Keyword Optimization, Canonical Question For SEO Experts

[vikalp.jain]

Have a question for SEO experts here. I have a page(Page1) that is optimized for ‘online x classes for y’ and it ranks well on the first page. But the volume for this keyword is low and there is another similar keyword ‘online x1 classes for y’ which has decent volume. x and x1 are almost like synonyms. I want to create a copy(Page2) of Page1 and optimize the title/URL/description for x1. But since they are synonyms, the content on both these pages will be the same. Questions I have are:

1. Is this a good approach?
2. On Page2, should I use a canonical to Page1?
3. Will Google index Page2?
4. Can I generalize this for more than 1 keyword?

 

[Aleksandar916]

Instead of duplicating content to the second page, can you optimize your Page 1 to include the X1 keyword too? It shouldn't be too difficult, just expand it a little bit and Google should pick that up in time.

If that's for some reason not possible, create a second page but try to make the content as unique as possible.

Will Google index Page2?

No reason not to unless you have some manual action against the website. Submit it in GSC for faster indexing.

Can I generalize this for more than 1 keyword?

You should.

 

[Starblazer]

Is this a good approach?

No, it's not. You shouldn't create multiple articles for same/similar keywords. You can write a comprehensive pillar content that covers multiple keywords.

On Page2, should I use a canonical to Page1?

Canonical is for some other purpose. You shouldn't create multiple articles and mark them as canonical.

Will Google index Page2?

No, Google won't index canonical pages. It's like noindex tag that requests Google to ignore duplicate pages.

Can I generalize this for more than 1 keyword?

Yes, you can and you should. Expand your article to cover multiple similar keywords. If it's good, you can rank for all those keywords.

 

[Aleksandar916]

No, it's not. You shouldn't create multiple articles for same/similar keywords. You can write a comprehensive pillar content that covers multiple keywords.


Canonical is for some other purpose. You shouldn't create multiple articles and mark them as canonical.


No, Google won't index canonical pages. It's like noindex tag that requests Google to ignore duplicate pages.


Yes, you can and you should. Expand your article to cover multiple similar keywords. If it's good, you can rank for all those keywords.

Ok, for some reason my brain ignored the word "canonical" from the question so your answers make much more sense.

 

[vikalp.jain]

No, it's not. You shouldn't create multiple articles for same/similar keywords. You can write a comprehensive pillar content that covers multiple keywords.


Canonical is for some other purpose. You shouldn't create multiple articles and mark them as canonical.


No, Google won't index canonical pages. It's like noindex tag that requests Google to ignore duplicate pages.


Yes, you can and you should. Expand your article to cover multiple similar keywords. If it's good, you can rank for all those keywords.

Thank you! This makes sense!