Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [113]
There were distinct differences in the search results for the two versions of the search term. One little accent mark could change the rankings for four websites, and one site dropped off the first page completely. Interestingly, the majority of the websites in the top results used the grammatically correct accent version of the word. The top result used both versions in the page title. However, the majority of SEO copywriters recommend against using misspellings or variations of words in the same sentence or on the same page, because it lacks professionalism, to which I agree.
In the paid advertising at the top of the terms’ search-results pages (shown in Figure 10-14), an interesting opportunity presented itself. Memory card maker SanDisk was aggressively bidding on the phrase carte mémoire SD but was not bidding on the overwhelmingly more popular search phrase without the accent mark, carte memoire SD.
a
b
Figure 10-14: SanDisk bidding on (a) the lower-volume, grammatically correct version of the phrase (carte mémoire SD), but not (b) the higher-volume, grammatically incorrect version of the phrase (carte memoire SD)
As search engine spelling correction features continue to improve, I recommend that site managers avoid optimizing for misspelled words. Including misspelled words in a bidding strategy for pay-per-click advertising, however, is a recommended strategy. There is usually significant opportunity, because your competitors may not have opened up their bidding on misspelled terms. However, for organic SEO and the content used on your site, I will always recommend proper spelling and grammatical construction.
Plurals
The choice between singular and plural versions of words was more difficult when analytics programs were not as agile as they are today in tracking search terms all the way through to conversion. Prior to analytics, the basis of decision was the popularity of the search term. Plural versions tended to have higher search volume, which made them more desirable phrases. However, as analytics became better at tracking conversions, it became apparent that in many cases the singular version of the word tended to drive more business than visits, while plurals tended to draw more visits than business.
In one case, a travel business recognized that for its primary destination term, vacations, the plural was ranking very highly but drawing few conversions. On further analysis, it was found that the singular version of the term, vacation, ranked on the 4th page of Google, at #34, but was driving more than double the number of search visitors with a 2 percent conversion rate (see Table 10-15).
Table 10-15: Analytics Information for the Search Terms “vacations” and “vacation”
Metric Data for “vacations” (plural) Data for “vacation” (singular)
Ranking in Google #3 #34
Search referrals 600 1800
Conversion Rate 0% 2%
The approach was clear; develop the ongoing campaign around the singular version of the word, as if the phrase was already profitable and would continue to increase in profitability as the rankings and visitor numbers increased.
What was determined in this case was that plurals show an interest, but singular terms denoted a stronger motivation. A searcher searching with plurals tends not to be committed, is open to suggestion, and may not be motivated to make a decision that day. A searcher using the singular version of a word or phrase tends to be more intent on finding the object, and they tend to convert at a higher rate. This searcher-based language behavior has been observed in other types of businesses as well, but I hesitate to consider it an across-the-board behavior. Only by examining your analytics will you know for sure. Analyzing behavior and motivation with your analytics will be covered in much more depth in Chapter 20.
In recommending a keyword strategy for an existing website, I always defer to the analytics. Making a decision without