How Many Keywords Should I Use for SEO? – Technologist

Internet users use keywords to find the information they need. If you want to generate website traffic by ranking highly on search engines, you must select keywords that will help your website stay competitive. Using keywords in your search engine optimization strategy is like using seasoning while cooking; they enhance the content and help it stand out from other websites.

Unfortunately, keyword stuffing has the same effect as overseasoning a dish. Too many keywords overpower the content and cause the reader to miss out on the meat of the article. To start developing an effective content strategy, first ask: How many keywords should I use for SEO?

What Are Keywords for SEO and How Do You Choose Good Ones?

SEO keywords are words or short phrases that internet users use to search for subjects. These specific terms help search engines understand exactly what information your content contains. Choosing the right keywords for your website content helps the pages rank highly on search engines to generate more traffic and boost sales.

Just randomly choosing words or phrases related to the subject of your content is not a good strategy for SEO. To choose the right keywords, look for ones that meet four criteria.

1. Conversion Rate

Select specific keywords that encourage sales and interaction. Broad keywords such as “dogs” generally don’t have as high of a conversion rate as “best dog breeds for kids.”

2. Search Volume

Choose keywords that people already search for. Use an SEO tool such as Google Analytics to see which terms have the highest search volume. As a general rule, keywords should have a search volume of at least 30 per month.

3. Relevance

Pick keywords that are closely related to the topic of your content but aren’t so specific that they are rarely searched for. For example, a pest control company writing a blog post about bed bugs may use keywords such as “signs of bed bugs” or “bed bug control” over broader keywords such as “pest control” or “get rid of pests in your home.”

4. Competition

For your content to be competitive and beat out currently ranking results on search engines, you must go after keywords you have a good chance of winning. Pursuing the highest competition keywords on a new or small site is unlikely to give you results. Instead, start with lower competition keywords and see if you can make your site the authority on those subjects. Checking the Google ad space for a given term can help you see which keywords are highly competitive. The lowest rank is 0 and the highest is 1, so select keywords that fall on the lower end of the two extremes for the best results.

Few keywords meet all of these criteria. Most keywords will be stronger in one or two areas, so choosing several words or phrases to strike a balance is a good foundation for a content marketing strategy.

How Many Keywords Should Be Used for SEO In General?

Keyword overuse waters down your content, so learning how to incorporate them correctly is crucial. There is no hard-and-fast rule for many keywords should be used in a piece of content, but most search engines tend to favor web pages with a keyword density between 0.5 and 2%.

Calculate keyword frequency by dividing the number of keyword uses by the total number of words in the article and multiplying that answer by 100. Using a specific keyword 10 times in a 1000-word article, for example, results in a keyword density of 1%.

As a general rule of thumb, aim to use keywords once for every 100-200 words in your content. In a 500-word blog post, use the primary keyword 2-5 times for best results. Using more may flag your content on search engines and cause it to rank lower when users search for its keywords.