Are you a small business owner looking to enhance your online visibility and boost your ranking? If you’re new to blogging and content creation, you might be wondering, “How many keywords should I include in a blog?” At Lux Digital Marketing, we frequently receive this query from beginners seeking to improve their online presence.
Keyword Use – A Quick History Lesson
In the past, incorporating your keywords multiple times into your content could potentially improve your search engine ranking. The belief was that if I had chosen the phrase “Best Solar Panels,” using that exact phrase throughout my blog would signal to Google that the content was indeed focused on solar panels. However, this led to the creation of cookie-cutter websites, overloaded with exact-match keyword phrases in every possible location, from the page title to the domain name. The outcome? Search engine users were left dissatisfied with the information they found.
Many of the top-ranking websites were comprised of spun articles—low-quality pieces that were mass-produced, barely readable, and ultimately useless. The excessive keyword stuffing within each paragraph, sentence, and line by SEO writers rendered the information meaningless.
According to Google, “keyword stuffing” refers to the unnatural overuse of keywords, which can result in penalties. Now that you have a better understanding of what to avoid, let’s explore the correct way to use keywords in your content.
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How to Choose the Best Keyword Targets
Before considering how many times your keywords will appear in your content, you need to address the question, “What keywords should I choose for my website?” This is where keyword research becomes crucial.
I’m not referring to using free platforms like the AdWords Keyword Planner, which only provides a few keyword suggestions. You need a more powerful tool, such as SEMrush or Ahrefs.
When creating content or running marketing campaigns, it’s important not to limit yourself to just one keyword. Instead, incorporate “supporting keywords” alongside your main keyword. Broad keywords with high traffic are often saturated, so using long-tail keywords as supporting keywords can boost the visibility of your article. Ensure that these long-tail keywords are relevant to your main keyword.
Keyword tools make it easy to find these supporting keywords. Simply enter at least one “seed” keyword, click the “search” button, and let the tool do its job. SEMrush will provide you with a good number of long-tail keywords, along with other important metrics such as average search volume and keyword competition.
To help you decide which keywords to target, here are some tips to consider:
Compare Keyword Competitiveness With Your Brand’s Ranking Power
Keyword tools measure the average competitiveness (Avg. KC) on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest level of competition.
If you want to ensure accuracy, include your domain URL in your Semrush project to calculate the recommended average KC. If you’re still uncertain, add your domain URL to your Semrushproject, which will calculate the recommended average KC for your brand.
The Most Popular Keyword Is Not Always the Best Choice
You’re right. It’s not always necessary to target keywords with the highest search volume. The KC rating should also be taken into consideration.
Using a keyword with a search volume of around 100 can be sufficient. Such a keyword could be more effective in terms of conversions compared to popular keywords.
Consider the User’s Intent
The question is not “Which keywords should I use,” but rather “Why should I use these keywords?” User intent plays a significant role in determining profitability, although it is not an official metric. Instead of using an excessive number of keywords in SEO, writers should prioritize the keywords that are most relevant to their target audience.
Keywords that include commercial terms such as “hire,” “for sale,” or “order” have a higher potential to convert traffic into customers. This is because they are commonly used in transactional searches, where users have the intention to take action rather than merely gather information.
How Many Keywords Should You Use Per Page or Post?
There is no maximum keyword count for SEO. However, for the best results, it is recommended to optimize your page for up to 10 keywords. It is crucial to ensure that these keywords do not disrupt the flow or cohesiveness of your content. Each keyword should be relevant and aligned with your main keyword.
In your keyword research, consider looking for LSI (latent semantic indexing) keywords. These are different words that refer to the same subject. LSI keywords help search engines understand the context and intent of your content. Google often provides keyword suggestions based on user searches, which you can use to generate new LSI keyword ideas that are relevant to your page or keyword.
Using LSI keywords, along with your main target keyword, confirms to Google that your content provides an enhanced perspective on a particular topic. These additional keywords help Google identify your page as a suitable match for relevant searches.
For example, if your main keyword is “baby rompers,” you can include related LSI keywords such as “baby jumpsuits.” Similarly, if you’re targeting “affordable bed sheets,” you can consider using LSI variations like “cheap bed sheets.”
It is important to avoid using multiple keywords that are exact matches to your seed keyword. While there is no specific limit to the number of keywords you can use for SEO, using excessively similar keywords can harm your page’s quality.
Let’s say your seed keyword is “affordable Wedding Photographer.” Instead of incorporating supporting keywords like “affordable Wedding Photographer Florida,” “affordable Wedding photographer services,” and “affordable Marriage Photographer for Hire” all on one page, it could appear as if you are deliberately inserting the phrase “affordable photographer.” This would be considered keyword stuffing in the eyes of Google and should be avoided.
Correct Keyword Use
What should you do after identifying the keywords you want to target? How much keyword usage is excessive?
In the early days of blogging and content marketing, some tools checked keyword densities in each post. Keyword density refers to the percentage of times a particular word appears in an article. For example, if you included the word “diapers” 10 times in a 1,000-word article about baby products, your keyword density would be 1%.
The common question people often ask is, “What percentage of words in my article should contain my keyword? 1%? 3%?” The answer depends on the specific situation. However, I encourage you not to focus solely on keyword density. Instead, prioritize writing high-quality content naturally and engagingly. If keyword usage looks forced or awkward, it’s best to avoid it.
When you conduct thorough keyword research, you’ll discover that you can rank on Google for a variety of search phrases. Targeting long-tail keyword variations can be beneficial in achieving this goal.
Beware: Keyword Frequency vs. Keyword Density
Keyword density is an important factor in using keywords correctly. As mentioned earlier, it refers to the percentage of your keyword’s presence in the entire text.
On the other hand, keyword frequency represents the number of times a keyword appears within a text, irrespective of its length. While density takes into account the overall text length, frequency focuses solely on keyword appearances.
When comparing keyword density and frequency, keyword density holds greater significance. It is not the same to use a keyword 10 times on a 1,000-word webpage as it is to include that same keyword 10 times on a 10,000-word page. The latter version is more likely to perform well in terms of density, whereas the former could be flagged as keyword spam.
Keyword density can be utilized as a metric to gauge the natural flow of an article. On the other hand, keyword frequency is not a useful metric for improving or enhancing keyword analysis. Therefore, relying on keyword frequency as your primary guide is not recommended.
How Many Times Should I Use a Specific Keyword?
It is not necessary to use a particular keyword a certain number of times. As mentioned above, keyword frequency is not the best metric for optimizing pages for SEO. Instead of focusing on the number of times you use a specific keyword, shift your focus to the following points:
- Use the keyword wherever you want
- What keywords do you use?
- How natural does the overall keyword density look?
The most important of these three points is to use your keywords in the correct places. Be sure to include your primary and secondary keywords in the following areas:
- Meta Description
- Title of the Post and Page
- Headline
- Subheadings
- Body Text
- Image File Names and Alt Text
The three metrics above can help you get the best results out of your keywords. Continue reading to discover more marketing techniques!
Meta Keyword Tags
Meta keyword tags used to be a crucial aspect of SEO in the past, when search engines were not as advanced. These tags were employed to help Google comprehend the content of a page.
However, meta keyword tags are now considered outdated. Modern search algorithms no longer rely on them and using these tags could even raise red flags for spam.
Instead, focus on compellingly incorporating your keywords within your title and description. While the impact on your ranking may vary according to different reports, it is certain to enhance your click-through rates. When users come across your listing, the title and description will play a crucial role in influencing their decision to visit your website or not.
Solid On-Page SEO
On-page SEO involves optimizing your web page or blog post for search engines. It encompasses all the small optimizations you make to convince Google that your web page is relevant to a specific keyword.
It is crucial to include your keyword in the page title, within the initial paragraphs of the content, and ideally, in the URL. If your goal is to rank well for moderately competitive keywords, it is important to ensure that your content is engaging and comprehensive.
FAQs
What Is a Good Keyword Density?
There is no definitive “perfect” keyword density that applies universally.
What constitutes a good keyword density can vary depending on factors such as the article’s topic, length, target audience, and how search engines interpret keywords. Thus, there is no definitive answer.
In the past, there was a period when the ideal keyword density was considered to be 2.5%. This was a common recommendation for marketers and content creators. However, things have changed, and today there is no specific percentage that is universally applicable. The highest-ranking pages often have a keyword density of less than 1%.
Instead of fixating on a specific density, it is advisable to write naturally and in a way that feels authentic. Monitor your density metrics to ensure you haven’t inadvertently included keywords excessively. Such over-optimization may trigger concerns for search engines.
While maintaining a balanced approach, make sure to incorporate your keyword as frequently as possible in the following crucial areas:
- Meta Description
- Title of the Post and Page
- Headline
- Subheadings
- Body Text
- Image File Names and Alt Text
How Many Keywords Should I Use in a Blog Post?
Many creatives often wonder how many keywords they should include in their posts and whether they should optimize for all of them simultaneously. When writing a blog post, it is advisable to focus your efforts on one or two long-tail keywords.
Starting with a single keyword, aim to write naturally and organically about it. Once the article has gained rankings, you can revisit it and analyze the keywords that are being used.
Take the time to incorporate additional optimization for these supplementary keywords. While it is possible to rank for multiple keywords simultaneously, it can be challenging to achieve a natural flow if you try to target too many keywords too early. Therefore, initially limit yourself to only two primary keywords.
What Is Keyword Frequency?
The keyword frequency refers to the number of times a specific keyword appears on a page or blog post. While this data point may not provide significant value on its own, it can be utilized in various analysis calculations.
Should Keywords Be Single Words?
The term “keyword” is frequently used confusingly. When discussing keyword management techniques, it is common to observe examples that encompass not only single keywords but also key phrases.
In the past, search engine spiders only recognized single words as key phrases. However, this was a long time ago, and the landscape has changed significantly.
Today, key phrases and keywords can be used interchangeably, so there is no necessity to restrict your keyword to a single word. It is typically more challenging to rank for a single keyword compared to a longer-tail keyword.
What Is Keyword Stuffing?
Keyword stuffing occurs when keywords are excessively used in an article or post. In older versions of the search algorithm, keyword stuffing was a technique used to achieve a high-ranking page. However, search engines eventually recognized that these keyword-stuffed pages were not genuinely helpful or valuable.
As a result, the algorithm changed. Google’s latest algorithm iterations now prioritize high-quality content and discourage the overuse of keywords. The algorithm aims to determine if a page delivers what users expect naturally and beneficially.
While it may be tempting to engage in keyword stuffing, it will not yield the desired results. It is crucial to avoid this practice at all costs, as Google may penalize your website permanently for such tactics.
Conclusion
When it comes to the number of keywords you should use in a blog, quality trumps quantity. It’s not about stuffing your content with a high number of keywords, but rather identifying the best keyword that accurately reflects your blog’s topic and intent.
Search engines analyze the relevance and context of your content based on the presence of relevant words and phrases. Therefore, it’s important to use appropriate keywords that resonate with your target audience and improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.
Instead of obsessing over a specific keyword density or an arbitrary number of keywords, focus on creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content. By understanding your audience’s needs and preferences, and incorporating keywords strategically and naturally, you can increase your blog’s visibility and attract organic traffic to your website.
Remember, delivering value to your readers should be the primary goal, and using keywords effectively within your content will naturally follow.
Skyrocket Your Website’s Performance with LUX SEO
Our team of experts understands the significance of using the right keywords in your blog to drive organic traffic and boost search engine rankings. With our extensive SEO knowledge, we’ll conduct thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant and effective keywords for your blog. By optimizing your content and implementing proven SEO strategies, we’ll position your blog for success and attract the right audience.
But that’s not all. Our content management services perfectly complement our SEO expertise. We’ll work closely with you to create engaging and valuable content that seamlessly incorporates the identified keywords. From captivating blog posts to shareable social media content, we’ll ensure your blog stands out from the competition and resonates with your target audience.
Contact Lux Digital Marketing today and let our exceptional SEO and content management services elevate your blog’s success.
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