As a business or SEO agency owner, you’re probably wondering how many keywords to use for SEO to get your website ranking highly. It’s a common question, and this article will cover this topic and more about keyword usage for SEO. We’ll explore keyword density and other essential factors.
Nearly 70% of searches originate on a search engine like Google. This emphasizes the importance of keyword optimization in attracting organic website traffic. Keyword strategy can feel complicated, so let’s clarify it.
How Many Keywords to Use for SEO: A Practical Guide
There’s a misconception that more keywords equal higher rankings. This simply isn’t true. Search engines favor quality content that satisfies search intent over keyword-stuffed articles. Finding the right keyword balance is important for SEO keyword success.
Primary Keyword Strategy
Begin by selecting a primary keyword that accurately reflects each page’s topic. This primary keyword should be your central focus. Choose the most relevant term with reasonable search volume and a good idea of keyword rank tracking.
For example, for Top10VPN, “best VPN” is a primary keyword target. This becomes the cornerstone of optimization. Another example is the keyphrase “how many keywords to use for SEO”. Using a keyword tool like Keysearch helps assess metrics such as monthly searches and find related keywords. This allows for optimizing content for multiple relevant keywords and search intents. Building content around a starting keyword and related phrases attracts more organic visitors from various searches related to how many keywords to use for SEO.
Supporting Your Primary Keyword With Secondary Keywords
After establishing your primary keyword, determine several related secondary keywords. This isn’t keyword stuffing, it’s about semantic richness. Providing context to search engines improves user experience.
If your primary keyword is “dog toys,” your secondary keywords might be “best chew toys,” “squeaky toys,” “indestructible dog toys,” “eco-friendly dog toys,” and “interactive dog toys.” These additional keywords improve user experience by addressing diverse user intents.
This strategy broadens your audience reach, attracting users with specific needs, such as chew toys for anxious dogs or eco-friendly options. Targeting both primary and secondary keywords on a single page increases the chance of conversions and returning visitors. Thinking about target audience and specific locations also plays a role in relevant keyword selection.
How Many Secondary Keywords is Too Many?
The optimal number of secondary keywords depends on content length and topic complexity. There’s no set number; focus on natural integration. Overstuffing secondary keywords makes content sound artificial. A long-form article aiming for quality insights organically incorporates many related keywords with varying search volume.
Concentrating on one primary keyword and building a detailed article around it avoids keyword cannibalization, a situation where your pages compete against each other for ranking, and thin content can cannibalize itself with more authoritative resources covering the same keyword phrases.
Prioritizing quality insights over simply hitting numerical keyword targets is essential. This avoids diluting ranking potential and provides comprehensive coverage of the topic.
Context is Key
Weave your chosen keywords naturally into your writing. Focus on answering relevant questions and addressing needs related to the main topic. Search google with these keyword phrases in mind. Write articles for people, not search engines.
Search engines understand context. A page targeting only “dog toys” is less helpful than one discussing specific types, like “interactive dog toys”, “best chew toys”, and “durable rope toys.” Consider adding a meta description and alt text with relevant keywords to boost SEO and accessibility. Remember that using keywords naturally will increase your website visitors.
Content Quality Always Reigns Supreme
Search engines prefer thorough and helpful resources. A detailed 2,000-word article on how many keywords to use for SEO, including various related topics, outranks ten 300-word posts, each narrowly focused on a single keyword variation.
Value trumps word count; let the topic determine the length. Aim for industry authority through well-researched content. Don’t be afraid to include common keywords if they fit naturally. Look for ways to encourage sales using long-tail keywords. Track keyword rankings with a user-friendly tool and try some thought leadership SEO content.
Long-Tail Keywords Are Your Friends
Long-tail keywords, being more specific phrases, match conversational search patterns. They provide a valuable secondary traffic source. After some initial SEO keyword work and a few months post-publishing, they drive organic traffic based on their own search volume. These types of keywords can target specific locations and help grow your email list.
For example, instead of “how many keywords to use for SEO”, consider “how to rank blog using targeted secondary keyphrases.” This long-tail keyword attracts organic leads with its natural, conversational tone.
Analyze and Adapt
Use resources like Google Search Console (GSC) to track overall performance of the starting keyword and all long-tail keyword variations, although be aware of possible data inconsistencies. Don’t fixate on daily keyword ranking fluctuations, but monitor which search queries land your page in Google’s top 10. GSC offers insight into your site’s visibility.
Also, utilize tools like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer to discover keywords people search and the “Also rank for” data to uncover unexpected search terms that bring traffic to your articles. Refine and update your content based on these insights for better ranking. Use the search console data to help understand your audience’s search intent and write articles that address those questions.
Determining how many keywords to use for SEO isn’t about a specific number. It’s about a strategy that values relevance, context, and valuable information. Quality surpasses quantity. Strive for a balance between primary and secondary keywords, focusing on user intent. Prioritize comprehensive, insightful content. Use long-tail keywords to capture specific searches. Keep in mind that while keywords are important, so is building industry authority and delivering quality SEO content.
