"So, how many SEO keywords should I actually be using?" It's a question I hear all the time, and thankfully, the answer is a lot simpler than most people think. Forget the old-school rules. Your goal should be one primary keyword per page, backed up by a handful of related, secondary terms.
This isn't about hitting some magic number; it’s about going deep on a single topic.
The Real Answer to Your Keyword Question
Let’s cut right to the chase: obsessing over a specific keyword count is a one-way ticket to outdated SEO. What matters now is how well you cover a single topic on a single page. The best way to do this is to build your content around one core idea, which is represented by your primary keyword.
I like to think of it as creating a "keyword bouquet." Your main keyword is the big, beautiful flower that grabs all the attention. The secondary keywords, synonyms, and long-tail variations are the greenery and smaller blooms that fill it out. Together, they create a full, cohesive arrangement that’s far more valuable than a single stem ever could be.
Why This 'Bouquet' Method Works
This approach completely shifts the focus away from keyword density—an old, risky tactic—and toward topical authority. When you build a page that thoroughly answers a user's search with natural, varied language, you're sending a powerful signal to Google. You’re telling the search engine that your content is the definitive resource on that subject.
The best part? Your page won't just rank for its main term. It will start showing up for dozens, sometimes hundreds, of related queries.
Of course, to really nail this, you need to understand the fundamental aspects of keywords and how they connect to what people are actually searching for.
Finding The Sweet Spot
So, what does this look like in practice? A deep analysis of over 1,200 websites found that the highest-performing pages zeroed in on one to four keywords, with the average landing right around 2.5 per page.
The goal is to create one page that is the best possible answer for one specific query. Supporting keywords should enhance the main topic, not compete with it or dilute its focus.
By concentrating on a primary keyword and its semantic cluster, you create focused content that search engines and users love. If you need help picking the right terms to build around, our guide on finding the best organic search keywords is a great place to start.
For a quick reference, here's a simple breakdown of how to structure your keywords on any given page.
Keyword Strategy Quick Guide
This table summarizes the recommended keyword strategy per page.
| Keyword Type | Recommended Count Per Page | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Keyword | 1 | The main topic and user query the page is designed to answer. |
| Secondary Keywords | 2-4 | Related terms and subtopics that support and add context to the primary keyword. |
| LSI Keywords | 3-5+ | Semantically related words and phrases that help Google understand the page's overall topic. |
Following this simple framework helps ensure your content is both focused for search engines and comprehensive for your readers.
Why Counting Keywords Is the Wrong Approach
Ever heard a chef ask, "how many pinches of salt should I add?" Of course not. The real answer isn't a number—it’s about balance, context, and bringing out the best in the main ingredient. Asking "how many SEO keywords should I use" is the exact same kind of question.
In the early, wild-west days of search engines, SEO was a clumsy numbers game. Success meant cramming a page with your target keyword as many times as you possibly could.
This tactic, now famously known as keyword stuffing, actually worked for a while. Early search algorithms were pretty simple and relied heavily on keyword frequency to figure out what a page was about. If your page for "red running shoes" mentioned the phrase fifty times, Google thought it must be incredibly relevant.
The result? A truly terrible experience for users. The content was often unreadable, robotic, and created for search engine bots, not for actual people trying to find something.
The Shift from Counting to Context
Google’s algorithms have grown up. They're incredibly sophisticated now, and they no longer just count keywords. They understand language, synonyms, user intent, and the entire context of a topic.
Think of a modern search engine as a discerning food critic, not a machine counting salt grains. It can instantly tell the difference between a masterfully seasoned dish and one that's just overwhelmingly salty.
Forcing keywords into your content today doesn't just make for bad reading—it actively hurts your SEO. Google now penalizes websites that engage in keyword stuffing, pushing them down in the search results. This is a core principle behind all modern content strategies for growth teams, where quality and genuine relevance reign supreme.
Today, the goal isn't to repeat a keyword. It's to demonstrate comprehensive expertise on a topic. This means naturally weaving in related terms, answering the questions people are asking, and completely satisfying the user's reason for searching in the first place.
Understanding the Bigger Picture
A successful organic strategy is all about creating the single best resource for a user's query. This holistic approach builds long-term authority and trust, which is how you win in today's search environment. To really appreciate this, it helps to understand the differences between paid search and SEO—organic success is earned through relevance, not just bought with ad spend.
So, instead of counting, start focusing on these things:
- Topical Depth: Does your content cover the subject from multiple angles? Does it address the follow-up questions a reader might have?
- Natural Language: Do your keywords and their variations show up where they make sense, or do they feel forced and awkward?
- User Intent: Does your page genuinely solve the problem or answer the question that brought the user here?
By shifting your focus to these areas, you move beyond the outdated question of "how many" and start asking the one that really matters: "How helpful is my content?" This mindset is the key to creating pages that not only rank but also truly connect with your audience.
If you think of keywords as a bouquet of flowers, then the topic cluster model is the entire garden's architectural plan. It’s a framework that completely reframes the question "how many SEO keywords should I use?" by moving the focus from single pages to an interconnected content ecosystem. Honestly, this is the strategy that drives nearly all modern, successful SEO.
The model itself is surprisingly simple but incredibly powerful. You pick a broad, high-level topic and create a massive "pillar page" that covers it from A to Z. From there, you build out multiple "cluster pages," each one diving deep into a specific subtopic related to that pillar.
Every cluster page links back to the main pillar, and the pillar links out to all of its supporting cluster pages. It’s a lot like a university course map: the pillar is the core subject (say, "Digital Marketing 101"), and the clusters are the individual lessons ("Email Marketing," "Social Media Strategy," "PPC Advertising").
This web of internal links does something absolutely critical: it signals deep topical authority to search engines. Instead of a dozen disconnected articles floating around your site, you’ve built a unified, organized hub of expertise.
From Keywords to Comprehensive Topics
This model just works because it mirrors how search engines have evolved to understand information. They no longer see a single keyword; they see a network of related concepts and ideas. When your site is structured this way, Google and other search engines recognize that you're a definitive source on the entire subject, not just one tiny piece of it.
This image perfectly captures the evolution from the old, keyword-counting days of SEO to today's smarter, topic-focused approach.
As you can see, we've moved from a simple abacus—just counting keywords—to a more intelligent, brain-like understanding of how topics connect.
The Ranking Power of Clusters
Now, here’s where the magic really happens. The topic cluster model has a massive impact on your rankings. By focusing a single page on a primary keyword and its closest relatives, you create a powerful ripple effect. This sharp focus helps the page rank for dozens of long-tail variations you didn't even intentionally target.
A page doesn't just rank for the keywords you put on it. It ranks for the queries it successfully answers. A well-structured cluster page answers many related queries at once.
The data backs this up completely. An analysis of over 800,000 web pages found that pages built around a keyword cluster (one primary term supported by 2-4 related keywords) ranked for an average of 20-50 related terms. Compare that to pages targeting only a single keyword, which ranked for just 3-5 terms. You can dig into the full keyword cluster research from Keyword Insights AI to see the numbers for yourself.
This strategy lets you build a powerful content engine where each new article you publish strengthens the authority of the entire topic. Nailing this model is a core lesson in our guide on how to scale content marketing precisely because it creates a compounding growth effect. Your content library becomes far more than the sum of its parts, establishing your site as the go-to resource in your niche.
Keyword Guidelines for Different Content Types
Knowing the theory behind keyword strategy is one thing, but actually putting it to work is a whole different ball game. How many keywords you should target really comes down to the type of content you're building. The good news is that the core rule of thumb—one primary keyword plus a handful of secondary terms—is flexible enough for just about anything, from a massive, in-depth guide to a short and sweet product page.
The real trick is to match your keyword choices to the page’s specific goal. An informational blog post is trying to do something completely different than a product page that’s aiming for a sale, and your keyword strategy has to reflect that.
Keywords for Blog Posts and Articles
Blog posts and articles are your top-of-funnel workhorses. They’re built to attract people with informational intent—readers who are looking for answers, solutions, or explanations. For this kind of content, your primary keyword is usually a question or a long-tail phrase, something like "how to train a puppy" or "best indoor plants for low light."
From there, your secondary keywords should naturally branch out to cover the subtopics and follow-up questions a reader would have.
- Primary Keyword: The main question or topic your post is designed to answer.
- Secondary Keywords: These are the related questions, synonyms, and specific angles on your main topic.
- LSI Keywords: Think of these as context clues. For our puppy training example, this would include terms like "potty training," "leash walking," "positive reinforcement," and "puppy crate."
Structuring your content this way helps you create a truly comprehensive resource that fully satisfies what the user came for. If you want to go deeper on this, our guide on how to write a blog post for SEO walks through this entire process from start to finish.
Keywords for Product and Service Pages
Product and service pages have a much more direct goal: driving a transaction. The user is actively weighing a purchase, so your keywords need to be specific, descriptive, and aligned with commercial intent. The primary keyword is almost always going to be the product or service name itself, sometimes paired with its category.
Secondary keywords should then get into the nitty-gritty—the features, benefits, model numbers, and specific use cases a potential customer would be searching for.
- Primary Keyword: "IndexPilot AI Content Platform"
- Secondary Keywords: "automated content creation," "AI blog writer," "bulk article generator," "SEO content automation."
- LSI Keywords: "WordPress integration," "content calendar," "brand voice," "topic clusters."
This approach makes sure your page shows up for both the broader searches for the kind of solution you offer and the super-specific queries from people who are close to making a decision.
A survey of 1,500 SEO professionals revealed a clear pattern. For blog posts, the sweet spot was one primary and two to four secondary keywords. For product pages, the recommendation was a bit higher at one primary and three to five secondary keywords to properly cover all the features and variations. You can find more details in the Writesonic keyword usage report.
To give you a clear playbook for your own content, the table below breaks down the strategy for different page types side-by-side.
Keyword Strategy by Content Type
| Content Type | Primary Keywords | Secondary/LSI Keywords | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blog Post | 1 (Informational/Question) | 3-6 (Related questions, subtopics) | Primary: "how to repot a snake plant" Secondary: "snake plant soil mix," "best pot size," "when to repot" |
| Product Page | 1 (Product/Brand Name) | 4-8 (Features, model numbers, uses) | Primary: "GoPro HERO12 Black" Secondary: "5.3K60 video," "waterproof action camera," "HyperSmooth 6.0" |
| Homepage | 1 (Broad Brand/Service) | 3-5 (Core offerings, value props) | Primary: "CRM for small business" Secondary: "sales automation," "contact management," "lead tracking" |
Common Keyword Mistakes You Must Avoid
Figuring out how many keywords to use is only half the battle. The other half is dodging the subtle but costly mistakes that can tank all your hard work. Sure, most people know not to commit the cardinal sin of keyword stuffing, but plenty of other errors are just as harmful to your rankings and far more common.
To get this right, you have to move beyond just counting keywords. It’s about thinking strategically about what each term is meant to accomplish. Even with the best of intentions, a few small slip-ups can send all the wrong signals to search engines and leave your audience scratching their heads.
The Problem of Keyword Cannibalization
One of the most frequent issues I see is keyword cannibalization. This is what happens when you have multiple pages on your website all trying to rank for the exact same primary keyword. In a nutshell, your pages end up competing against each other for a single spot in the search results. It's a race you can't win.
Imagine you own a bakery and you've created two separate pages, both optimized for "best chocolate chip cookies." When someone searches that term, Google has no idea which page is the real authority. This internal tug-of-war usually means both pages rank lower than one powerhouse page ever would.
The fix? A good old-fashioned content audit. Find the pages targeting the same keyword and decide: either merge them into one comprehensive, authoritative piece or re-focus the weaker page on a different, more specific keyword.
Don't make Google choose between your pages. Give it one clear, powerful option for each primary keyword you want to rank for. Consolidating your authority is always better than diluting it.
Mismatching Keywords and User Intent
Another critical mistake is targeting a keyword with content that completely misses the user's intent. Search intent is the why behind a query. Is someone just looking for information? Are they trying to navigate to a specific website? Or are they ready to pull out their credit card and buy something?
For instance, someone searching for "how to choose running shoes" has informational intent. They're in research mode and want a guide or a comparison article. If you throw a product page at them, it’s going to fall flat because it doesn't solve their problem. Google knows this, and your page won't rank.
To avoid this, always analyze the search engine results page (SERP) for your target keyword before you even think about writing.
- Are the top results all blog posts and guides? That’s your cue to create informational content.
- Are they mostly product or category pages? The intent is transactional, so your content should be, too.
- Is it a mix? You might need a hybrid page that both educates and sells.
Aligning your content with the dominant user intent isn't optional if you want to rank well. Ignoring it is like trying to sell a new car to someone who just stopped in to ask for directions—it’s a complete mismatch, and it's just not going to work.
How to Measure and Refine Keyword Performance
Figuring out how many SEO keywords to use is really just the starting line. The real work—the stuff that actually moves the needle—begins the moment you hit publish. A winning keyword strategy isn't a "set it and forget it" task. It's a living, breathing process of measuring what happens next, learning from the results, and adapting your game plan.
Think of every page you publish as a mini-experiment. Your job is to gather the data on what’s working (and what's bombing), then use those insights to sharpen your approach. This cycle of continuous improvement is what separates sites that plateau from the ones that see consistent, long-term organic growth.
Tracking Your Keyword Data
The absolute best place to start measuring your performance is Google Search Console (GSC). This is a 100% free tool from Google, and it’s your most direct line of sight into how your site actually performs in search. No guesswork. It shows you exactly which keywords your pages are ranking for, what your average position is, and how many people are clicking through.
This data is pure gold. For instance, you might find that a page you carefully optimized for your primary keyword is actually pulling in most of its traffic from a completely unexpected secondary keyword. That’s a massive clue! It tells you what searchers truly find valuable about your content, giving you a clear signal to lean in and adjust your page to better match that intent.
You can learn more about getting this all set up in our deep-dive on how to track keyword rankings.
A keyword strategy without measurement is just guesswork. Regularly checking your performance data turns assumptions into actionable insights, allowing you to double down on what works and fix what doesn't.
Performing a Content Audit for Refinement
Once you have that data in hand, you can run a simple content audit to spot easy opportunities for improvement. This process is all about identifying your underperforming pages and giving them a systematic refresh.
Here’s a straightforward process you can follow:
- Identify Underperformers: Jump into GSC and look for pages with a low click-through rate (CTR) despite having high impressions. This is a classic sign that your title and meta description aren't compelling enough, or that the content itself doesn't quite match the keywords it's ranking for.
- Re-Evaluate Keyword Focus: Dig into the "Queries" report for that specific page. Do the keywords people are using to find you align with your original primary keyword? If not, you might need to pivot the content to better serve the queries it’s already attracting. It's often easier to go with the flow of search intent than to fight against it.
- Refresh and Relaunch: Go back to the page and update it. Weave in better-aligned secondary keywords, add new sections to build out topical depth, and rewrite your meta tags to be more enticing. Once you’ve beefed it up, resubmit the URL to Google through GSC to get it re-indexed quickly.
Got Questions About Keywords? Let's Clear Things Up.
Putting all this keyword theory into practice is where the rubber meets the road. It's also where some of the most common questions pop up. Let's tackle a few of the big ones I hear all the time.
Does Keyword Density Still Matter for SEO?
Not like it used to, that’s for sure. The old-school method of cramming a keyword into your text a specific number of times is dead and buried. Thank goodness.
Today, it's all about topical relevance and writing for humans. Google is incredibly smart; it understands synonyms, context, and related concepts without you having to spell it out. Focus on using your keywords where they feel natural to a reader. If you try to force it, your writing will sound robotic, and you might even get penalized for over-optimization.
Can I Target Multiple Primary Keywords on One Page?
This is a tricky one. The short answer is yes, but only if the user intent is exactly the same.
For example, someone searching for "how to fix a leaky faucet" wants the same thing as someone searching for a "leaky faucet repair guide." Those can absolutely live on the same page because the goal is identical. But if the intent is different—like "best running shoes" (someone wants to buy) versus "how to choose running shoes" (someone wants information)—they need two separate pages. No exceptions.
How Do I Find Good Secondary Keywords?
You can start by using Google itself as a tool. The "People Also Ask" boxes that appear in search results and the "Related Searches" at the bottom of the page are absolute goldmines for finding what real people are asking.
When you're ready to get more strategic, dedicated SEO tools can uncover a huge range of related questions, long-tail keyword variations, and entire topic areas you can cover to build out your page's authority and relevance.
Ready to stop guessing and start ranking? IndexPilot turns your keywords into a predictable traffic engine. Our AI Agents automate the entire SEO content workflow—from strategy and writing to optimization and publishing—so you can scale your organic growth without the manual grind. See how IndexPilot works.
