Does adding the suffix "-ing" affect ranking for a keyword? E.g. "build" vs "building"

[JanssenM.]

In other words, let's say the keyword I wanted to rank for was "building a home" but the SERP only showed sites ranking for "build a home".

If I specifically optimized my page for "building a home" would that increase my chances for ranking for "building a home"?

[TakeshiYoung]

Yes, suffixes matter, tenses matter, singular vs plurals matter. These are all different keywords. Search for "build" vs "building" in Google, and you will get different results. Look up the search volume in the Adwords tool, and you will see that the keywords have different search volumes.

TLDR: Yes, it matters. Choose the version that has the highest search volume or your customers tend to use the most.

[JanssenM.]

Thanks so much!