If i have backlinks with the achor text of "shoes" it would improve my serps for "shoes" but could it also help my rankings for something like "nike shoes"? Or does it not count at all? Does it at least help a little bit? Thanks in advance guys! (It was a general idea, not planning to make something about shoes xD)
Not that I'm any expert, but I'd say YES. Have you not searched for nike shoes and seen adidas, or new balance? Same thing. Now, if the searcher quotes the query and makes it a phrase? Maybe not... HTH, ECS Dave
Yes a keyword will help in ranking directly for that keyword but also indirectly for others, over time you can sometimes find your site ranking for some keyword phrases that you didn't expect because indirectly you have been hitting them too. Sometimes i think people make the mistake of when for example they are pushing hard to rank for a keyword they keep pushing for that single keyword not realising that if they add two or 3 words as long as it has the main keyword they are still helping their effort.
Yes it help. Different variations of your keywords will give credit for both of the keywords in your anchor text.