How do I rank for short-tail, one-word keywords?

[Dani]

Hey,
I got an page/article that currently ranks at #46 for the main keyword (very broad, a parent keyword like "shoes") and I want to improve it's position.

What would you recommend I focus on next:

1. Expand the page (it got the average content length of the top 10 pages beat by 20%, plus, it has a better UX already)?
2. Build backlinks to it?
3. Build more supporting content (already have 7 supporting pages built already, all ranking for the respective keywords between positions 1-100)?

 

[ToffeeLa]

Hey,
I got an page/article that currently ranks at #46 for the main keyword (very broad, a parent keyword like "shoes") and I want to improve it's position.

What would you recommend I focus on next:

1. Expand the page (it got the average content length of the top 10 pages beat by 20%, plus, it has a better UX already)?
2. Build backlinks to it?
3. Build more supporting content (already have 7 supporting pages built already, all ranking for the respective keywords between positions 1-100)?

Very much an 'it depends' situation.

For example, does the article have a competitive number of backlinks already (meaning how does it compare to the top 10 results)?
How about the supporting content articles?
How well does the article and the supporting content address the scope of the topic keyword (in other words, address what might be considered to be essential sub-topics)?

 

[bernard]

Hey,
I got an page/article that currently ranks at #46 for the main keyword (very broad, a parent keyword like "shoes") and I want to improve it's position.

What would you recommend I focus on next:

1. Expand the page (it got the average content length of the top 10 pages beat by 20%, plus, it has a better UX already)?
2. Build backlinks to it?
3. Build more supporting content (already have 7 supporting pages built already, all ranking for the respective keywords between positions 1-100)?

You need to do all to compete for broad keywords, but more important is to figure out the intent of the search phrase.

Broad keywords are usually mixed/unclear intent. You could be wanting to buy "wine", but you could also want to know more about how it is made.

Most broad keywords are a mix of ecommerce and informational, which make them difficult to rank as an affiliate.

My experience is that Google only finds room for one or two typical niche sites for broad keywords if at all, the rest is info from high trust sites and ecommerce.

 

[Hanuman]

I got an page/article that currently ranks at #46 for the main keyword (very broad, a parent keyword like "shoes") and I want to improve it's position.

I'd expand the page. If the parent keyword is indeed something like "shoes", then I doubt people actually search for this exact keyword. They should be searching for variants of it ("adidas shoes", "cheap shoes online", etc.)

So by expanding the page, you are going to be able to reach the first page of a lot more of these keyword variations.

 

[Pagey]

Hey,
I got an page/article that currently ranks at #46 for the main keyword (very broad, a parent keyword like "shoes") and I want to improve it's position.

What would you recommend I focus on next:

1. Expand the page (it got the average content length of the top 10 pages beat by 20%, plus, it has a better UX already)?
2. Build backlinks to it?
3. Build more supporting content (already have 7 supporting pages built already, all ranking for the respective keywords between positions 1-100)?

How many links do your competitor have?
How many supporting pages do your competitors have?

Gut feeling tells me you need to throw a few links and see what happens. If that doesn't move you either lack topical authority or domain authority

 

[Dani]

The keyword is basically a pure info keyword (like "quotes") and I built a hub page for it with around 4k words (it is structured neatly with buttons that take you to the desired section – i.e. "quotes about love").

• the main search term is a 1.1 million searches per month keyword with a KD of 11.
• the top 3 has an average of 10 (weak) links but high topical relevance (websites dedicated to "quotes", 50-100s of pages)
• is a non-english search term

since the search intent is inspirational / entertainment I'm quite happy with the onpage UX so I'll focus on creating more support content (which also has a solid amount of searches per month respectively) and start building links slowly.

thanks for all your answers, I really appreciate it.