11 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
11 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Google With Quotes VS Without?

by Long Beach Nathan
9 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi, quick question. I know I should know this by now, and I searched the forums for this first, but what is the difference between typing a phrase into Google (or any other engine) without quotes, and tying it with quotes? I'm asking this because I seem to remember watching an article marketing tutorial and the guy said something like "When you search with quotes, that's how you can see what your competition would be for that phrase". Now I'm just wanting to understand what the difference is. Thanks.
#google #quotes
  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    When you put quotes around the words it gives you exact matches. When you don't you get results based on any and all words in any combination.

    For instance your subject line in quotes gets only two results, both pointing to this thread. The same subject line..... Google with quotes VS Without? gets almost 7,000,000 returns.
    Signature
    "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2566650].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kim Davis
    It brings up websites that have that exact phrase in it exactly the way you typed it in.
    Signature
    Spinner-Ready Article - 100's of 95% Unique Average Articles – [Weight Loss Niche]

    Affiliate Marketing Jump Start Here

    Hire A Ghostwriter - eBooks - Rewrites - Articles
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2566655].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Fraggler
    In regards to competition, some people believe that the number of results returned by google using the phrase match will give you an idea of how people are optimised for that term.

    I personally believe this is very misleading as regardless off how many people are chasing a keyword, if the top 10 are tough, you won't get on that page unless you can beat them.
    Signature

    - Stop Wasting Time & Money on Traffic!
    - You Can't Improve What You Don't Measure
    - Why You Should Create Separate Desktop and Mobile Google Adwords Campaigns
    Connect with me on LinkedIn
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2566664].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Vincenzo Oliva
    If you put in the search...How to train your puppy, you get 3.4 million results and it shows all indexed sites that have the words "Puppy" + "train" "training" on the site in any sequence.

    If you type "How to train your puppy" you see a closer representation of the competition for that exact phrase in that exact order, using those exact words, about 240k.

    Further examination would be allintitle:"how to train your puppy" which brings back only 1040 results. Those would be your smart competitors who know they need their keyword phrase in their title for optimal rankings. Those are your competitors.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2566732].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Long Beach Nathan
      Alright, thanks everyone. I understand now
      Signature
      Need Music For Your Videos, Podcasts, Sites, etc? Get It Now On My YouTube Channel!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2568190].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
        Hi

        I'm a bit confused now I thought it was like this...

        pink elephant = Broad Match
        "pink elephant" = Phrased Match
        [pink elephant] = Exact Match

        So with broad it could appear anywhere in any order for example-that elephant has a pink handbag, phrased can contain other words but the words are in order for example-that pink elephant is huge and exact is, well, exact for example-pink elephant.

        Is that right?
        Signature

        Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2568332].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Fraggler
    That's spot-on, Richard.

    You can't do a search for an exact phrase though. I don't think there would be many websites that say nothing but - pink elephant.

    Exact is used just for search numbers.

    Phrase can be used in a regular search to produce more specific results.
    Signature

    - Stop Wasting Time & Money on Traffic!
    - You Can't Improve What You Don't Measure
    - Why You Should Create Separate Desktop and Mobile Google Adwords Campaigns
    Connect with me on LinkedIn
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2569716].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author clickbumped
    I'd typically use without quotes because people usually don't search with quotes. Yes, it gives you exact matches, but that's only for starting up to see your competition. I like to be realistic and stay with the majority.
    Signature

    *I am not Scott Blanchard. I just thought this name was cool. =p

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2569745].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jordan Kovats
    Even I never knew about the square brackets...you learn something new everyday...if you want to.
    Signature
    Travel Insurance
    Term Insurance Quote
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2569903].message }}

Trending Topics