Meta tag keywords with the same words in them.
-
I'm updating some older pages and was wondering about potential penalties from having keywords that start with the same phrase. It's a geographic area so there is the "full name" and the abbreviated name. I'd like to have keywords for both.
For example:
virginia beach, va beach, virginia beach attraction, virginia beach things to do, va beach attraction, va beach things to do, virginia beach dolphins tour, va beach dolphins tour
Is that spammy? I understand they don't have the same weight as they used to but I'd like to optimize for them anyway since I'm redoing some things.
Thanks in advance.
-
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the time and effort each of you spent helping a newbie. I will stop using them completely.
-
Forgive me, I'm a little confused by your post title. To be clear, are you referring to <meta name="keywords" ...>which would contain a list of all of the keyword referenced within the page?</meta name="keywords" ...>
- If you are, you should know that Google drove a stake through the heart of that abomination years ago. Yahoo and Bing weren't paying much attention (if any) to these as of a few years ago, so this practice can be safely abandoned.
Meta Title and Meta Description are of value to users and a correctly titled page will give you some SEO benefit, so use these in accordance with these guidelines:
https://mza.bundledseo.com/learn/seo/title-tag
https://mza.bundledseo.com/learn/seo/meta-description
If you are simply referring to the keywords within the body of your page, I recommend treating your copy as though it were conversation with a prospective customer; if you keep endlessly repeating the same thing in slightly different ways they're going to ignore you at first and then, if you persist, actively avoid you. So what you need to say without trying to say the same thing a thousand different ways; it's a huge turn off for visitors and Google will not reward you for it. That's not to say you can't repeat the phrase a couple of times throughout the copy, with a few slight variations on a theme, but don't labour the point. Read your copy out loud - if you start to annoy yourself (or others) you know you've overdone it. Less is more.
And give Google credit; it's smart. There really is no need to endlessly feed it every variant going. Google have invested huge sums of money in getting smarter and semantic search (https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101-semantic-search-care/119760/) is a big part of that. I'd drop VA altogether (apart from the odd mention in a page or two - if it justified it because it added clarity and stick with 'Virginia Beach', building the main thrust/theme the site (or section of the site) around that, with separate pages for each specific activity or article focus 'dolphin tour' etc. Google will work it out without the need for you to shout at them.
Keep the end user at the forefront of your thinking when you're building your site, answer their questions, scratch their itches, and you'll be rewarded.
Use your keywords appropriately not repetitively, regardless of the context.
Good luck!
Note to self: I must write quicker replies, two other people answered this while I was writing this!
-
Hello Stephen,
A few years ago Matt Cutts said that google does not take into acount the meta keywords tag.
Here the youtube video: Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web rankingI have no information about being penalized for using that tag with keywords like that.
Honestly, very few sites uses them. And some SEOs consider that there is no risk other than your competitor knowing what your keywords are.Best Luck.
GR -
It's not that they don't have the same weight - they have no weight, Stephen. Don't waste your time on them.
(In fact, you'll just be making it even easier for your competition to grab lists of the keywords you're targeting.)
Paul
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Each page with a different meta description?
each page on my website represents a different department, can I program the header to show a different meta description on each page or should there only be 1 meta description tag per domain?
On-Page Optimization | | RonnieT0 -
H1 tags are ok for my website?
Please review the H1 tags for my website and let me know if they are ok or I need to change them? Website - brandstenmedia.com.au
On-Page Optimization | | Green.landon0 -
What are "stop" words in Title Tags?
My client is following his GoDaddy SEO Checklist, and it is reporting 5 errors in Title Tags, saying the Titles contain "stop" words. I can't figure out what these are. Any ideas?
On-Page Optimization | | cschwartzel0 -
Keyword density
hi there! to what extent is important "the keyword density" factor in the website optimization? I've read in the net that it's no more relevant but I'm not sure. In case has an impact in the SERPs, is there a % considered as appropiate or "reference" in the SEO world? Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | juanmiguelcr0 -
Which title tag would you choose?
Target terms: Flower Pots, Plastic Flower Pots (in order of importance) Title tags: 1. Flower Pots - Plastic Flower Pots for Gardening with Free Delivery
On-Page Optimization | | Bondara
2. Flower Pots - Plastic Flower Pots with Free Delivery
3. Flower Pots - Plastic Flower Pots from [Brand] Which one would you choose and why? If you want to produce another type please do but explain why you think yours is better than the above. Thanks0 -
When Adding content to the site. Should I use the same keyword term on each page or select a secondary keyword to focus on?
I have created a site www.autoinsurancefremontca.com. The index page is SEO for the key term auto insurance fremont ca. I want to add more content on another page of this site. Should I have that page also SEO'd for the same keyword or should I pick another keyword to focus on?
On-Page Optimization | | Greenpeak0 -
How to fix keyword self-cannibalization?
page in question: www.bison-builders.com/lots-plans/bison-meadows-lots-1-6/ This page is the landing page for 6 custom home lots, available via Bison Builders. I fixed the overstuffing of 'Bison Meadows', it was on all image title, alt, etc. Should be right around 15. We are using 'Bison Meadows' as a keyword, because that's the name of the custom community. I don't want to change the names of the links, and I don't want to change the name of the keyword. How do I fix this self-cannibalization? FYI, I was thinking of directing all canonical URLs for individual pages to this page, but will wait til I know how to fix this first... Thank you! Avoid Keyword Self-Cannibalization Easy fix <dl> <dt>Cannibalizing link</dt> <dd>"Bison Meadows Lot 1", "Bison Meadows Lot 2", "Bison Meadows Lot 3", "Bison Meadows Lot 4", "Bison Meadows Lot 5", and "Bison Meadows Lot 6"</dd> <dt>Explanation</dt> <dd>It's a best practice in SEO to target each keyword with a single page on your site (sometimes two if you've already achieved high rankings and are seeking a second, indented listing). To prevent engines from potentially seeing a signal that this page is not the intended ranking target and creating additional competition for your page, we suggest staying away from linking internally to another page with the target keyword(s) as the exact anchor text. Note that using modified versions is sometimes fine (for example, if this page targeted the word 'elephants', using 'baby elephants' in anchor text would be just fine).</dd> <dt>Recommendation</dt> <dd>Unless there is intent to rank multiple pages for the target keyword, it may be wise to modify the anchor text of this link so it is not an exact match.</dd> </dl> <a class="more expanded">Minimize</a>
On-Page Optimization | | IngridWood0 -
Exact keyword or partial match?
Hello, SEOmoz What would you chose for your keywords for on page optimization: sterling silver necklaces sterling silver necklaces, silver necklaces I am thinking that choice #1 would full fill it's duty, because all key words are there already, am I right?
On-Page Optimization | | DiamondJewelryEmpire0