Keyword frequency...

[Zandor435]

It seems to me that keyword frequency is one of the biggest factors in how high a site is ranked. I am searching on "peening" in google. I have looked at the top ten sites and the thing that almost all of them have in common is having this keyword on their homepage 10+ times.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

Also, if this is the case, does a "splash" page penalize a site's ranking?

 

[ChrisHirst]

not sure how you decided that, because that search for me only brought up the "home" page on 6 out of the 10.
But, No. Having a word on any page a set number of times or a given percentage is NOT the biggest factor for ranking at all.
In fact the No 1 result for me only has the word on the page 5 times + once in the title. No 2 exactly the same. No 3 only 4 times + title. However at No 10 we have a word count of 7 plus the title. While No 9 weighs in with a hefty count of 21.
Bummer! another theory bites the dust.

There are around 100 factors that make up the ranking algo. Various combinations and permutations of these factors will make up a high ranking page and looking for the "ideal" page formula will only lead to your site having huge ranking swings on each update.

Every page of every site is rated on it's own merit and having exactly the same factors on two pages for different subjects/products does not mean that those pages will rank equally well for a search.

"splash" pages cause problems for sites because of their lack of links to and from the site they "belong" to. The lack of content simply means they are not going to appear for any search phrase, but the lack of links mean the "importance" of the page is reduced in SE terms.


Chris.

Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?
Woo Hoo! the cobblers kids get new shoes.
People Counting Systems

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[coldfused]

Don't base any of your research off of Google right now. They are going through a huge update and the serps are all over the place.

http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum30

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Florida Web Design
Orlando Web Hosting
Florida Coldfusion Hosting

 

[Zandor435]

Appreciate the feed back guys. I am in the middle of "optimizing" our site. I know there is a ton of different information out there on this topic. So I am just trying to make sure our pages cover the basics.

I am sure I will be making changes to our site constantly, but for now I am trying to just cover the basic (keywork frequency, density, proximity, etc...)

thanks again for the comments.

Zach

 

[ChrisHirst]

(keywork frequency, density, proximity, etc...)

None of which are important or even basic.


Chris.

Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?
Woo Hoo! the cobblers kids get new shoes.
People Counting Systems

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[FesterSXS]

Chris,
I thought keyword proximity was relevant to how a page is ranked.

eg) For the search term Steam Tables...

"This page can be used to find out the various properties of Steam. The tables that are produced can be...."

Surely the further apart these words appear, the less relevant this page will be deemed for the target phrase??

Tony

Spirax-Sarco - steam traps control valves heat exchangers
Sun Villa - Luxury Florida accommodation

 

[ChrisHirst]

Yep, When you are targetting phrases it can make a difference how the phrases are constructed and of course sometimes not.
The SEs algos are good at ranking for phrases even where one word may not even appear on a page. For example, Web Designer look at the cache for hmlhelp (4th result).

However when the "experts" rattle on about frequency, density and proximity. They use proximity in relation to how the words appear in relation to the start of the document not to each other.

Overall it's combinations of the ranking factors that can make the difference and many permutations of those combinations can be on the first page of results. It's this mix that makes the whole thing interesting.

Chris.

Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?
Woo Hoo! the cobblers kids get new shoes.
People Counting Systems

So long, and thanks for all the fish.