Title Keyword Question

[crlana]

I'm writing up keywords for new pages on a website. There are a number of variations on the way we can say what we're looking for, and I don't want to post the specific keywords but I'll give an example using fruits. Let's say I want to optimize for Granny Smith apples, McIntosh apples, Jonathan apples, etc.

Could my title be Apples - Granny Smith, McIntosh, Jonathan

and my page will come up when someone searchs "Granny Smith apples" or "McIntosh apples" etc. or do the words have to be repeated in order. Obviously I will also be repeating these in the description and on the page I'm optimizing. Thanks!

[adriandg]

Do some keyword research and see which of the terms will bring you the most traffic with a boost in the rankings.  Then put that keyword first.  The closer to the front of the title the more value the term holds.

[EGOL]

In this example your page would be relevant for "Granny Smith Apples" and might show in the search results.  However, you might rank higher if you create a special page about Granny Smith apples with only that name in the title tag.

I use lots of title tags like you suggest.  I consider them "shotgunning" plays for a wide range of keywords but not accurate plays for any of them.  If you have a powerful site this strategy can rank you #1 for all of the terms.

[Trupanion]

I would keep the title clean and focus on the main "apple", the one that has the most search traffic.  But then focus the site on the other variations or types.  Focus on the content, anchor text links to the page, h1 & h2 tags, etc.

SEOmoz's Title Tag - Best Practices for SEO: http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/title-tag

[crlana]

Let me clarify a little bit, because I don't think my example was optimal. Let's say I want to optimize for three-word phrases, but two of the words repeat. So, I can either have my title tags be XYA, XYB, XYC, XYD or my title tags can be XYA - B, C, D

The former seems a little on the spammy side because it's so repetitious and may turn off visitors. However, it seems like it would be the preferred method in order to rank highly for those terms. This gets me over the preferred number of 8 keywords, if repetition counts towards that.  If I use the latter, will I still have a shot at ranking for XYB, XYC and XYD?

Thanks again, and I hope this helps clarify my issue a little better!

[evolvingSEO]

Hmm... I see your dilemma!

Unfortunately it seems to be the site structure is causing some trouble, although its hard to tell without more specific information. When a website deals with multiple topics that can be drilled down further you really want a separate page for each topic.

Page 1 -> XYA

Page 2 -> XYB

etc..

It is hard to tell without knowing the exact categories, but if this makes sense and it is possible to convince the site owners to do so, I would split things up into multiple pages, each with a unique category.

If this is not possible, I would go with the shorter option in the title tag, but be sure to group the words together in the body of the page, in bold if possible, only if it appears natural.

[APICDA]

I would tend to use a keyword tool which identifies traffic.  Determine which will yield the most fruit and go that direction.  I would alos suggest using website pages and content to support........ so, have individual pages for each apple type, then you could use the apple types for your page titles.  Just my thoughts.........