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How Many SEO Keywords Should I Use?

POP blog author Kyle Roof
Kyle Roof
April 28, 2022

One of the most important ways that you can help rank your website higher in search results is to use keywords. They are still a valuable part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but they are not the only factor that you need to consider. Over the years, there has been some debate about how many keywords you need to use, and Google has changed its algorithm to markdown sites that use too many.

So how many SEO keywords should I use? Essentially, you only need to use one keyword per page, and there is no total limit per website. However, it isn’t just how many keywords you use — it’s also which ones you choose that are important.

What Are Keywords?

Keywords are what define your content and describe what your website is all about. Typically they need to be terms or phrases that would be entered into the search box of Google or any other search engine. For example, if your website is about a beauty salon, then you would need to use keywords that someone might search for when looking for a beauty salon. To give your website the best chance of being found, make sure you’re using the relevant keywords.

Why Are Keywords Important?

There are millions of websites out there, and there may be many that are trying to reach the same audience as you. This is why you need to have keywords that people will be searching for when they’re looking for something online.

Begin by trying to think about how your readers or customers will search for you. What language would they use, and which words would they enter to find what they want? The best way to find this out is to engage with your audience through forums or social media

How Many Keywords Can You Use?

Long gone are the days when people would use keyword stuffing to put as many in an article as possible. This often made the final piece unreadable and did not offer anything to the reader. Google changed its algorithm to penalize these sites to encourage a better experience for the readers. One keyword per page is all you need to get your post noticed by Google and will help as long as the keyword is relevant.

Types of Keywords

Keywords do not always mean single words. There can also be “long tail keywords” which comprise three or more words. In the basic sense, keywords would have a head, body, and tail. The head will reference a general idea of the product or topic. For example, if you’re writing about cars, then cars would be the head of the keyword. The body would add more details about the product such as car prices. The tail will add more words to describe what someone might search for such as “best car prices for Fords”.

Other Areas For Keywords

Apart from the main text, there are other areas where you can add keywords.

Meta Description

This is an area of the HTML code that will be searchable as well as the main text. Keywords in this area should also be relevant to the content or Goggle will ignore it. This is to stop people from adding other keywords that mean nothing to the article and are just there to try and rank higher.

Title Tag

The title tag is only 60 characters long and is where you can add keywords to the title of your article. Because it’s so short, it needs to have relevant and concise information about the subject. Keywords are an essential part of getting your website noticed by search engines. However, you need to be careful how you use them and ensure they describe your content correctly.

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