different meanings to the same keyword

[n14charlie]

Hey guys

I'm about to target this keyword which presents me with kind of an issue I'm wondering about, the keyword has two meanings, most people search for one meaning of that keyword but my site is going to be about the other, I've analyzed the top 3 and I think I can "beat" them SEO-wise but I'm not sure how will the fact that most people who search for that term don't want to find my site (because they are aiming for the other meaning of the keyword)

an interesting issue to my newbie ass - can someone shed some light?

thanks upfront

[dburk]

Hi n14charlie,

Targeting ambiguous keywords is like paddling a canoe upstream. You work hard but you don't get far.

It might be better to target a 2 word (or more) keyword that adds clarity to the ambiguous term. Extreme relevance in keyword selection is a fundamental principle of getting targeted traffic. Ignore it at your own peril.

[n14charlie]

hi thanks for your input.
My term is 2 words, but anyway can you explain why I should avoid doing so? is it because I won't be able to rank high as a result of people leaving my site as soon as they enter it?

[Kauzmo]

People will bounce right off your site as soon as they realize it wasn't what they are looking for.

[n14charlie]

is there money to be made when people just view your site once? (not clicking any ads)

[Kauzmo]

I think it would be extremely hard to make money that way.

[Atmos]

Like some of the others said, an ambiguous keyword (keywords) can make it difficult to get relevant traffic to your site. The ads on your site will most likely relate to your keyword meaning, not the other. So when people click on your site, they will bounce right back to google because your site holds no relevance to what they were actually looking for. So few people will click the ads most likely. It would probably be best to find some new keywords. But track the clicks anyway. Perhaps it might work better than expected.

[dminorfmajor]

If you're still going to try this route, I think your best bet is to throw a couple of AdSense blocks on your site, near the top of the page and at the start of the content. Maybe a text block near the top and an image block in the content.

This way, if the unintentional visitors get there, they might be swayed away via clicking your AdSense earning you a little money.

[realmaverick]

Google understands context. Lets say for example Apple. It's a fruit but it's also a brand.

If somebody searches "Apple" then sure, it would be an issue. But they would likely search for Apple iPhone, Problems with my Apple iMac etc etc

Or if they wanted the fruit, they'd search Fresh Apples, Green Apples, Red Apples etc.

The context is what helps Google deliver the correct results.

Hope that helps.

[ldfreeman]

i also question just going after ONE keyword?

for example if your keyword is furniture. don't just go after the big keyword. break it down to the most specific like ashley brown leather sofa. now you can target many more descriptors with many more keywords.

at the minimum you should plan on having several hundred highly targeted keywords for your market. try google keyword suggestion tool for some other ides.

NEVER put all your eggs in one basket (aka keyword)!!!