A Search Engine Watch Forums thread asks a unique but very interesting question.
In short, this SEO's client wants him to rank a page well for a keyword phrase, but at the same time, he does not want the page to rank for a single keyword found within that phrase. The example given in the thread is that he wants to rank well for [bmw defects].
I have a good example of this in play on a real site. I purchased a Niko TV (it is an excellent TV by the way) because it had a very attractive rebate offer. Problem was, the rebate was too good to be true. So I wrote a blog post at my personal blog named Niko Rebate Very Scammy. Guess what? I rank in the top Google result (top two) for niko rebate. However, I do not rank in the top ten for niko in Google.
In another example, I was upset that my Sunbeam Water Cooler Sprung a Leak back in 2004, so I wrote about it. It now ranks number one in Google for sunbeam water cooler and has hundreds of comments from other owners of this water cooler, who have experienced the same thing. In fact, Sunbeam customer service has commented several times to offer support. Plus, it has influenced consumer's purchase decisions.
How can you guarantee that a page ranks well for a specific keyword phrase but not the keyword in the phrase? In the BMW example, to rank well for bmw rebate but not rank well for bmw? That is hard. The more competitive the brand name is, the less likely you will rank well for that keyword. It is much easier to rank well for a keyword phrase. So start slow and hope for the best.
Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.
