I need help with a keyword on google

[jeffstrum]

My site has been up for 10 months. We have been indexed in Google for several months. My most valuable keyword is "las vegas executive suites". When you run a search on google for "las vegas executive suites" there is a little over a million websites that come up. We are ranked on third page at number 28. If I take out "las" and run, "vegas executive suites", there is 727,000 sites that come up and we are ranked number 2. This just doesn't seem right. Our site is optimized for "las vegas executive suites". We don't mention "las vegas" any less than "vegas" on our site. I would appreciate any help. My site is plazaoffices.com. Thank you. We are number 2 on yahoo and number one on MSN so this problem is only on google

[Marcia]

Hey guess what? When I first read your post before looking at the site name or the site itself, I assumed it was for executive hotel suites in Las Vegas. :)

It isn't in the hompage title or the IBLs, it's the on-page and mainly the sitewide optimization. Run the homepage through a spider simulator and see what the engines are seeing for the links.

Also look at what's showing at Yahoo for the site

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv1-&p=site%3aplazaoffices.com

Side issue: interesting what they're doing with the PDFs in the description snippets.

[jeffstrum]

Marcia, Can you please explain. My keyword does show up in the the title so I am not certain as to what you mean ?? Thank you

[Marcia]

Sorry, I phrased that post badly. I'm saying (or trying to say, LOL) that the problem isn't with the title, that it's the on-page optimization and site navigation that need some work.

[Robert_Charlton]

jeffstrum - You asked a two part question and Marcia answered the first part. To expand just a bit on her answer, your onpage optimization actually makes me believe in an over-optimization penalty. ;) Wa-a-a-ay too many unnecessary reps.

I also see a lot of link exchange type sites and directories in your backlinks, and my guess is that Google doesn't like them. When you say you've been "indexed in Google for several months," that doesn't say how old the site or the domain is... "indexed" is a vague word. I'm guessing that you mean it's a fairly new site with fairly new links, and I'm seeing that you've probably raised several flags that indicate bad quality to Google. There are a number of discussions going on the forum right now about this. Among others...

Google and website 'profiles'
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=6709

Some of the recent posts in this thread...
56 Directories To Submit To
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=2769&page=5&pp=20

Some of the posts on this thread...
Tip to find directories & websites to list/add your website to
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?p=54060#post54060

And this thread...
BadRank & Page Penalization
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=5142

Your question is a two parter, though, and the second part raises an interesting point in relation to the above threads...

...If I take out "las" and run, "vegas executive suites", there is 727,000 sites that come up and we are ranked number 2. This just doesn't seem right. Our site is optimized for "las vegas executive suites". We don't mention "las vegas" any less than "vegas" on our site. I would appreciate any help....

I'm just thinking out loud here, but my guess is that this is an indication of how the Google looks at searches when sites are under a cloud.

You've got so many repetitions of "las vegas executive suites" that you've probably got more onpage matches of "vegas executive suites" than anyone else on the web.

The search for "las vegas executive suites," while not a very competive one (only 985 exact matches) is the one that's generally searched, though. Google has probably either downgraded (or not counted) your inbound links enough that you're not coming up to the top because you would need the benefits of inbound links to do that, even on that search.

"Sandboxed" sites have been able to rank on extremely non-competitive searches, though, for which they could rank by onpage factors only. "vegas executive suites" is such an extremely non-competitive search.

What's interesting about it, I think, is the competitivity is measured in this case, not by the number of exact matches ("vegas executive suites" actually shows 994 exact matches), but either by some sort of semantic analysis.. which says that "las vegas" is the more commonly associated modifier... or else by stats that Google has on the number of actual searches. That's my quick take on it, at any rate.

I'd clean up the pages, get rid of some bad links, probably both inbounds and outbounds, and replace them with some good ones.

[yourStore]

But if you aren't making the main SERPs, I'd put a little effort into getting listed in the local results at the top of the page.