Synonyms in keywords

[Adrian RT]

Hello everyone:

I wanted to know if synonyms really matter in keywords or does the search engine take care of including any word with equivalent meaning?
E.g.: the words forest and wood. Would one of the two be enough or the more synonyms the better?

Thanks

[Jill_C]

Synonyms are a good idea. If you entered "woods" and someone searched on "forest", they would probably never see your image.

[Nancy OShea]

Forest and wood or NOT synonyms.

A forest is a grove of trees.

Wood is lumber or fire fuel.

Without seeing the image, we can't guess which one is more relevant.

As a customer, which keyword would you use to find the image?

[Ricky336]

Actually, wood and forest are synonyms! The usage depends on context, and context can help one choose which word best describes the situation.

[RALPH_L]

You could easily figure that out if you searched for media using the word "forest" and compare the results to the search word "woods".  (woods would be correct. @Nancy OShea  is right). Let us know. 

[daniellei4510]

On the other hands, let us not forget that famous Beatles hit, "Norwegian Wood," or what the Dictionary defines as "a small cluster of trees"  as opposed to a massive forest.

[Abambo]

Yes, they matter.

[Adrian RT]

English is not my language and I was unaware that there were nuances between forest and wood, I was actually convinced that they were total synonyms. Although, my English is not so limited that I didn't know that one of the definitions of wood is "lumber or fire fuel". Obviously my example was with the meaning of a grove or forest !

There are no pictures because they were hypothetical examples. On several occasions I have doubted whether it was worth looking up all the possible synonyms or whether it was a waste of time.

Jill and Ambambo's answers work for me.

Thank you!

[Abambo]

What is your language? If it is German, it's Holz und Wald. If it's French, it's bois et forêt. Other languages have the same distance. It's not a synonym per se, but it goes well together. You shouldn't enter the plural of something as an additional keyword. So if your keyword is “girl” you shouldn't enter “girls” as an additional keyword, but if it is an older girl, you can enter “woman”. If it is a younger girl, it wouldn't be appropriate. It's a question of feeling.

[Nancy OShea]

English is hard.  No arguments there.

Keywords may include formal, informal, & regional slang words, too.

There are as many ways to describe this item as there are ways to use it.

Galvanized Steel, Metal, Mop Bucket, Pail, Planter, Flower Pot, Garden Container, Tub, Vessel...

[Abambo]

English is hard.

By @Nancy OShea

That's a matter of perspective. 😂

[Ricky336]

One thing to remember when using English is that there are quite a few varieties:

Standard US English

English English

Scottish English

Welsh English

Irish English

Australian English

NZ English

South African English

Indian English

Singaporean English

This can make one's head spin! 😁

[Ricky336 · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Well, for example, 'wood'. This would depend on where you live, in UK English, a wood is a small forest - 

a walk in the woods, 'if you go down in the woods today, you'll be in for a big surprise' 🧸

A forest is bigger.

So, they are synonyms in this context, but wood has other meanings as well, so it depends on context.

So, it can matter!