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.
Primary versus secondary keyword
-
Hello,
Can someone give a example of what primary and secondary keywords are and how to implement that in a sentence ?
Thank you,
-
Hi seoanalytics
I have spent hours trying to help you on this thread and the other two or three you have started! I have patiently answered every question you have asked, in detail. If you still don't understand what I am saying after acres and acres of help and advice then that's it from me.
https://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/community/q/sentences-rdf-format
https://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/community/q/asking-a-natural-question-in-h-tags
https://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/community/q/bolded-words-in-search-results
https://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/community/q/user-intent-and-ranking
This comment is simply idiotic, but more than that it is insulting:
"I have more chances of winning the lottery than ranking..."
Please don't bother me again.
Have a good weekend.
Nigel
-
I am trying but let's be honest I have more chances of winning the lottery than ranking...
It is a matter of what words goes with which word surrounded by other words and only the computer know that, doesn't it ?
In the past I managed to get from 3 rd page to 3 rd position on a requested keyword just by adding 3 lines of text and the reason was just that the words used correlated well with the other words but honestly this was luck.
If someone has a technic that works that isn't luck I can't wait to hear it

-
I have no idea what Alchemy API is.
No, write your own content with your own researched keywords.
-
How about I I used alchemy api and use all the keywords of someone ranking 1 st to write my text, could it also work ?
-
Hi seoanalytics
I think you get the idea. I'm not saying that tablet is a perfect synonym for laptop but I think you do understand what I am saying!
Good luck with it
Regards
Nigel
-
Thank you for sharing the link about rank brain.
I do understand that it isn't necessary to pepper my content with all the possiblity semantically connected keywords are it won't look natural. However, from what I understand the idea is still to use those semantically connected keyword but naturally.
For example about Laptop chargers if I wrote a sentence like this would ok ? I have used semantically related keyword such as voltage, battrary, tablet and transformer.
"Laptop charger come with different voltages, 110 and 220. Once you have selected the battery that matches the voltage of your tablet you are good to go. If you can't find the correct voltage by a transformer and then plug it in. "
-
Hi seoanalytics
The whole area of primary and secondary keywords (or Keyphrases) has largely been overtaken by Google's new Rankbrain AI system of determining themes and relevancy. So don't think in terms of these terms - also please don't listen to anyone focusing too heavily on LSI's as these have mostly been debunked as a load of flannel used by SEO's to impress, although leading SEO Brian Dean still insists that they have some effect on SEO. If you start researching LSI's you will end up in a rabbit hole from which you will never emerge! to advise - 'use your primary keyword a couple of times is nonsense'.
Think of your website like this:
Each page represents a theme - for example as Alick300 has used 'Laptop chargers' You need to think about writing chunky, relevant content around the term 'Laptop Chargers' but you do not need to mention every 'secondary keyword' you can think of to pepper the text with. Write compelling copy using semantically connected words like batteries within the content.
By all means, search related terms like batteries, tablets and transformers (are they still a thing?) but if you think in the way of 'Primary keywords' and 'secondary keywords' you will risk overusing certain terms, not having free-flowing writing and turning your intended customer into a brief visitor. Think of the use of synonyms as well - (the Bike/Bicycle analogy is a good one).
Modern SEO is about writing semantically connected and lexically relevant content in such a way that you engage your website visitor and ultimately convert them into customers. The more you engage, the longer the 'dwell time' and the more you satisfy user intent.
Have a read of Brian's latest post on Rankbrain - it's pretty brilliant and you should come away inspired!
https://backlinko.com/google-rankbrain-seo
There is no way of outsmarting Google by determining and hoofing in endless keywords and phrases. Modern content needs to be well written with perfect grammar and spelling and theme focused.
Also, break it down into easily readable chunks - this helps the user to stay engaged as opposed to being lost in long paragraphs. Pretty much like I have here.
Use Google search box to help and 'related search terms' at the bottom of the page to find semantically related phrases.
I hope this helps,
Regards
Nigel
-
Great answer Alick300! I would also add that the primary keyword and secondary keywords (sometimes referred to as LSI keywords) should all work together to help the search intent of the user. Writing longer, quality content that naturally uses your primary keyword a couple times and a ton of secondary keywords that still relate to your primary is a great way to get a page ranked quicker than normal.
For example if your a handyman that wants to rank for electrician + "your city", it's helpful to talk about electrical repairs, panel installations, electrical service, house wiring, etc. integrating this secondary keywords into your page not only helps your ranking for electrician + "your city", but also electrical repairs + "your city", panel installations + "your city", etc.
-
Hi,
Primary keywords are the main keywords for which you want to rank. You are optimizing this keyword so that you can rank in Search engines. e.g Laptop chargers has the highest search volume
Secondary keywords mean those keywords which plays supporting role.
E.g Laptop batteries and chargers and Universal laptop chargers
Hope this helps.
Thanks
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
-
Can subdomains hurt your primary domain's SEO?
Our primary website https://domain.com has a subdomain https://subDomain.domain.com and on that subdomain we have a jive-hosted community, with a few links to and fro. In GA they are set up as different properties but there are many SEO issues in the jive-hosted site, in which many different people can create content, delete content, comment, etc. There are issues related to how jive structures content, broken links, etc. My question is this: Aside from the SEO issues with the subdomain, can the performance of that subdomain negatively impact the SEO performance and rank of the primary domain? I've heard and read conflicting reports about this and it would be nice to hear from the MOZ community about options to resolve such issues if they exist. Thanks.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | BHeffernan1 -
How does Yoast SEO premium determine prominent keywords?
We are perplexed how Yoast determines which keywords to select on the page when ranking the top 5 prominent words in Insights. For example, we have a page where birthday parties is clearly the primary keyword. It is used an an H2, in body copy and tagged on images. Yet it does not show up at all. The term 20 Fiesta game points ranks #1. It is mentioned one time on the page in a bullet within one of 5-6 blocks. 40 Fiesta game points ranks 3rd and same situation. Waterpark ranks 4th and is mentioned twice on the page as a bullet of featured activities. But there ar 4-5 other attractions listed in the bullets higher? We have looked as tutorial videos and no one mentions how Yoast determines prominent keywords. Thanks in advance for steering us in the right direction.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Teamzig0 -
Advanced SEO - What would you do after you run out of keywords?
Hello! Our company has been growing in terms of traffic and ranking well for a couple of years but we are now kind of stagnating because we just don't know what to do next. We have a good blog - and with our blogs, we have been targeting all major keywords with their related keywords as a bucket. - "keyword theme / page" for a long time. But it seems we now don't have any major keyword theme to write about. What is worse is that we don't see any traffic growth since 2014 September. (although we added many good blogs) So what would do you when you run out of keywords? or keyword themes? Would you just keep pumping in more blogs and hope that you get more clicks? or at some point, you just don't care about keywords and write whatever relevant to your site? Wouldn't it hurt our site if we create similar keyword themed pages? (like regurgitating our keywords?) or even same keyword targeting pages? You must have similar experience if you are an owner of a niche site. Can you please share your experience with this kind of headaches? Thank you and look forward to your comments.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | joony3 -
No matter what the keyword, only the homepage shows in the SERP
Hi, wondered if someone could help. My clients website shows up well for terms but its always the homepage rather than the targeted landing page. For example, if you search for "teeth whitening anglesey" they appear http://goo.gl/ohJdua however, its the homepage rather than the tooth whitening page http://goo.gl/uVI8gK Thanks Ade
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | popcreativeltd0 -
Importing Keyword Planner Data into Excel?
What is the most efficient way to import search volume information into excel? We have 130K keywords that we need search volume information for.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | nicole.healthline0 -
Primary Domain or Redirect?
We are starting a new travel guide for a resort town. I have bought an expired domain with decent related links and PR (which seems to have survived the transfer (4 months ago). Beofre we launch the new site I am trying to decide if we should use this expired domain as the primary URL for the new site or just do a permanent redirect and buy a new domain that better matches the theme of the site. I am obviously concerned with starting from scatch with a new domain. I am confident we can build some good rellevant links in a short time but this space is very competetive. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Locals0 -
Exact keyword URL or not?
Hi all, I have a quick question about the proper use of permalinks. Let's say that I have a website about sports and I want to create an internal page dedicated to shoes. I know that the keyword "shoe" has 15.000 monthly visits, while the keyword "shoes" has 1.000 monthly visits. How do I have to name the internal page? http://www.example.com/shoe or http://www.example.com/shoes (with a final 's')? I would think that by naming the URL http://www.example.com/shoes, the search engine would consider that page for the keywords "shoe" and "shoes", but I am not sure about it. Should I create a URL that only focuses on one specific keyword ("shoe", in this example) or a URL that may encompass more than one keyword ("shoe" and "shoes")? I hope this is clear. Thank you for your time and help. All best, Sal
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | salvyy0 -
Subdomains for niche related keywords
I wanted to know how efficient using a subdomain is, taking in consideration all the updates Google has made lately. I am looking to use a subdomain for a well branded website for a niche specific part of their website. The subdomain will end-up having more than 100 pages. I'd like to see in what cases do you guys recommend using a subdomain? How to get the same benefit out of a subdomain as i am getting from the actual main domain?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | CMTM0