Google’s John Mueller answered a question about where to place keywords so Google understands what the page is about. The context of the question was about a person wondering how to tell Google the meaning of a 20,000 word article.
Will it be enough to put the keyword focus at the end of the article?
The person who asked the question asked a long question related to the Googlebot display area and “focus keywords” placement.
The main focus of the question asked was the placement of keywords within the webpage, to which John Mueller responded.
advertising
Read below
That is the question:
“I have a page with a lot of content, say 20.00 words … and my focus keyword is at the bottom of the page.
How will that affect the ranking? “
Long articles and ranking
It can be difficult to rank long articles, especially with competitive keyword phrases.
A long article can introduce multiple subtopics, with different sections of the site deviating from the main topic so much that they could stand on their own as a single article.
The person asking the question has good reason to ask for keywords on a long webpage.
Trying to rank a keyword phrase with an exceptionally long webpage is not easy.
advertising
Read below
Where should the focus keyword be placed so that Google understands the page?
John Mueller’s response was to list several key parts of a web page where the keywords could better convey what the web page is about.
Mueller didn’t specifically advise using every single HTML element to hammer out the keyword phrase.
It just seemed to list all the places that could be useful in communicating what a webpage is about.
But make up your own mind.
This is how John Mueller answered the question:
“So … I would recommend that if you want to tell us something about what your page is about, make it as visible as possible.
So don’t just put this as a one-word mention at the end of your article, but:
- Use it in your titles
- Use it in your headlines
- Use it in your sub-headings
- Use it in picture captions
All of this to make it as clear as possible to users and Google when they visit your page that this is the subject matter on this page.
So that’s the direction I would go. I wouldn’t worry about whether or not Google could get to the word count of 20,000.
Because if you talk about the word 20,000 and say that this is the most important keyword for my site, then you are doing everything wrong. “
How Google can understand what a page is about
Mueller ended his answer with the example of a site visitor who can understand what a page is about in order to understand whether a webpage is clear or not.
Reply from Müller:
“You really need to make sure that the (type of) information that tells us what this page is about is as obvious as possible so that when users go there they say yes, I got it on the right one Page done Read what this page has to say to me. “
Think like a website visitor
Mueller’s advice on using the various website elements to communicate what a page is about is good advice. However, if your focus keywords don’t really match the paragraphs and images they describe, it may be an indication that the webpage may not be about the focus keyword after all.
advertising
Read below
Second, conceptualizing SEO questions in terms of a website visitor’s response to a page is a useful way to find answers.
When in doubt, don’t ask how Google might understand or react to a page, but try to see you as a user, because that’s how Google often understands the page.
If a user finds an answer on the page, Google should be able to understand that the page has the answer as well.
Quote
Mueller says where to place keywords on a page
Watch as Google’s John Mueller answers the question after about 5:15 minutes:
advertising
Read below
Comments are closed.