Keywords are an essential part of Search Engine Optimization. But just how many keywords per website page should you target? Is one SEO keyword per page enough, or do you need to target multiple keywords on each website page? This article will help you answer these questions.
Every SEO professional understands the importance of keywords in achieving higher website rankings. When you properly optimize a page for a specific keyword, you will most likely receive a higher search engine ranking. But knowing how many keywords you should target per page could be challenging.
Read on to find out!
Why Are Keywords Important for SEO?
The goal of SEO is to improve the rankings of a website on search engines. Keywords are an essential part of search engine optimization. They help search engines determine which sites are most relevant to a search query and deserve to be ranked higher in search engine results.
Selecting the right keywords for your SEO campaign is essential to becoming a relevant, visible brand in search results. Your website must be properly optimized for certain keywords.
This will help search engines understand what it is about and rank it appropriately for relevant queries.
What to Consider Before Keyword Targeting
1. The Core Topic of Your Webpage
Every webpage should be centered around a core topic. Your core topic is what you want your webpage to rank for. It should be a keyword that is relevant to your business.
2. Identify Keyword Variations of Your Topic
Once you’ve identified the main keyword you want to rank for, conduct keyword research and create a list of close variations of the keyword. You could use keyword tools like Google Keyword Planner to find keywords related to your core topic.
How Many Keywords Per Website Page
Focus on targeting one main keyword and two to three keyword variations per website page. Each of your web pages should center around a single topic. Identify the main topic you’d like to target and relevant keyword variations.
Analyze each keyword’s search volume and competition level to determine which keywords to prioritize. Google Keyword Planner can help you determine the search volume of your keywords. Your main topic should be the keyword with the highest search volume but low competition. Identify two to three close variations of the core topic from your list with relatively high search volume and low competition.
Targeting too many keywords per webpage can reduce your ranking for your primary keyword. Even if you’re targeting only one keyword, you’ll naturally get ranked for several keywords.
How Many Keywords Can a Webpage Rank For?
A webpage can rank for hundreds to thousands of keywords. The number of keywords a webpage ranks for depends on how well-optimized it is for SEO and the search volume of relevant queries.
A single webpage focused on a core topic can rank for several long-tail keywords, i.e., more specific keywords with narrower search intent. For example, a webpage that ranks for “affordable keyword research tool” may also rank for “affordable keyword research tool for small businesses.” It solely depends on how well the content is written and optimized for relevant keywords.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing is the practice of loading a webpage’s content or meta-tags with several keywords to manipulate a site’s ranking. Google penalizes websites that repeat keywords multiple times on a page and ranks them lower in SERPs. Inserting too many keywords on a page can also damage the user experience, breaking readers’ flow. In the worst-case scenario, keyword stuffing can even cause a site to be temporarily or permanently banned from Google SERPs.
Each webpage should focus on one main keyword and a few secondary keywords. These secondary keywords may be long-tail keywords or synonyms of the primary keyword that can be used instead of the core term. This will help search engines and users better understand your page’s content, improving ranking on SERPs.
What Is the Ideal Keyword Density?
Keyword density signifies the number of times a specific keyword appears on a page compared to the word count. It’s often reported as a percentage or ratio; the higher the value, the more your chosen keyword appears on the page.
SEO experts say the ideal keyword density is around 1-2%. This implies that your primary keyword should appear one to two times per 100 words. However, every webpage and keyword is unique and will require a different set of standards.
The keyword density for the top-ranking pages targeting the keyword you’re considering can give you an idea of how many keywords to aim for. You can also check your top-ranking content for similar topics to get a good picture of what works. Another critical factor to consider is the total word count of your article.
Aim to write naturally and use keywords as often as necessary to convey your message. Also, use your keywords in the right places on your webpage to send the right signals to Google that your content is relevant.
Wrapping Up
Keywords are at the forefront of search engine optimization. They’re a way search engines determine the relevance of your content and rank it appropriately for relevant search queries. Targeting too many keywords on your webpage can affect your search engine rankings. Generally, you should focus on one main keyword and two to three variations of the primary keyword.
Avoid keyword stuffing, i.e., inserting a specific keyword too often on a webpage, as this can harm your search engine rankings. Ensure that you use your keywords in the right places on the webpage to get the most out of your SEO efforts.
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