Does Google consider very similar keyphrases the same?

[iainmoran]

One of my top keyphrases is manchester magician and using Google Adwords Keyword Tool this produces exactly the same number of views as _magician manchester _and again the exact same for magician in manchester.

So I assumed from this that Google views them the same. But looking at the SEOMoz On-Page tool, this doesn't appear to be the case as my grade is different for each keyphrase.

So, I guess my question is, if this is the case and they are considered different, how would I find out which one really  is the most searched for so I can optimize accordingly.

Many thanks,

Iain.

[MashBonigala]

From experience I can tell you that Google does not treat similar phrases the same. In fact, even a difference of one syllable would be considered as a different and unique word and swapping around words would definitely be considered different.

[Chris.Menke]

You'll see that Guru Ellis has a post over here that discuses keyword or city first in local SEO.  I know I've seen that the geo-term + city tends to get more traffic but that's not always be the case.  Other keyword tools, like wordtracker can give you more granular info than the adwords keyword tool.

[Robert_G]

No, Google don't treat very similar keywords the same.

Put it this way: manchester magician is 3 letter shorter than magician in manchester, and we all know that the search volume dilutes as keywords get longer. So it's up to you... why don't you go for both keywords on different pages?

[goodge]

Check you have checked Exact Matches when you search as this could bring up different results entirely.

If you have, and they are still bringing up same results, I suggest searching for them in Google to see which phrase has the most results.  The more results, usually means more searched for/more competitive.

I would use both KW if in doubt.

[iainmoran]

Wow, thank you everyone so much. I had a feeling you guys would know the answer.

I really appreciate your help.

Iain.