles and H2s but I think this is diluting them all. Can anyone show me best practice guidelenes or examples of good solutions to these kinds of compound key words? Thanks Handcrafter
Keyword Research | | stephenfishman0 -
How does Google treat the symbols ® and ™ if they are part of keyword?
For example: As a keyword, is "Cisco®" the same as "Cisco"? I tried a couple of things to find out: 1. I put both keywords in Google adwords tool. Google displayed search volume data only for Cisco. That means it ignores the ® symbol. 2. I typed in Cisco® and Cisco in Google search. of SERPs are the same. And the first page results are almost same excpet for Google Places listings. Based on above two observations, I think that Google treats Cisco® and Cisco in the same manner. So if we optimize a page for Cisco®, we will get benefit for the keyword Cisco as well. Does anybody has any other experience? (Note: the keyword used here(Cisco) is just an example. Thanks, Supriya.
Keyword Research | | Amjath0
