4 replies to this topic

[ZeeDeveel]

Two related questions, I'll try to keep this as simple as possible using examples:

#1 Synonyms -

In the SERPs for the phrase "settees new york", would Google treat pages optimized for the phrase "sofas new york" with equal weight to those optimized for "settees new york" ? I ask this because often when you search for a certain word or phrase Google appears with results using not your exact phrase but a phrase containing a synonym and the synonym is in bold in the SERPs. Does this boldness imply that the synonym is treated exactly the same as the exact term, or would the exact term still be given higher priority?

#2 Alternate Spellings -
The same question except the examples are "industrialization" vs "industrialisation". Is the exact phrase searched for (the correct spelling) ranked higher in the SERPs than the alternate spelling? Again I ask this because sometimes Google brings up results involving the alternate spelling and it is in bold, as though it were the word you used.

Many thanks guys, I really appreciate any time taken to help me answer this conundrum!

Edited by ZeeDeveel, 15 April 2011 - 08:32 AM.

[chrishirst]

Who knows??

Does this boldness imply that the synonym is treated exactly the same as the exact term

Nope! The bolding is purely a display function and indicates nothing at all to do with ranking weights.

[Jill]

It's doubtful it's treating exactly the same, but it does show you that Google certainly thinks that the synonyms are relevant.

But there's no way for anyone to give you an exact answer. Research more search engine results pages and keywords and you'll be able to start to draw you own conclusions.

[ZeeDeveel]

Aha fair enough! I will indeed conduct my own research! Thanks for your replies.

[copywriter]

That's why it's important to include synonyms in your copy along with keyphrases.