Keyword/Content Consistency

[blackrino]

My question is: If you have a keyword that is searched more when it's spelled wrong then when it's spelled right - what do you do? Do you do the misspelled word or keep true to the spelling and say oh well to SEO?

Also - Along the same lines of that question: What if you have a keyword that has a - in the middle of it. For instance: website and web-site (this isn't the keyword just an example). and drupal website is searched more then drupal web-site but wordpress web-site is searched more then wordpress website. Technically website is the correct spelling and way to write it, but people put web-site (again not the case in reality - just an example).

[alsvik]

I've noticed that google does include hits with "website" when you search for "web-site" - and Google Keyword tool give them same number of searches on the two spellings - so i wouldnt do anything extraordinary to "fix" this issue.

We have actually included a mispelled word in our keywords (i know: very low impact or none) but we see a great deal of customers spelling i.e. Gran Canaria as Grand Canaria og Gran Carina.

If i write "Travels for Gran Ca..." (in my native language) Google suggest "Travels for Gran Carina" ... So we included it in the keyword list. But i have no idea what best practice is!

[blackrino]

I said that it wasn't the keyword issue I was having - I was using it as an example. The issue is more of a general question. If you have a word that is suppose to be spelled with a "-" but more people search without, should you do the proper thing and put the - or do it without to go after high searched keywords? it's also a consistency question too. Sometimes different forms of that keyword are used, so should you use the "-" throughout or do whatever the best keyword is. Is user experience and consistency more important than SEO?

[alsvik]

I think i have already answered your question!

At least in terms of what we do ... but i dont know what "best practice" is.

And BlackRino, maybe it is just a language-thing, but both your replies seems rude. I'm trying to help you, not to annoy you

I'm sure, as long as the topic stays unanswered, that others will join the discussion and that you eventually will find a fulfilling answer. Good luck

Regards, Alsvik

[katemorris]

It helps if we know the exact keyword you are talking about, but alsvik is right. SEs generally get that web-site and website are the same word. "And" and "&" are considered the same. "Auto refinance" and "Car refinance" are sometimes used interchangably. It is all based on the intent of the searcher. If the mis-spelling or stop in the middle of the phrase changes the intent, that changes things. But I can't know without knowing the word.

When it comes to what to use on the site, misspelling or not (see what I did there with the misspelling usage?), use what makes sense in the context of the page. Don't misspell just to add the word in there. If it's a product page, you might allow reviews, which should add natural variation. But don't misspell just for the sake of adding the term. I can almost guarantee the SEs know that the misspelling is the same as the correctly spelled term.

Now when it comes to the hypen words (misspelling, mis-spelling) ... if it makes sense to pepper them in the text and they are both accepted variations, can't hurt to use them. But I don't think it'll make a giant difference. And please, don't worry about the meta keywords tag, using that does nothing but hurt you.

[blackrino]

Thanks Kate - I don't really have a specific keyword in mind. But I did some research and another good example is Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi and WiFi are both searched different amounts. Wi-Fi is the right way to spell it but WiFi is searched more in MOST cases. There ARE instances that it is not. So WiFi Services is searched more than Wi-Fi Services however Wi-Fi Consulting is searched mroe than WiFi Consulting.  So should I keep with one spelling throughout the site or mix it up according to the keyword?

[katemorris]

I would mix it up a bit. Don't try for a percentage though, just go with it. Search for "wifi" and note that the top result is wikipedia, and they use Wi-Fi in the title tag and yet it is still bolded. This is why I say SEs see them as the same words. If it makes sense to pepper the different uses, and both are grammatically correct, go for it. Just don't waste a lot of time doing it as I don't think the returns are great enough.