Keyword Order, Word Count And Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by Shari Thurow, 18 December 2007
Many keyword researchers and copywriters automatically assume that searchers type in a natural word order all of the time. Not so, according to SEO Expert Shari Thurow who explains how accommodating different word orders can bring you a valuable traffic bonus.
Key points
- Word order matters in effective search engine optimization.
- A simple way to communicate word order in web page content is to use locational breadcrumb links.
- 300 words per page is not necessarily the ideal number for a well optimized page.
A professional search engine optimization tool since 1995, Wordtracker has long been one of my favorites for keyword research. I have been able to identify and address design, web site usability, copywriting and search behavior issues because of Wordtracker's search data. Two specific keyword research and copywriting issues I have solved through Wordtracker data are word order and word count.
Keyword Order and SEO
Many keyword researchers and copywriters automatically assume that searchers type in a natural word order all of the time. For example, if a potential customer is researching prices for help desk software, that person might type in the keyword phrase "help desk software prices" (without the quotation marks) directly into a commercial search engine's search box. If one reviews the keyword research data, the keyword phrase "help desk software" is used far more frequently than the keyword phrase "software help desk."
I had a lightbulb moment when I was researching keyword phrases for a mortgage site. One of the core keyword phrases for this client site is "home loans". Of course, the number of searches per month for this particular keyword phrase is high, often over 300,000 searches per month. But I also discovered that over 40,000 searches per month were for the reverse word order, "loans home." I could not ignore the reverse word order in web site copy. The search volume is too high.
One simple way to communicate word order in web page content is to use locational breadcrumb links. Breadcrumb links, also known as contextual links, are a type of secondary navigation aid for web pages. They provide a textual representation of a site's structure, usually a vertical hierarchy of a site. They are quite useful for establishing a "sense of place" for searchers. Reason? When searchers go from a commercial web search engine to a web page, they do not always land on a site's home page. They often land somewhere in the middle of a site. Locational breadcrumb links quickly help searchers establish a mental model of a site's vertical hierarchy. Extra benefit? Effective breadcrumb links use the searchers' language. In other words, effective breadcrumb links should contain important keyword phrases.
On an ecommerce Web site, locational breadcrumb links often have the following format:
Home > Category > Subcategory > Product
On a smaller web site, breadcrumb links might be as simple as:
Home > Category > Product
"How can I accommodate word order in breadcrumb links?" I thought. The mortgage site gave me one answer. I knew that both the singular and plural forms of the word "loan" were important. And I knew that over 40,000 searches per month were too important to ignore. So I came up with the breadcrumb trail:
Home > Loans > Home Loan
As you can see in this breadcrumb trail, I have accommodated the reverse word order and the natural word order. The keywords of the breadcrumb trail are further reinforced by headings, paragraphs, and other content. A qualified, experienced, search-friendly copywriter should know how to categorize and headline content using keywords that don’t act as obnoxious keyword stuffing.
Word Count and SEO
Have you ever wondered where SEO professionals come up with the magic number of at least 200 words per page? Or a keyword density percentage of between 4-8%? Some of these numbers come from analysis of currently ranking web pages. If SEO professionals see an average word count of 300 words in the top 10 results of search engine results pages (SERPs), then they often conclude that 300 is the "magic" number in a search engine algorithm.
Seems logical, doesn't it? Unfortunately, the field of search engine optimization is riddled with many logical fallacies. No one knows a search engine's algorithm no matter how persuasive a sales and technical team might be. I tend to base a page's word count on actual user data. For example, suppose a considerable number of web pages with a word count of between 400-800 words tend to rank well. Does that mean that every single web page should contain 400-800 words? No.
If a web page's content can communicate a full thought or idea, or can describe a product or service, with less than 400 words, then I would not purposely try to add words just to hit an imaginary word count standard. Many web pages which contain fewer than 400 words rank well. Through user testing, I have determined that a 200-250 word web page usually contains enough content to fully and accurately describe a product or service, using the users' language (keywords) and sales hype to encourage searchers to make a purchase or an inquiry.
Word count is not something I obsess about, nor do I overly obsess over keyword density. If a web page passes a five-second usability test, then I know the page is keyword focused.
Conclusion
Keyword research tools offer a wide variety of information about how searchers utilize words. Searchers often type keywords using a word order that might seem odd to a web site owner. But the word order seems perfectly logical to the searchers. By accommodating word order within web site content, search-friendly copywriters can make the products, services, and information on their web sites easier to find, before and after people arrive at their respective web sites.
About Shari Thurow
Shari Thurow, Founder and SEO Director of Omni Marketing Interactive Search Usability is one of the most popular speakers at search engine events throughout the world.
Her style is direct, practical and backed up with extensive experience and this is translated perfectly into print in the second edition of her popular book, “Search Engine Visibility”. The book has an excellent section on planning keyword strategy and gives you a clear direction to follow.
Ideal for developers, designers, programmers, and online marketers.
You can get her book here:
36 comments
Can you tell me what this means :-
If a web page passes a five-second usability test, then I know the page is keyword focused.
It means you are worrying too much about what you read, don't use common sense, and don't use any trial and error to see what works for YOU.
I really like the idea of using the locational breadcrumb links to solve the placement of some unnatural sounding keywords.
Interesting article, but I'm confused by what seems to be contrary to the way "breadcrumb" trails work. Our site has breadcrumb functionality (a StoresOnline e-store feature), but it is configured at the site level and ordered/populated by the path the user takes once entering sub-pages on the site. It sounds like the the technique Shari is suggesting has to "hard-coded" ...
The breadcrumb feature is not hard coded if you use a Content Management System. Any change to breadcrumbs can be made with just a few clicks and text changes in any decent CMS. In the CMS I use for my clients (CMS Made Simple), I can name the breadcrumb anything I want for each page in the site.
This article seems to bring the logic of SEO back to the basic idea of "provide clear and concise content that helps searchers." I love it.
I've used the approach of putting unnatural looking keywords into the breadcrumb navigation line on one of my Websites, and have noticed a great deal of success...
Certainly worth doing!
I believe it's accepted that many search engines place importance of how high a keyword phrase appears in the source code of a page. The use of breadcrumbs also provides the an opportunity of nicely placing your keyword phrases high in the source code.
Great article. I've been using unusual word combos for a while. I often anguish over them for a long time to get them to fit copy and make sense. The bread crumb idea will save me time.
In ASP.NET, the bread crumb is defined in a site map xml file, which can have different descriptions. this can also be defined at runtime, so you could even present a different keyword based on the landing page to make it dynamic. No hard coding required :)
Sorry, but I did not any clue what she is talking about!!!
Great info. I agree that the quality of content is more important than hitting a magic number. Though, you don't want pages bare of words.
Any keyword phrase for which the number of searches per month is high and for which the competition is low is a potentially valuable source of traffic. Only one keyword phrase which is in accordance with what has been previously said could pay off high. However I must say that the number of estimated searches that appears in Wordtracker's 24h column is often too high compared with what happens in reality. In reality the number of searches per day is significantly lower. Also any kind of SEO takes time to show up in search engines. Anyway Wordtracker is irreplaceable tool for any online entrepreneur who wish to attract traffic from search engines
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Interesting article, never thought to utilize "navigation" tools in such a way. Has anyone picked up the book yet? If so, what do you think?
I am really green! Could someone please tell me what a bread crumb is and where it is used?
Awesome suggestion and I use this strat. myself in keyword research, however I have noticed that the client likes to "see" their site ranking for "natural" search terms more often then not ... no matter how hard you try 2 explain the obscene amounts of traffic they can get from the obscure ... just my two sense. Sometimes you just need to tell them to simmer down and wait for "results", i.e. leads, sales, downloads, etc. Happy Holidays!
I can see what she means by using the breadcrumb trail but compared to the overall keyword count on the page, this would be just one other instance. Especially in her exampe if "Loans" is linked and "Home Loans" isn't. (Presumably, Home Loans wouldn't be linked since you are on the page already). I think the more interesting page is one link back. The loans page, that has Home Loans as a link. In general, if you can, putting keywords into your navigation is helpful.
Great article: I adore the simplicity and the creativity. No complicated buzz words. Just plain human logic
I use X-Site Pro and I notice that there is a feature to use Breadcrumbs trail. But I'm not sure exactly what it does, your article is interesting and I would like to know if you have any other info that refers more too specifcally Breadcrumbs.
where is she getting 300,000 searches a month for "home loans"? latest figure I saw from wordtracker is closer to 60,000.
Excellent article. I couldn't agree more with your comments about keyword order and SEO. Wordtracker is definitely one tool that is an absolute necessity for domainers and web publishers. With keyword tool, as with anything --- you get what you pay for.
I agree with Shari Thurow. Importance of word count is to provide enough words which can easily convey the meaning. Only looking at the word count and extending your meaningful article with meaningless keyword stuffed words only hurts visitors who actually go through all that stuff.
An enlightening article. Particularly liked Shari's comments on word count.
The natural word order is not used because searchers refine their searches as they go. For instance, I may search for loans and get commercial realeastat loans. I will then add the word home to the end of my search querie to refine my results. This means that by reversing the order you will be targeting a less competitive sequence of words and targeting users who are tired of searching and want to call the first person they find.
I liked the breadcumb link idea as a way of including keywords without rendering the content nonsensical. I guess a similar idea could be applied in the page content by ending any sentence with "loans" and starting the next sentence with "home". Ewan Kennedy.
nice article, made me think about keyword st...
I never realized people made careers out of word counts and keywords. Next, they'll call SEO a science.
I hadn't thought of using breadcrumming in this way. Thanks for the tip!
Does word count pertain to the actual web page or to the meta content description? Great article, thenks.
I will then add the word home to the end of my search querie to refine my results.
Only one keyword phrase which is in accordance with what has been previously said could pay off high.
Very nice logical and practical information. Even though your eg, 'loans home'seems good to target, but a heading like 'Loans home' will look add? will it not? So how to deal with that? i.e to look visitor attractive.
Great info. I agree that the quality of content is more important than hitting a magic number. Though, you don't want pages bare of words.
Why the keyword density percentage should be 4-8% ? Does higher percentage better? Any comment?
Keyword Order, Word Count And Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Very good article,each link is with a correct anchor text. Good idea.