Meta tag question

[LeapOfBelief]

Through research our competitors have created independent product codes like FT-5750 and are using it as an independent SKU#, when I search this product code they are the only search result.

can we use their abbreviated SKU# in our meta tag or keywords to show up in the SERP?

Thanks,

Michelle & Blake

[TimKelsey]

Hi Michelle and Blake,

I think the first thing you need to ask yourselves is if people are actually searching for your competitor's SKUs. Is it really worth your time to try to optimize for these when you could instead spend time and money optimizing for keywords that might drive more traffic?

Also, since these are SKUs that only your competitor uses, it almost functions in the same way that a branded search for their company name would. Even if you created a page that focused on FT-5750, would it really deserve to rank above a page on your competitor's site? Probably not since they actually use that SKU as part of their business.

Optimizing for these SKUs might be more difficult than you think depending on how closely associated the SKUs are with you competitors brand.

Targeting your competitors keywords is a tactic that some companies use, but I've seen it done more often through AdWords than through organic SEO. If you search for Eloqua (a marketing automation tool), you'll see an ad for Marketo (one of their competitors). https://www.google.com/search?pws=0&q=eloqua

But again, you need to figure out if it's worth it to go after these SKUs. A small AdWords campaign could help you figure out if it's worth your time and money. Otherwise might just end up wasting a lot of resources on something that doesn't drive much traffic.

Hope this help.s

Tim

[LeapOfBelief]

Tim,

Thank you for the response, However, our competitor is the industry leader and that SKU is specific to that company. They have made these SKU's because they are solely searchable in SERP. Interestingly, the second and third industry sites have now made up their own SKU all using the same base number but different letter configurations. Ideally, our meta and keywords could include our competitors individual SKU's so theoretically we would rank along with their site search. It would be worth our time and effort if including this information in our meta and keyword if this tactic worked.

We are trying to distinguish if this would be a black hat practice or a competitive white hat tactic? Thoughts?

Thanks,

M & B

[TimKelsey]

Hey Michelle and Blake,

There's nothing inherently black hat about targeting the same keywords as your competitors. It's sort of an underhanded business tactic, but it's not something that will directly get you in trouble with Google.

I still think it might be harder to rank for those SKUs than you think it will be. If you competitor is the industry leader and these SKUs are closely associated with their brand just mentioning the SKUs in the content of a page might not be enough to rank for them. You might also need some link building to be on the same level as your competitor. If you're trying to build links around keywords that aren't naturally part of your brand, it could easy to slip into some shady tactics.

There might be other out there with more experience in building organic SEO campaigns that target a competitors keywords (and hopefully, they'll chime in here), but I still think AdWords is your best bet for getting started with this. It's instant and you're guaranteed to rank above your competitor. You'll also start getting data about whether it would be worth investing in a larger organic campaign to rank for these keywords.

Tim

[Cyrus-Shepard]

Michelle & Blake,

Tim raised some good points, so rather than address those I'll try to answer your question directly.

Yes, you could theoretically rank for these unique SKUs if you were to build some half-way decent content around them - especially if the competition is low as you say.

It's not likely as easy as putting the keywords in your Meta tags ( I assume you mean the meta description tag, or even the meta keywords tag which most folks don't use anymore)

If you really want to rank for these keywords, they should probably be a natural part of your content and body copy. To Tim's point, could you target these terms in a way that made sense to visitors? Perhaps yes. If your visitor was looking for a product similar too or a substitution for a particular SKU, this might make sense - but you actually have to create content around the terms, and not simply stick them on the page or hide them in the meta data - does this make sense?

You would want to target these keywords and ideas just like any other. Tools like the on-page grader might give you good idea where to start.

Hope this helps! Best of luck with your SEO!