Plural Keywords Vs Singular Keywords

[marksbsteam]

When targeting keywords phrases it is advisable to take on the plural phrases as it contains both things plural and singular as for example businesses contain the word business but it is different in Yahoo and MSN. Well the ranking position is also differs sometimes but it would be better to optimize the content with plural.

I did some testing and found that Google treats them in exactly the same way and if you search for "BUSINESSES" it will give you results with "BUSINESS" highlighted in websites that do not contain the plural version.

Now I believe the advantage of the plural/singular match is minute and we should place (as usual) whatever makes better sense for the end-user.

[ziller]

I agree. there is no point putting s's on the ends of words if it doesn't make sense to. just write how you would if you were writing offline content. i think if you write for the user (with seo in mind) then the results in the se's will follow.

[sherone]

I also think that, there is no any different in plurals. I tried in one of site "services" and "companies" there is no any varying.

[mokmok69]

Well, I try it before and they have different result.

[Matters]

Now I believe the advantage of the plural/singular match is minute and we should place (as usual) whatever makes better sense for the end-user.

Minute or not, it's still worth something.

[besttools]

There is always a chance to use both.

But if no other option, then - plural (if this does not destroy the meaning)

[shruchi nagar]

When targeting keywords phrases it is advisable to take on the plural phrases as it contains both things plural and singular as for example businesses contain the word business but it is different in Yahoo and MSN. Well the ranking position is also differs sometimes but it would be better to optimize the content with plural.

I did some testing and found that Google treats them in exactly the same way and if you search for "BUSINESSES" it will give you results with "BUSINESS" highlighted in websites that do not contain the plural version.

Now I believe the advantage of the plural/singular match is minute and we should place (as usual) whatever makes better sense for the end-user.

Even the 'S' matter when it comes to keywords so please select your keywords after a complete research.Let take an example of 2 keywords " SEO Services" and "SEO service" . and check both the keywords in adword.google.com and you will understand how much the S matters when it comes to keyword.

SEO Services": Search Volume is :165000 and seo service : is only 33100.

It can even be vice versa which means the singular can have more search volume than plural.

Companies often choose the wrong keywords because they pick keywords based on how they think — rather than their customers think about or relate to their products or services , so select the best keyword and optimize the site accordingly , Good luck :)

[junosama]

I believe they are considered different phrases, but you can rank for both if the page has enough weight.

[shruchi nagar]

I believe they are considered different phrases, but you can rank for both if the page has enough weight.

Yes you are right these are always consider different phases and only way to rank them is to optimized them separately as a two different keywords

[junosama]

shruchi nagar yea that's true even if you have ONE page for both singular and plural terms you still need to link build using both singular and plural phrases as anchor text to get the best rankings possible. Start with the plural and then work on both over time.

Figure out which is more important and which will convert better and work on that the most.

[francis84]

When acquiring set of KWs, I'm using first the singular first (because when the KW suggestion tools generate KWs, it will include also the plural form)

[megri]

Well in content use both variation and it becomes benefit, no body have idea, some client search with wide range of keywords and they provide actual sales some times.

On our sites, i have seen people buying directory submission services who search "directory submissions" as compared to "directory submission"

[pathmaker]

I always use the plural form of a keyword because we usually tend to search a term in general like services instead of service.

[LocalGoogleGuru]

Even the 'S' matter when it comes to keywords so please select your keywords after a complete research.Let take an example of 2 keywords " SEO Services" and "SEO service" . and check both the keywords in adword.google.com and you will understand how much the S matters when it comes to keyword.

SEO Services": Search Volume is :165000 and seo service : is only 33100.

It can even be vice versa which means the singular can have more search volume than plural.

Companies often choose the wrong keywords because they pick keywords based on how they think — rather than their customers think about or relate to their products or services , so select the best keyword and optimize the site accordingly , Good luck :)


shruchi nagar, respectfully request permission to use what you just said in a blog post.. of course I'd link back to the link of your choice

will PM you as well
thanks

[phoenix06007]

plural and singular still have difference on SE result but only minimal

[4everyoung]

IMO, If the only difference between the singular and the plural is the addition of an “s” or “es” on the end, you can simply target the plural.:D:D

[joycegot]

Since search engines recognize a difference between singular and plural words, we think it is best to represent your keyword in both singular and plural forms on your website.

Despite Google taking great pride in the fact that it returns meaningfully different results for "apple" and "apples" (people searching for the single word "apple" are more likely to be seeking the company and not the fruit), for the vast majority of searches, most people would agree that there isn't a whole lot of meaning in the difference between singular and plural searches.

If you think that your searchers could be querying both words, you should optimize for both too.

[deanpowel71]

That's a real practical approach and its always better to use all the permutations and combination or forms of the keywords that you can. This is a smart way of utilizing limited resources you have.

[Hsekhar]

I wouldn't bother about if it is singular or plural. Just write content with the keywords that make sense rather than those that sound odd in a sentence.

[deanpowel71]

That's true. But using a large set of keywords certainly will be more beneficial for your website and this is what most of the people do.

[raj_krv01]

If your plural is more than the addition of an “s” or “es”, never fear. In reality, you can target either and still enjoy a high ranking.

Google is smart enough to identify the relationship between plural and singular. It knows that people who search for the plural may still get some value out of sites that target the singular.

It’s true that - all else being equal - when a user searches for the plural, a site that targets the plural will outrank your site that targets the singular. But you can swing the balance in your favor simply by working harder on the number and quality of your inbound links.