When I hear the word Tide, I think of laundry soap - a product that you buy at a store and use to wash clothes. My initial attempt at a laundry list of keywords for Tide would probably include words that reflect washing clothes: soap, detergent, clean, wash, laundry, and of course, Tide. There are varying opinions on the importance of keywords. They are probably not very significant standing alone, but when used in combination with the webpage theme, keywords will help Google recognize legitimate webpage content (Fleischner, p.24).
The source information at Tide.com on June 9, 2010 revealed the following list of keywords and phrases: official Tide site; get info; detergent; stains; stain solutions; variants; scents; value; coupons; products; articles; loads of hope; questions; search; contact Tide; message board. Detergent and stains make a lot of sense to use as keywords for Tide, but I wonder why they chose variants, get info, questions and search as keywords. It is not a good idea to use a specific keyword if no one uses it when searching online (Fleischner, p.25). I find it hard to believe that a person would search for “products” or “value” in an effort to find the Tide website.
Sage Lewis posted an article on ClickZ dated June 1, 2010 called The Beginning – A Very Good Place to Start. Lewis agrees with Fleischner on this keyword subject. Lewis stressed the importance of completing appropriate research on keyword phrases in order to connect with customers. Vocabulary used within a specific company can often be completely different than a customer’s vocabulary. In order to increase search engine rankings, you should use the words your potential visitors use when looking for your website.
When it comes to keywords at the Tide website, I would certainly think that “Tide” should be among the chosen words. I guess it is possible that Tide is such a strong, familiar product that the keyword meta tags don’t have to be a priority. I went to Google and searched for “stain solutions” and Tide.com was listed on the second page. When I searched for detergent, I found Tide.com in the 4th spot on the first page. I typed in “questions” and Tide.com was nowhere to be found. So, why does Tide.com use “questions” as a keyword? Good question.
The source information at Tide.com on June 9, 2010 revealed the following list of keywords and phrases: official Tide site; get info; detergent; stains; stain solutions; variants; scents; value; coupons; products; articles; loads of hope; questions; search; contact Tide; message board. Detergent and stains make a lot of sense to use as keywords for Tide, but I wonder why they chose variants, get info, questions and search as keywords. It is not a good idea to use a specific keyword if no one uses it when searching online (Fleischner, p.25). I find it hard to believe that a person would search for “products” or “value” in an effort to find the Tide website.
Sage Lewis posted an article on ClickZ dated June 1, 2010 called The Beginning – A Very Good Place to Start. Lewis agrees with Fleischner on this keyword subject. Lewis stressed the importance of completing appropriate research on keyword phrases in order to connect with customers. Vocabulary used within a specific company can often be completely different than a customer’s vocabulary. In order to increase search engine rankings, you should use the words your potential visitors use when looking for your website.
When it comes to keywords at the Tide website, I would certainly think that “Tide” should be among the chosen words. I guess it is possible that Tide is such a strong, familiar product that the keyword meta tags don’t have to be a priority. I went to Google and searched for “stain solutions” and Tide.com was listed on the second page. When I searched for detergent, I found Tide.com in the 4th spot on the first page. I typed in “questions” and Tide.com was nowhere to be found. So, why does Tide.com use “questions” as a keyword? Good question.
You are on to a few things here, one of which the high brand recognition of "Tide." Tide might figure you will find the site anyway, so keywords are not a factor. But your analysis shows that a consumer looking for a "stain solution" might not find Tide. Maybe they should consider search terms their target market might use: "chocolate stain removal,"ketchup stains," or "baby puke." So sorry 'bout that.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree!
ReplyDeleteWhy do large companies (that are well established) feel like they don't need to pay attention to their meta tags?
Target is the same way!
Interesting/Great analysis Angela. Tide should take some tips from Fleischner and work on their keywords. I googled american motorcycle, because your searched peaked my interest, and HD showed up halfway down the 1st page. HD uses USA in part of their title so I was curious how they would rank when I used American Motorcyle. Learning about Google is awesome and makes me feel empowered and ready to start designing my own website.
ReplyDeleteYup. It's interesting how many companies fall off in this area. I was surprised by that amount of well know companies (as Amy stated above about Target) struggle or don't care about key words.
ReplyDeleteInteresting