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reil
Joined: Aug 04, 2008
# Posts: 6
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Posted: 2008-Aug-04 19:14
Hi,
I thought these questions might've been asked already, but I can't find them searching:
--If I decide I want to target searches for *big bus* - if I split the phrase sometimes in the copy - eg i use the words *big blue bus* (still only targeting *big bus*), is that almost as strong for a search for *big bus* as it would be without the word *blue*?
--How about plurals? - I'm targeting *big bus*, but it's more appropriate in the text to say *big buses* - do google and other search engines weight that as strongly or nearly as strongly for a search for *big bus*, as if i hadn't pluralized it?
--And other derivations of a word... if I'm targeting *buy bus*, and i use the phrase *bought bus* in my text - is that almost as good as *buy bus* for a search for *buy bus*?
(not a great example, but i hope I'm explaining my question clearly enough with it.
Thanks.
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excell
Staff
Joined: Mar 19, 2001
# Posts: 14512
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Posted: 2008-Aug-04 20:19
something that is almost the same is invariably not quite the same.
on the other hand variety and different combinations are very natural - that's a good thing.
how the search engines handle stemming and alternative phrases at any given time is something that you cannot control and will vary according to their whim.
It is always a good idea to cover as many bases as you can, but in doing so - don't kill yourself or stress out about it.
The questions you are asking have indeed been answered, many many times 
We use a simple search here, so you have to be quite specific when you try to look something up...
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Prowler
Staff
Joined: Aug 14, 2000
# Posts: 1788
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Posted: 2008-Aug-05 09:41
As our Mod excell says "something that is almost the same is invariably not quite the same", search engines are not always that good when it comes to extracting the meaning of each word.
For example "woman hairstyle" is not the same as "girl hairstyle" or "women hairstyle" (to a human visitor they mean the same) to a search engine. Even here they might split hair - "hairstyle" is one thing and "hair style" is quite another. Again proximity of a word to another means a lot to them.
So "big blue bus" is not "big bus" in their eyes. The addition of a word in between dilutes the 'focus'.
Computers are getting better in natural language and semantics - but they are not there - yet.
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reil
Joined: Aug 04, 2008
# Posts: 6
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Posted: 2008-Aug-06 08:23
Ok, thanks very much for those answers, I really appreciate that.
So based on the fact that variety and different combinations are a good thing, and that computers are not there yet in terms of semantics, but also that I need to write this copy with a long life - for the direction that search engines are going in...
On the subject of plurals, it would seem to make sense to mix up plurals and singulars when targeting either one. So:
Say I wanted to target big buses and I was looking at roughly 2% density of "big buses", would I write the copy with 2% density "big buses" plus some singulars, or would I include the singulars in the 2%?
Thanks again.
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excell
Staff
Joined: Mar 19, 2001
# Posts: 14512
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Posted: 2008-Aug-06 18:39
I wouldn't worry about the %s. Just write your copy to communicate to the target audience on each page and in each section that you write - in a way that makes logical sense. The search engines will look after themselves from there.
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beth_lk
Staff
Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 1213
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Posted: 2008-Aug-07 00:52
I agree with everything that you have been told here - it is all top notch advice.
About the 's subject. I have found that the 's is an exception to the SE rules most of the times. So flower and flowers most often will be picked up as the same. This is NOT a hard set rule, but one I myself have found to be quite common.
If I am incorrect about this, someone please feel free to correct me
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excell
Staff
Joined: Mar 19, 2001
# Posts: 14512
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Posted: 2008-Aug-07 16:08
Handling of plurals changes from time to time, it is best to cover all bases - in a natural way
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beth_lk
Staff
Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 1213
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Posted: 2008-Aug-07 19:03
I agree and I should have said about the natural way - as in don't force a 's 
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reil
Joined: Aug 04, 2008
# Posts: 6
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Posted: 2008-Aug-08 22:15
Thanks, that's good stuff.
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