Perhaps the difference is down to how the keyword was used e.g. broad match, exact match and phrase match (each of these types will give different search volume results for the same word).

Not sure of a tool that would do this but can't you just spot check the website making sure to check a few URLs from each directory. Or, can't your web developers run a report to tell you which URLs have a redirect on them - then just sort through the ones that have two URLs and go to the same page.

Best practice is that every page has one H1 header followed by a series of H2 and H3 headers. And, where possible these headings should be in a hierarchical order within the source code.

I'd approach it  like this:

'course name' + Course

6 weeks learning 'secondary keyword targets')

So it would look something like this...

Veterinary Nurse Course

6 weeks learning about animal care & pet health

Hi Rafiqul,

I recently saw the same issue with one of my clients and the reason was that the 404 error page wasn't a true 404 error page, it was a 404 soft error page (which means the http header response code was a 200 OK meaning it's not a 404 - remember that a page can look however you want but unless server-side is using the correct header response etc then it's not a true 404). This page explains it better http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=181708

Davinia

Looks like people in New Zealand also want to conserve weed - of the illegal variety. However when 'searching in NZ only' we are only concerned with how to destroy the everyday weeds from our gardens.

Whats your linking profile like for this other keyword?

Why don't you private message me your URL and I will take a look for you

Hi Helen,

Check out the SEOMoz Beginners guide to links http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo/growing-popularity-and-links there is some good points on there where you can learn about anchor text and keywords. Remember links need to appear natural so change up the keywords used in anchor text.

To be honest it's not overly easy to break unwanted links. First ask the webmaster to remove your link, or perhaps the link is attached to an account (try get access then delete it), if all else fails you can Disavow a link http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/a-new-tool-to-disavow-links.html

Just remember, link building requires a long term strategy and commitment. I opt for a little bit of link building all of the time. To help manage all those links I use Raven Tools, it's good but is a paid service.

Have fun!
Davinia

If you have these links as part of the navigation, or a sub-navigation then search engines are going to be smart enough to know that this is navigational and not an attempt to manipulate results. So include all of the 6 links on all 6 categories.

If you have a navigation that includes all of the links and then you are adding additional links to the body copy of the page then it would be a good idea to be mindful of what you are including. My favorite approach to this is to have a paragraph of permanent text with links going to the other pages (2-3 max). The link will be near words that are relevant and makes sense to a user (because don't forget its best to write for humans before search engines).

Just be mindful that this is only one activity, to boost rankings you need to build quality external links to each of the 6 category pages as well as implement on-page SEO copy.

Good luck,
Davinia

Hi Helen,

DoMiSol has already explained the difference of external vs internal but I just wanted to add that given you have stated you have 3,000 external links yet you aren't ranking very well perhaps you need to spend some time doing more link building aiming to get quality links that are thematically in-line with your website.

In my experience 3,000 quality links to your website would be good for rankings so perhaps you need to take a look at the links that currently point to your website. If you are connected to a link farm then this is bad and will affect your rankings. Start looking at WHO is linking to you, then HOW they are linking to you and decide if that link needs to be removed or updated (with keyword targeted anchor text).

Good luck,
Davinia

Hi Nick,

They are using schema markup on their reviews (AggregateRating <a class="attribute-value">- http://schema.org/AggregateRating</a>

This is why the ratings occur in SERPs.

Have a read of this page
http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=99170 and then research on from there.

Good luck and private message me if you want to discuss more.
Davinia

Great thanks Matt!

Hi Ron,

The first thing to ask is when you were seeing your website ranking around 4th how did you do this? Did you use a ranking tool or your browser. The reason I ask is that when using a browser your search results can be personalized to you. So if you often go to your website then you may see it for a keyword search when really it isn't placed there. To be sure exactly where you rank use a non-personalized search or a ranking tool like the one on SEOMoz.

Second, it doesn't look like you are doing anything odd on-site (i.e. no black-hat seo tactics) so that's good. And, your backlinks are low so not sure if that would be the case but you need to have a look at Google Webmaster Tools to confirm.

Thirdly, a drop in rankings could be due to competition. If your competitors are actively optimizing their website and building quality links and you aren't then they can knock you off the rankings.

Hope that helps some.

Davinia

If each page is targeting a keyword phrase that is unique and the order of where 'stairlifts' is placed varies then it shouldn't be a problem, this would require the content of the pages to be very unique.

If you are concerned that a search engine will see this as duplicate content and only index a small % of your pages perhaps revise your keyword target. You can use variations and synonyms of 'stairlifts' while still being a correct description of the product. Keyword research will help you find the terms or use the symbol () before the keyword on a google search e.g. stairlifts, anything bold with be a synonym. Some quick examples:

stair-lifts
stair lifts
home elevators
platform lifts

Hi all,

Is there a way to be notified (to my personal email address) when I get sent a private message?

Thanks,
Davinia

Yes.... and good luck getting on it.

I've been waiting near 6 months for three submissions to be added (all different categories as well).

Hard to say unless we can see your site but it could be that your robots.txt file is blocking the URLs or perhaps duplicate content. If you have Google Webmaster Tools have a look through there, it may give you some ideas.

I would use the keyword in a keyword phrase and limit to 2-3 words, so something like "Man with osteoarthritis" or "Osteoarthritis affects everyone".

Remember alt tags are also used for usability, so if someone say has a computer that reads them the on-page content (e.g. a visually impaired person) you want your content to clearly and accurately explain what's on the page.

When you do your 301 redirects as outlined by John don't forget to 301 redirect your non-www URL version to your www URL version (or visa-versa).

Here is an example of all the URLs that could be on your website.

http://www.domain.com
http://www.domain.com/index.html
http://domain.com
http://domain.com/index.html

The joys.... good luck!