Why am I ranking high for a keyword that is nowhere on my page?

[Closetstogo]

There is a specific keyword phrase that I am ranking in the top 10 search results for. When I run page optimizer in Moz, my page is given a score of 73 and I'm predictably told I need to include this keyword somewhere on the page. This specific keyword phrase is not included anywhere on the page - not in image files, image alts, anchor text from inbound links (that I can find), text content, meta-titles or descriptions - it's nowhere.

Meanwhile, a keyword phrase which Moz' page optimizer tells us we are scored 96 for we aren't even in the first three pages of search results for. What's going on here? On the surface, this seems to be telling me the Moz page optimizer is kinda...broken?

Why am I ranking in the top 10 for a keyword phrase nowhere on my page?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[ChrisAshton]

Hi Jeffrey,

These questions are always so interesting but to give an accurate answer we'd need more info like what the keyword is, if it's at all relevant to what you do etc.

In short, it's been many moons since Google just ranked you for words and phrases that could be found on your website. They do still help, but it's absolutely possible to rank for something without mentioning it, provided the topic is similar.

For example, if you run a car hire company and only ever use the word "hire" across your site, you will definitely still rank for "car rental" as well. For several years now Google has been improving the way they "understand" the content on your site.

As these improvements continue, just how far removed those related terms can be also increases. If a human can make the logical connection between two topics, chances are so can Google and so you can rank for these connected things. I actually wrote quite a lengthy response that covered this same topic a few weeks back which might be worth a read too. Basically, the shoe company Hype DC here in Australia almost never uses the word "shoe" or "shoes" yet their rankings for those terms are excellent.

Hope that helps!