Help with understanding how to target keywords not in content ?

[sd11sine]

I have a customer suggesting the use of keywords related to his competitors but not in the content of his site or how he promotes his brand. The page content is product specific and I use keyword matches for page and site strength.

1.) Does it hurt or help  to load up the keywords with misc. keywords

(example- the site is for a premium product use the terms  "cheap", "affordable")

2.) Any suggestion for almost blank/generic landing pages ?

3.) Any benefit or penalty for using fewer keywords on multiple pages ?

(example - target 6-8 words on 30 pages)

I need a few discussion points for my next meeting and to clarify my position.

[ske11]

If I have understood this correctly you wish to rank a page for terms that you are not going to use on the visible part of the page.

Using the Meta Keywords tag will not help as this is a tag that Google no longer looks at

Every landing page needs to ad value to the visitors experience, you need to have a reason for having the page on the site and to help get better rankings is not an acceptable reason.

You can target 6 - 8 related keywords on an individual page as long as their is relevant content on the page and it makes sense when you read it. This would only be practical for the longer tail or keywords with very little competition

I hope this helps

Sean

[Cyrus-Shepard]

Howdy,

Generally, it's a bad idea to target keywords not in your content. If feels spammy, you're not likely to rank for it, and it's likely to have a negative impact on user experience.

Imaging clicking on a search results about "Competitor X Keyword Keyword" - and then the landing page has virtually nothing to do with my search. Well a couple things will happen...

1. The visitor leaves and clicks another result - Search engines quickly learn your site doesn't satisfy the query
2. This probably won't even happen because search engines aren't that easily fooled. It's hard enough to rank with quality, engaging content. Putting some keywords in your title tag (or elsewhere) without all the other ranking signals to back it up - including quality content, links and more, probably isn't going to help you to rank.

I think you get my gist, but let me address your specific points.

1.) Does it hurt or help  to load up the keywords with misc. keywords

Again, it sounds spammy, and keyword stuffing is a tactic that hasn't worked well since 2007.

Lessons Learned from an Over-Optimizer

2.) Any suggestion for almost blank/generic landing pages ?

Add useful, relevant content.

Duplicate Content is a Post-Panda Word

3.) Any benefit or penalty for using fewer keywords on multiple pages ?

A general rule of thumb is optimize your page for keywords so that 80% of searchers using those keywords have the same general intent. If 70% are looking for one thing, and 30% something else, it's best to split those into 2 different pages.

It sounds like your customer should focus more on conversions instead of raw traffic. It might help to guide the client to go for quality of traffic instead of quantity, which usually pays better dividends.

Finally, a couple of more resources that might help understand on-page optimization. I recommend you take 30 minutes and read/watch them all!

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/getting-onpage-seo-right-in-2012-and-beyond-whiteboard-friday

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/4-graphics-to-help-illustrate-onpage-optimization

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/perfecting-onpage-optimization-for-ecommerce-websites

This should give you plenty of ammunition for your talk with your client. Besst of luck!

[sd11sine]

Thank you for your response, I will follow up on your additional material.  My talking points with my customer are very similar to your answers.

When a customer continually asks for a technique that is not valid I needed some reassurance of my strategy.

Again Thank You for your time.

[sd11sine]

Thanks for your time,  I will take your suggestions and start implementing for areas that need help.