The Keyword Dilemma : Search Volume vs Grammatical Sense

[Kyle Oliveiro]

Hey Warriors, I've run into this dilemma quite often while selecting a keywords to target. I'm sure many of you have too and I was hoping you could share your thoughts on this.

So I just found a nice product-type keyword (does not contain a brand name) with about 1,000 exacts per month. As I don't want to disclose the actual keyword, I'll use an example keyword, "small dog collar", to refer to it. So, "small dog collar" has a nice search vol. However, it doesn't make grammatical sense. This means that it won't fit nicely into sentences, so writing articles for SEO around the singular form of the phrase will be tough. Also. Smalldogcollars.com sounds much better than smalldogcollar.com.

Problem is, "small dog collars" does not have nearly the same search volume. I checked "best small dog collar" but the search volume is negligible.

What would you do in this situation?

[Kyle Oliveiro]

That's the thing. It's hard to write good content if the keyword you're targeting doesn't flow well with the rest of the article. The singular form will stick out like a sore thumb.

[AmandaT]

You just have to be more creative about how you use it.

I'm having a similar issue right now. My main keyword makes sense but sounds a little odd. I've made it work so far but lately EZA is rejecting my articles for it, which is frustrating.

I've had to work harder and making the keyword flow perfectly into sentences. Sure, you could say something like:

"There are many varieties of small dog collars to choose from."

Or, you could say something like:

"There are many types, but if you consider the needs of your dog, there is sure to be the perfect small dog collar just for him or her."

[Kal Sallam]

If it's wrong grammar doesn't Google automatically Fix that in the search results.

So then your site won't show up becasue Google now has fixed the wrong grammar.

Just a thought ....

[Kyle Oliveiro]

Originally Posted by Kal Sallam

If it's wrong grammar doesn't Google automatically Fix that in the search results.

So then your site won't show up becasue Google now has fixed the wrong grammar.

Just a thought ....

Google fixes misspellings. The keyword in itself isn't misspelled or grammatically wrong, just that it's very difficult to fit into a sentence and have that sentence still make grammatical sense.

[Fraggler]

Originally Posted by Kyle Oliveiro

So, "small dog collar" has a nice search vol. However, it doesn't make grammatical sense.

I went to the shops to look at their small dog collars. I ended up buying a red small dog collar because the blue ones were only available for larger dogs.

If a large amount of people are searching for a term then it will usually make sense when you put it into context. Ask yourself what the searcher is looking for. Small Dog Collar is a type of product and makes perfect sense.

[RaySaj]

Good conversation so though I would add my two mcents worth as it is a problem I have been having as well.

What I tended to do in a couple of instances was put the keyword as a headline as you can short and precise and mark that up as a heading (some people do say headings get indexed quicker)..........

Or as Shawoon98 said use bullets as well...............breaks the copy down as well, more readable if there is a lot of content on the page.....

[outwest]

when will you guys ever learn that EMDs are not as amazing for SEO as you think they are
it does not matter

Also do not forget to use LSI type of structure on the blog posts
do not just focus on your kw, that looks strange to google

go google LSI if you are not familiar with it,
its something we all need to learn and become good at.............its VERY important
more important or equally I should say, as important , as KW in title, kw in H1, tags, header, desc, etc