Hi! Is there a difference between optimization for ROCK DALLAS and DALLAS ROCK (just as an example)? If you check Google Keyword Tool you see that the number of searches is the same - so there is now difference. What about in text? What if you do all your keyword linking in reverse like HAT RED? Would you rank high on HAT RED or it would be the same as RED HAT?
Google does give weight to each individual word used in links. So you can get good rankings even if you reverse the order of the keywords. You can see this in action if you search for a keyword phrase in reverse. A lot of the top sites are there as well. I just checked this for a webpage that I know we did not build any x2 x1 links for. We rank 1st for x1 x2 and x2 x1 just because we are strong enough for each individual word. MSN works in a similar fashion, but Yahoo seems to prefer exact matches.
Keyword order is definitely relevant and extremely important because word order makes a huge impact in rank. If you search the major search engines, you will find that the order of your keywords makes a huge difference on where your website ranks. In the example Martamars is giving ROCK DALLAS and DALLAS ROCK or HAT RED and RED HAT. It seems to me that the two versions of the keywords you mention have potentially significantly different meanings.
Yes, the order does matter. Just check the results of HAT RED and RED HAT, and you would know. Also, you would definitely suffer if people are searching for an exact match - that is, if they are searching for "RED HAT".
Hi, Keyword order make sence Because you will get different result when you shuffle keywords. Example: check Guaranteed SEO services and SEO Guaranteed services you will get different results.
It really depends on the keyword. Some keywords would actually get many searches for reverse order. In those cases it may be worthwhile to optimize for both. Most keywords are not like this though. Still, if you are strong enough for the regular version, you are usually right near the top for the reverse order. Put a lot of effort into ranking for the regular version. Once you are ranked well, if you don't have similar rankings for the reverse order, get some reverse order anchor text links to that same page. There is no need to create two separate pages or two separate sites for both versions of a keyword. That is a waste of time.
By the way 'red hat' is a very bad example for this because hat red becomes 'hatred' to Google. Try 2 searches with 'blue hat' and 'hat blue' instead.