Plural(s) and Search Engine Optimisation

SEO savvy clients, semi clued up on current Search Engine Optimisation methodologies, often ask the question “How do search engines treat keywords in relation to plural(s)?”

Short answer is, different search engine handle plurals in different ways, it is also worth noting that a search engine which considers plurals keyword to be different from the singular keyword now may not do so in the future, and vice-versa. In any case, you are always better off optimizing your site for both the plural and singular keyword variations.
Firstly, ask the search engine!

Just open up your favourite search engine, type in your keyword with and without the (s), then analyse the top 10/20 SERP’s. Also it is recommended you try on a few other popular search engines to validate decision.

If the search engine churns out similar sites but in a slightly different order, then it is safe to assume that, that particular search engine treats plurals intelligently and recognises there is a link between the two keyword and treats them as the same, this is particularly true for some long tail keywords.

If the search engine churns out totally different sites, then it is safe to assume that, that particular search engine treats plurals as two totally independent keywords.

Finally, in my experience, on the whole it is logically safe to assume that a search for singular keywords will inevitably show SERP’s containing the plural version if relevant, however searches for plurals usually only show SERP’s containing plurals especially in the top 10 SERP’s.

Conclusion, it is highly likely searchers use a combination of plurals and singular keywords, hence its always good practice to optimise for both versions of your keywords, assuming that both versions are popular and more importantly relevant.

Vipul
SEO Programmer