How to Use Keywords for SEO

A guide to using keywords for SEO. Information contained includes...

  • How many keywords to use on a page
  • How to choose your keywords
  • Where to put your keywords for max SEO benefit
  • Keyword examples for local, national, and international websites

How to Use Keywords for Website SEO

This guide explains how to choose and use keywords to improve your website's SEO. It answers questions like how many keywords to use per page, where to put these keywords, and examples of advanced keyword tactics used by some websites.

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How Many SEO Keywords to Use

How many keywords should you use for maximum SEO?

Most pages or blogs should target 1-2 primary keywords and 2-4 secondary keywords. Additional keywords beyond this, known as "support keywords," are optional and should be considered extra credit. 

If the content is especially long, more keywords can be targeted.

Types of Keywords

  • Your primary keyword is the one we're trying the hardest to rank for. This keyword gets prioritized when deciding what the URL, page title, and content headers should be. [Ex. "How to use keywords for seo"].
  • Secondary keywords are the terms that give context to primary keyword(s). You should be trying to rank for these terms, too. Even if you are unsuccessful, targeting secondary keywords should help you rank for your primary keyword. [Ex. "How many seo keywords should I use"].
  • Extra keywords give additional context to your main or secondary keywords. You aren't worried about ranking for these (but it's possible). Using these keywords will boost all your others. [Ex. "types of keywords in seo"].

Example

Let's use this blog post as an example.
How to Use Keywords for SEO Blog (Guide) how to use keywords for seo where to put keywords for seo, how many keywords to use for seo, how to choose keywords for seo seo keyword types, primary keywords, landing page seo, keyword lists, keyword examples, seo checklists, seo content

You will notice all the primary and secondary keywords appear on this page, in SEO hot spots. My rule when outlining or editing content is this: Focus on your primary, give your secondary keywords some attention, and fit the extra keywords in where it makes sense. 

Where to Put Keywords for SEO

Where should you put keywords for SEO?

Thanks to SEO test groups and years of experience, the most important places to put your keywords for SEO are not a mystery. I call these areas "Keyword Hot Spots." I divide these hot spots into three zones, with the most powerful placements starting in Zone 1.

Zone 1

  • URL
  • Page & SERP titles
  • H1 tag (main headline)
  • H2 tags

Zone 2

  • First 100 words
  • Last 100 words
  • H3 tags
  • Image alt text
  • Meta description

Zone 3

  • H4-H6 tags
  • Class/ID tags
  • Special text tags (bold, bulleted lists, italics, underline)

Put Your SEO Keywords Here

In case the language above is not clear, these are the most important places to put keywords for SEO, in order:

  1. URL
  2. Page and SERP title
  3. H1 tag
  4. H2 tags
  5. First 100 words
  6. Last 100 words
  7. H3 tags
  8. Image alt text
  9. meta description
  10. H4-H6 tags
  11. HTML tags (div)
  12. Special text tags (bold, underline, links, italics)

Examples

This blog's primary keyword is "how to use keywords for seo."

I used the full search term in my URL, page title, H1 tag, and at least one H2 tag.

I also included the keyword in several other areas listed in zones 1 and 2.

One of the secondary keywords is "where to put keywords for seo."

I used this secondary keyword in multiple areas listed in Zone 2 and 3, as well as one area listed in Zone 1. Every time I use a secondary keyword, I'm also getting partial credit for my primary keyword(s).

An extra keyword is "seo keyword types."

I put this term in an H3 tag in the section above. I don't expect to rank for this keyword alone, but using it still helps me rank for my primary and secondary keywords.

How to Choose SEO Keywords

How do you pick the right keywords for your pages?

How to Find Good Keywords for SEO

If you're not an SEO expert, you probably won't pick good keywords by accident. If you are an SEO expert, you still won't pick good keywords by accident if you're working in a new niche.

So, every SEO has at least one keyword tool they use regularly, or on a project-by-project basis. Here are my favorite keyword tools:

  1. Search Console (only useful if you already have content)
  2. Keywords Everywhere (I use it everyday)
  3. Keyword Planner (free if you are running Google Ads)
  4. Ahrefs (Keyword Explorer feature)
  5. AnswerthePublic (3 free searches per day)

Are you a beginner? Set up search console immediately (it's free) and add the Keywords Everywhere browser extension. It's so affordable that even $20 can get you access for months worth of searches.

Choosing Keywords for a Landing Page

The first two rows below show the keyword targets for an SEO consultant's landing pages.
SEO Expert Service seo expert -seo consultant, service hire an seo expert seo expert for... -saas, local, international, florida seo expert for... -onpage seo, offpage seo, technical seo -gyms, insurance, lawyers seo... -pricing, cost, affordable
SEO Expert - SaaS Service saas seo expert -b2b saas seo hire an seo consultant for saas companies enterprise saas seo startup seo saas seo strategy saas seo checklist saas seo... -onpage, technical, offpage -checklist -strategy -case study -budgets
How to Use Keywords for SEO Blog (Guide) how to use keywords for seo where to put keywords for seo how many keywords to use for seo how to choose keywords for seo keyword lists, keyword examples, checklists
Best SaaS Marketing Agencies & Consultants Blog (Roundup) saas marketing agencies -best saas marketing agencies top saas agencies for... -seo -content marketing -advertising -web design -brand marketing -events *each agency / expert listed, along with their niche and services, is a support keyword.*

For landing pages, you want to rank for keywords with commercial intent (i.e. terms people search for before they buy something).

In my case, I want one of my landing pages to rank to rank when people search for "seo expert" or similar variations like SEO consultant and service. People who search for "hire an seo consultant" are probably interested in my services, so I include that too.

The rest of the keywords listed in secondary and support words are related to the primary keywords. It would be great to rank for all of them too, but that's unlikely. However, you can often rank for many variations of your secondary keywords if you're clever and comprehensive.

Choosing Keywords for a Blog Post

We'll use this blog as an example again.

Why is "how to use keywords for seo" my primary keyword?

  1. It's relevant. They're searching for ways to improve SEO, so maybe they would buy an SEO service.
  2. It has search volume. There's enough people searching to be worth the investment.
  3. It made the most sense when comparing it to my secondary keywords (see table above).

Why did I choose my secondary keywords? They're relevant, have search volume, and naturally help me answer the primary keyword's search intent.

SEO Keywords Frequently Asked Questions

A page can obviously still rank for keywords that are not in its URL. However, if it's a competitive term and you're struggling to rank despite optimizing for SEO, it could be wise to copy the content to a new URL and redirect the old URL. 

Yes, using your keyword and terms closely related to your keyword more frequently on the page will likely improve your rankings. 

You bet! 

Get in touch with me here. 

I'm currently offering free SEO reviews for individuals willing to let me show record the process. 

Kaitlin_Connor-87_Original

Keyword Placement Manual

Bonus content! Check out one of the internal reference guides my content team used in 2018.

Terminology

Full KW

The full keyword or targeted variation from the keywords list. 

Ex. “best sales forecasting software”

Partial KW

Includes some combination words used in your full keywords 

Ex. “best forecasting software” or “sales forecasting”

Match words

Words that search engines see as equivalent to your target keywords. These words are not in your target KW, but are also bolded in Google search results. 

Ex. Match words for “best sales forecasting software” include “top” and “demand”

Another Example:

Targeted KW: Call management software

Full KWs: 

  • call management software 
  • software for call management
  • software for managing calls 
  • phone management software*
  • call management system**

*”phone” is match word for “call”

**”call management system” is a match word for “call management software”

 

Partial keyword match: 

  • unified call management
  • call insights 
  • manage your sales calls 

Match words:

  • phone management software
  • call management system

 

Keyword Hotspots

These are the most important sections to include KWs on your page. Weaving in KWs throughout these hotspots correlates strongly with higher rankings. 

 

Zone 1

  • URL
  • Page & SERP titles
  • H1 tag (main headline)
  • H2 tags

Zone 2

  • First 100 words
  • Last 100 words
  • H3 tags
  • Image alt text
  • Meta description

Zone 3

  • H4-H6 tags
  • Class/ID tags
  • Special text tags (bold, bulleted lists, italics, underline)

 

Page Title & SERP Title

 

Page & SERP titles are the headlines displayed in the search results when you rank. the most important place to optimize for search. This directly impacts rankings and has a major impact on CTR.  

 

Checklist: 

  • Full primary keyword match appears in title
  • 2 partial primary keyword matches appear in title
  • Title includes secondary keyword targets
  • Title follows a CTR best practice 

 

Scoring Criteria:

  • Yes (3+ of 4)
  • Partial (2 of 4)
  • No (0-1 of 4)

 

Examples of Yes

Targeted search term: Call Management Software

 

Full keyword match: 

  • call management software 
  • software for call management
  • software for managing calls 
  • phone management software*
  • call management system**

 

*”phone” is match word for “call”

**”call management system” is a match word for “call management software”

 

  1. Includes primary keyword match: Call management systems
  2. Includes secondary keyword target variations: 
    1. best call management system
    2. best call management systems 2022
  3. Demonstrates CTR best practices 
    1. starts off with a number (although not an odd one)
    2. breaks up text with numbers
    3. includes year in title 

 

CTR best practices

 

Make use of popular headline structures for your blog content. Example templates: 

  • How to
  • Ultimate List
  • Ultimate Guide
  • The Best of (time period)
  • Proven Methods
  • Fearmonger
  • Common Mistakes
  • Lessons Learned
  • Social Proof
  • Question
  • Testimonial
  • Rally Cry

 

Resources - headline formulas:

https://sumo.com/stories/headline-formulas 

https://www.copyblogger.com/10-sure-fire-headline-formulas-that-work/ 

https://www.copyblogger.com/headline-swipe-file/ 

 

AND/OR 

 

Make use of psychology power words and persuasive language. Ex you, new, now, free, because (or close synonyms)

 

Resources - persuasive copy:  

 

Meta Description

 

Meta Title (what appears in search engine results) is the most important place to optimize for search. This will not only help to improve rankings, but also your click-through-rates. 

 

Checklist: 

    • Contains full primary keyword match
    • Contains 2+ partial primary keyword matches
  • Contains partial secondary keyword matches
  • Follows meta description best practices 

 

Criteria: 

  • Yes (3+ of 4)
  • Partial (2 of 4)
  • No (0-1 of 4)

 

Meta description best practices: 

  • Avoid exclamation marks. 

 

H1 tag

 

1-2 sentences explaining H1 tag. 

 

Checklist: 

  • Contains full match primary keyword or
  • Contains 2 partial match primary keywords or
  • Contains 2 partial match secondary keywords 

 

Scoring Criteria:

  • Yes (1 of 3)
  • Partial (contains one partial match for a primary or secondary keyword)
  • No (0 of 3)

 

H2 tags

 

Checklist: 

  • Full primary keyword appears in at least one H2
  • Variations of primary keyword appear in at least one H2
  • Partial primary keyword matches appear in multiple H2s
  • Secondary keywords used in multiple H2s

 

Scoring Criteria:

  • Yes (4 of 4)
  • Partial (2-3 of 4)
  • No (0-1 of 4)

 

Examples of Yes 

 

H3 tags 

 

Checklist: 

  • Full primary keyword appears at least once
  • Variations of primary keyword appear at least once
  • Partial primary keyword matches appear multiple times
  • Partial secondary keyword matches used multiple times

 

Scoring Criteria:

  • Yes (4 of 4)
  • Partial (2-3 of 4)
  • No (0-1 of 4)

 

Word count 

 

Check average word count by typing keyword into google, then activating your SERPWORX browser plugin.

 

Check draft word count with Tools > Word Count in Docs. If the draft is in wordpress, copy the page text into a word counter. 

 

This resource will count total words AND keyword uses in one view: https://wordcounter.net/website-word-count 

 

Scoring Criteria

  • Yes: At least as many words as average of all page 1 results (SERP) on Google
  • Partial: 75% - 100% as long as SERP average
  • No: Less than 75% as many words as SERP average

 

Keywords in img alt and filenames

 

Check this in the beaver builder interface (wordpress).

 

Scoring Criteria: 

  • Yes: 75%+ of images used on page have a keyword in their alt text and filename
  • Partial: 25% - 75% of images used on page have a keyword in their alt text and filename
  • No: Less than 25% of images have a keyword in their alt text and filename

 

Keyword Density 

 

Check this by using CMD + F in the draft (google doc) or webpage. keyword into google, then activating your SERPWORX browser plugin.

 

Checklist: 

  • Full match primary keyword used 2-3 times
  • Partial match primary keyword used in 1%+ of words 
  • Partial match secondary keywords used 1%+ of words

 

Scoring Criteria:

  • Yes 
    • At least as many words as average of all page 1 results (SERP) on Google
  • Partial

 

HTML Tags Optimized

 

Keywords appear in ID, Class, and Label elements of HTML tags. ⅔ of those fields filled qualifies as optimized.

 

Checklist: 

  • Yes (3 of 3)
    • 70%+ of page sections and modules contain HTML keywords
    • Page uses div, main, and header tags in HTML
    • HTML optimizations include variations of primary keywords and secondary keywords
  • Partial (2 of 3)
    • 25% - <75% of page sections and modules contain HTML keywords
    • Page uses div, main, and header tags in HTML
    • HTML optimizations include variations of primary keywords and secondary keywords
  • No (0-1 of 3)
    • 1 section or less sections of page contain HTML keywords
    • Page uses div, main, and header tags in HTML
    • HTML optimizations include variations of primary keywords and secondary keywords

Are you using the right keywords?

Let me help you figure it out. Contact me today and let's optimize your website's keywords together.

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