Keywords are an essential aspect of search engine optimization (SEO). These words or phrases inform search engines of what your website, pages, and content are all about, making it easier for people to connect with you if you offer answers, products, or services related to what they need. A lot of people think learning SEO and keyword research is hard, but really, it’s quite straightforward and all about implementing what you know.
After identifying the relevant keywords you want to target, the next thing to think about is applying these to your site. This often starts with the question, “How many keywords should I use for SEO?” There’s no firm answer to this. The ideal keyword density depends on several factors, including your budget, timeframe, audience, and competition, among others. You can work with one keyword, but you can also go up anywhere between fifteen to twenty. That said, three to five keywords are an excellent place to start.
If you’re curious to learn if Google reviews can help SEO, click here to read our post on the topic!
What Are Keywords?
A keyword is an idea or topic that describes your website page and the content on it. People use these keywords on search engines like Google, and the sites that provide the most relevant content for it come out at the top of the results. So to connect with audiences better, brands apply SEO strategies, including keyword research and optimization, to bring their content to the top, translating to more site traffic and an increase in the potential number of sales or conversions.
Why Are Keywords Important?
Keywords are necessary because they help connect brands with their target market. Any company with an online presence aims to generate leads, conversions, or sales from people on the Internet. And this is best done if you’re able to connect with people who are already looking for what you offer, i.e., people actively searching for what you provide.
The concept of keywords is something anyone who’s learning how to do content analysis, content creation, or content management must master since these can have a major impact on content marketing efforts.
How Many Keywords Should You Target For SEO?
You have to be mindful of how many keywords you target for SEO. There’s no magic number to it, though actively targeting between three to five keywords for every page is generally recommended. That said, you can go more or less depending on your objectives.
Important Things To Know About Keywords
It is critical to know the following to ensure that you’re effectively optimizing your pages and maximizing your keywords.
You’ll Rank For More Than You Target
The reason why you shouldn’t obsess about overloading your pages with keywords is that you’re probably going to rank for more than you target anyway. For example, even if you focus on the keyword phrase “Google Reviews and Rankings” you will likely also rank for synonyms or related terms, mainly if you’ve used these other terminologies within the page. That means you can also rank for topics like “Google ranking” or “good Google reviews,” among others.
Keep It Natural
The way that search engines check pages is affected by the relevance of your secondary keywords to the primary keyword. Furthermore, it considers the relation of the rest of your page to these. Search engines might not rank you as well as you hope if you keep injecting unrelated topics onto a page. Keep your content natural, and you’ll find that you’ll start naturally raking for related keywords, and these will make your content even more relevant to people who are searching for the information you offer.
You Can Have Too Many Keywords
It’s a common misconception that the more keywords you inject into something, the higher the chances it becomes a top-ranking page. But nowadays, you can be penalized if you stuff too many keywords into a single piece. Search engines are intelligent, and they can tell whether you’re just trying to cheat the algorithm or producing high-quality and relevant content that will satisfy their users. So it’s best to avoid the temptation to start keyword stuffing your page in hopes of helping it rank better.
Conclusion: There’s No Exact Keyword Science
Keywords, much like SEO in general, are not an exact science, but rather a game of probability, one that’s affected by several factors, which are often changing. What’s critical here is following the established best practices and optimizing your content according to your business goals and objectives. The best way to figure out the keywords that you need is to keep your audience in mind. Knowing the behavior and psychology of your target market can help you connect with them through the creation of well-crafted content and targeted keyword use.
