Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • Case Studies
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      Discover top competitors’ winning content
      What's New

      Discover top competitors’ winning content

      Learn More
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      What is your Brand Authority?
      Moz

      What is your Brand Authority?

      Take the quiz
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • SEO Q&A

        Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      The Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • Case Studies

        Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature: Moz Pro

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. On-Page Optimization
    4. Keyword appearing on almost every slug of product pages = over-optimizatio

    Keyword appearing on almost every slug of product pages = over-optimizatio

    On-Page Optimization
    slug product pages
    5
    6
    306
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • Veptune
      Veptune Subscriber last edited by

      Hello all,

      I have an online store, let's say for example I sell forks of all kinds and colors. So naturally, I have 'product category' pages with titles and slugs like:

      Big forks
      Small forks
      Plastic forks
      Red fork
      etc..

      And plenty of product pages with slugs and H1 like:

      Small red fork
      Large plastic fork
      18th-century fork
      etc...

      Some category pages are well-ranked, others are not, the same goes for product pages. The problem is that for the main keyword, 'fork' (exact query in the search console), my site is completely absent. Google should logically have referenced my homepage (which has links to all categories) for this main keyword. I have also optimized the page for it, without overdoing it.

      I wonder if it's not because I have a lot of pages with 'fork' in the slug, and perhaps Google thinks it's too much (even though it's logical for this word to be present in all product pages because it's an essential word to describe the product).

      I wonder if I should not modify half of my product pages to remove the word 'fork' from the slug...(only from the slug, without touching the H1 because removing the word 'fork' would remove its meaning).

      Do you have any experiences with this kind of issue? I wouldn't ask the question if my homepage was behind the competition, but it's completely absent.

      Thanks

      MrOSMANI 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • vilianmurphy
        vilianmurphy last edited by

        Looks like you might be facing over-optimization with the frequent appearance of keywords in your product page slugs. This could potentially affect your site's SEO negatively. Consider diversifying your slugs to maintain a natural balance and avoid penalization from search engines.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • rightangledev
          rightangledev last edited by

          Using too many of the same keywords in slugs on multiple product pages can lead to over-optimization and negatively impact your site's search engine rankings
          ). Excessive use of keywords will look unnatural to search engines and can result in penalties for spamming. By diversifying your keywords and focusing on creating relevant and user-friendly slugs, you can improve your overall SEO performance.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • MrOSMANI
            MrOSMANI last edited by

            Thank you for your insight! It's important to strike a balance between optimization and user experience. I'll review the keyword distribution across our product pages to ensure we maintain a natural and user-friendly approach.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • MrOSMANI
              MrOSMANI @Veptune last edited by

              @Veptune
              Hello,
              Thank you for sharing your concern. It's not uncommon for websites to face challenges with keyword optimization and ranking, especially when dealing with product categories and pages.

              Regarding your situation, it's possible that the abundance of "fork" keywords in your slugs could be impacting your site's visibility for the main keyword "fork." While having descriptive slugs is important for users and search engines, it's also crucial to strike a balance.

              Before making any changes to your product pages, I would recommend conducting further analysis to understand why your homepage isn't ranking for the main keyword. This could involve reviewing your site's overall SEO strategy, examining competitors' strategies, and assessing the quality and relevance of your homepage content and backlinks.

              Additionally, consider exploring other optimization opportunities such as improving internal linking structure, enhancing meta tags, and creating high-quality content that targets relevant keywords.

              Ultimately, it's essential to approach any modifications carefully and monitor the impact on your site's performance over time. Consulting with an experienced SEO professional could also provide valuable insights tailored to your specific situation.

              Best of luck with your optimization efforts!

              Warm regards, MrOSMANI

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Suvidit-Academy
                Suvidit-Academy last edited by

                Hello,

                The "fork" is a relevant keyword, but it's quite broad.

                • Users searching for "fork" could be looking for information (e.g., history of forks), buying a specific type of fork (e.g., disposable forks), or browsing a variety of forks.

                • Analyze your search console data to understand what specific terms users are searching for to find your products. Optimize your content and titles for these terms while still incorporating "fork" where relevant.

                • Having high-quality backlinks from relevant websites can significantly improve your ranking for competitive keywords like "fork."

                Warm Regards
                Rahul Gupta
                Suvidit Academy
                Digital Marketing Course, Mentorship & Training

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • 1 / 1
                • First post
                  Last post

                Got a burning SEO question?

                Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                Start my free trial


                Browse Questions

                Explore more categories

                • Moz Tools

                  Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                • SEO Tactics

                  Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                • Community

                  Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                • Digital Marketing

                  Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                • Research & Trends

                  Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                • Support

                  Connect on product support and feature requests.

                • See all categories

                Related Questions

                • Vallerinspects

                  Unsolved How to add geo keyword without it looking keyword stuffed

                  geo keywords

                  I'm updating my mobile home inspection page and I want to add geo keywords with my seed keyword Mobile Home Inspections. How do I add these so that the page do not look like it keyword stuffed? Is there a technique that you use for this? I was thinking something like internal links to the City pages of have but then the Anchor text landing page would be a cite page and not a mobile home inspection page.

                  On-Page Optimization | | Vallerinspects
                  1
                • Timberwink

                  Ranking keywords

                  Is there a way to utilize our currently ranking keywords. I don't think editing the url would be a good idea. What areas of these pages should we improve? Or is it better not to do anything.

                  On-Page Optimization | | Timberwink
                  0
                • KenW

                  Is it better to keep a glossary or terms on one page or break it up into multiple pages?

                  We have a very large glossary of over 1000 industry terms on our site with links to reference material, embedded video, etc. Is it better for SEO purposes to keep this on one page or should we break it up into multiple pages, a different page for each letter for example? Thanks.

                  On-Page Optimization | | KenW
                  0
                • AMG100

                  Keyword Appearing on Home Page - Moz Page Grader

                  Hi Today I entered www.partydomain.co.uk through the Moz Page Grader and found that the Home Page is Ranked B. I noticed that an Area we could improve on is the amount of times we are using our main keyword "Fancy Dress" on the home page. Please can you take a look at www.partydomain.co.uk and scroll to the bottom of the page were the tabs are containing losts of content. I am thinking about removing all of thoose Tabs. Our Competitors dont have any content as such on the home page and are ranking higher than Party Domain for "fancy dress" What do you think ? remove all the tabs to be like the others that rank better? Or cut the text right down ? Thanks Adam

                  On-Page Optimization | | AMG100
                  0
                • LeapOfBelief

                  Best practices for marking up product pages on eccomerce site (SEO noob)

                  After analyzing the code on various competitors eccomerce sites I wanted to seek advice on best practices for marking up individual product pages for keywords and descriptions. My competition is all over the map as far as utilizing keywords and descriptions, some have few keywords while others have many and vice versa for descriptions. What is the best method for marking up product pages on an eccomerce site for keywords and descriptions? In addition, is it okay to utilize the same keywords for multiple products that may be under the same category? or is this considered duplicate content? Thanks for the help, if you have any resources for SEO and eccomerce sites I would greatly appreciate the guidance best,Michelle & Blake

                  On-Page Optimization | | LeapOfBelief
                  0
                • MarcOZ

                  Ecommerce- Keyword use in Product links on Category page

                  I'm wondering how Keyword use in Product links on Category pages can affect a pages rank? I have 1 site where this seems to be an issue but not on all categories. For this site, a site: keyword search ranks the category page as no.1 in the SERPS but a non-site: search shows 1 of the many products within the category as the highest ranking page (currently 20 in google) on this site. This product is probably the least likely to generate a conversion due to it's cost so this is less than ideal. The plural search of the keyword shows the category page and it ranks higher than the keyword itself (currently 9 in google) Category name and URL = keyword. The category is paginated with 12 products per page. Product URL and anchor text is brand-model-type (where type = keyword) I'd like to keep the product URLs and anchors as they are if I can as they are well searched terms themselves but I want to optimize a category page to rank for the keyword itself. Have any of you overcome a similar issue? Would adding more text to the category page dilute the issue?

                  On-Page Optimization | | MarcOZ
                  0
                • Zoolander

                  Using fathead page keywords for directories and as a red herring to competitors

                  I'm fairly new to SEO and I have been reading a lot on here and the SEOmoz guides over the last few days, finding it very interesting. I am wondering about page keywords, I read that the engines no longer use them.  In this thread they say they still use them because of directories. http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/why-i-still-use-meta-keywords#new-comment So I was wondering, because directories are always smaller scale than search engines would keywords that are normally high competition have more clout in them? If so then using them could be misleading to competition if they think they are the actual keywords?  or might this contradict between your actual chosen keywords in the directories backlink anchor text or something?

                  On-Page Optimization | | Zoolander
                  0
                • AppleCapitalGroup

                  Does Too Many On-Page Links on a Page Really Matters?

                  Does Too Many On-Page Links on a Page Really Matters? Especially if they are pointing to internal page?

                  On-Page Optimization | | AppleCapitalGroup
                  1
                Moz logo
                • Contact
                • Community
                • Free Trial
                • Terms & Privacy
                • Accessibility
                • Jobs
                • Help
                • News & Press
                • MozCon
                © 2021 - 2024 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.

                Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.