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Default SEO: should I focus my site around one single keyword?

by Joe Ox
16 replies
  • SEO
    • |
(I don't know why it says "default" Seo since I didnt type it in)

I've never used SEO to attract traffic as I'm used to other methods, but since I'm writing lots of articles lately I thought it might be worthy to learn some SEO as well.

In my niche there are two main keywords.

If I focus every article of my site on one single keyword am I more likely to get ranked for that keyword? (Note that I don't write for SEO but for my readers and when I say focus on a keyword I mean that I mention it a couple of times in the article - if I wasn't focusing I wouldn't mention it at all).

Or you would suggest me to split my site and focus half articles on one kw and the other half on the other kw?

thx
#default #focus #keyword #seo #single #site
  • Profile picture of the author Backlinko
    Definitely don't make your entire site around a single keyword. That's as spammy as it gets.

    I prefer to pick a short tail for my homepage...and target a long tail with an article/blog post.

    In other words, look like a real, legit site that covers a wide range of topics within a niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author nik0
    Banned
    I understand what you mean.

    You can go multiple ways here but often it's easier with 1 keyword indeed.

    For example:

    Main keyword: Loans

    Categories:

    - Payday loans
    - Personal loans
    - Loans with bad credit

    Posts:

    - Where can I find a reliable payday loans supplier
    - Payday loans with low interest
    - etc.

    See the whole site stays focused on 1 keyword: Loans, and that way you build a good relevancy.

    Obvious do use varied anchor txt's, you can not use the word "loans" solely, you also need to use variations and your url/domain name as anchor txt to avoid over optimization.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joe Ox
      Originally Posted by nik0 View Post

      you also need to use variations and your url/domain name as anchor txt to avoid over optimization.
      My domain name is not a keyword domain name. When I bought it I had no idea how important narrowing my niche was and I now have a domain name pretty generic not specifically related with what my blog is about.

      Is there any way I can compensate this disadvantage? (I'm using wordpress if this makes any difference).
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      • Profile picture of the author nik0
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Joe Ox View Post

        My domain name is not a keyword domain name. When I bought it I had no idea how important narrowing my niche was and I now have a domain name pretty generic not specifically related with what my blog is about.

        Is there any way I can compensate this disadvantage? (I'm using wordpress if this makes any difference).
        Even if it's a disadvantage it's an extremely tiny disadvantage so nothing to worry about. It's still good to use the domain name as anchor txt to make it appear natural for Google, as most people link to a site using either the domain name or url as anchor txt.

        It could even benefit you to have a non kw domain name as you automatically prevent your self from getting over optimized in case some posts go's viral and everyone starts to link with the domain name keyword, now that's nothing to worry about.
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  • Profile picture of the author gearmonkey
    No, always mix up your keywords and anchor texts.
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  • Profile picture of the author germoney
    I started an experiment not long ago and built a site with about 60 pages (1000 words per article) and absolutely did not focus on keywords. I called it "topics" and "subtopics" and outsourced the whole content. The result was that I got about 1k visitors per day after a while. This shew me that the most important part is the content, not the keywords...
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    • Profile picture of the author indiana jones
      Originally Posted by germoney View Post

      I started an experiment not long ago and built a site with about 60 pages (1000 words per article) and absolutely did not focus on keywords. I called it "topics" and "subtopics" and outsourced the whole content. The result was that I got about 1k visitors per day after a while. This shew me that the most important part is the content, not the keywords...
      1k visitors per day from content without links? Hard to believe...
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  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    Seems a bit self-limiting to me...
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  • Profile picture of the author dome
    You can do that, Focusing for single keyword is what usually all sites do BUT never overdo it.
    Say, if your site/blog is about "payday loan" you can mention "payday loan" couple of time. BUT Never underestimate power of long tail keyword that driver EXTRA traffic to your site. say, sometime you can use "Payday loan online" or "Instant payday loan" etc.

    When it comes to link building, you have to take care of Anchor text diversification. Never Link Your Site with just one "Anchor text" though while writing article of 500 word you can mention your Main keyword "COUPLE" of time.

    Anchor text diversification:
    40% main keyword
    30% long tail keywords
    20% Generic keywords like "click here" "read more" "good website" "website"
    10% naked URL. (link with No anchor text)

    Good Luck!~
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    • Profile picture of the author germoney
      Originally Posted by dome View Post

      Anchor text diversification:
      40% main keyword
      30% long tail keywords
      20% Generic keywords like "click here" "read more" "good website" "website"
      10% naked URL. (link with No anchor text)

      Good Luck!~
      Yes this point is important, but there are many different "percentages" floating around. Many people make more than 40% just the "naked" URL...
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    • Profile picture of the author nik0
      Banned
      Originally Posted by dome View Post


      Anchor text diversification:
      40% main keyword
      30% long tail keywords
      20% Generic keywords like "click here" "read more" "good website" "website"
      10% naked URL. (link with No anchor text)

      Good Luck!~
      Pretty bad advice, 40% is way too high for the main keyword, especially when the domain is an EMD but even without that it's way too high.

      A safer dividing would be:

      40% naked url in different styles like with www and without and with http:// etc
      20% domain name (but in case of EMD I would stick to max 10%)
      10% main keyword
      20% long tail keywords
      10% generic keywords

      This is kind of based on the back link profile of large legit sites, although those don't even use 10% main keyword as they often don't focus on 1 main kw at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author nadeemajeedch
    don't focus at one keywords , i highly recommend you to focus at one topics or similar topic. just for example , if any one wanna to make a car review sites then its best to cover all good and well known car brands rather then to focus at one model car or one brand. different article but same topic with wide range words is recommended .
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  • Profile picture of the author IamGrace
    I recommend using different keywords; because you can easily be found on search engines in that way, this is what I do when I write some contents for this particular website. But all the keywords are somehow related to one another, they are all related to one niche. You can try to use the Keyword Tool to get some keyword ideas that could prompt your ad.
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  • Profile picture of the author mulesmurf
    Originally Posted by Joe Ox View Post

    (I don't know why it says "default" Seo since I didnt type it in)

    I've never used SEO to attract traffic as I'm used to other methods, but since I'm writing lots of articles lately I thought it might be worthy to learn some SEO as well.

    In my niche there are two main keywords.

    If I focus every article of my site on one single keyword am I more likely to get ranked for that keyword? (Note that I don't write for SEO but for my readers and when I say focus on a keyword I mean that I mention it a couple of times in the article - if I wasn't focusing I wouldn't mention it at all).

    Or you would suggest me to split my site and focus half articles on one kw and the other half on the other kw?

    thx
    Joe OX,
    Most buying begins with a search. I guess if you don't study SEO you would end up asking a question that really means..."How many keywords" do I need to rank for in the search engines?

    By the way that most people talk about it especially the people selling the shiny objects, you get the idea it is 1, or a very low number. The number IS NOT LOW!

    I have studied successful sites and they pull traffic from 1,000 to 2,500 keywords. Where they actually focused on 20% of them So thats how an SEO site is setup.

    Google has turned away from EMD's or Exact Match Domains, but Yahoo and Bing have not. You only use that for special circumstances as what you want is a broad site with lots of keywords bringing traffic. Also, if you have a keyword match domain, it likely will not pay for itself. You would need several, and the broad based domains as well.

    As far as SEO. Umm, if you are using Wordpress you are in luck. Get the free plugin called Wordpress SEO by Yoast. This will keep you focused. You said, "OH, I write for my customers". This is a bad way to think. You need customers that can find you via keywords. I listened to Rob Fore last nite, (a friend of mine) and he is a top pro. He said, if he can't write a blog to get people to his site, what is the purpose of writing on the blog? It would be a WASTE OF TIME!

    So write with a purpose, and the SEO by Yoast will help you. Most people do not focus so well on their writing, and lose value by doing SEO worse than they need to. Try it the right way.

    Good Luck
    mulesmurf
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