Ok, so it’s 2022, and Search Engine Optimization is as important (if not more important) than ever. But do some of the tactics and strategies of yesteryear still work today?
In this article we’ll dig into “keywords” as they relate to ranking for specific phrases and topics, and whether or not things like optimizing for 1-2 keywords per page, keyword densities, and the like are still important.
The Debate about Keywords and SEO Rages On
Among SEO specialists there has been serious debate regarding the rise of natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and semantic analysis of content, and how this is applied to the various internal ranking algorithms at Google…and yes, there are many.
Gone are the days of a single (arguably easy to manipulate) ranking algorithm. Today, Google employs what could be considered microservices of many ranking algorithms that work in concert with the core algo to make ranking decisions in the SERPS.
Think “Hummingbird”, “Rankbrain,” and the like, to name a couple.
So with all those in mind, where do keywords fall in terms of a ranking signal, and what type of importance do they have in today’s SEO strategy?
Semantic Analysis
From analyzing MILLIONS of websites in Google, we can tell you that ranking for 1-2 primary keywords per page/post is an outdated concept.
Google has become increasingly more adept at understanding content and matching that to the topical relevancy of a web searcher’s intent (be that to find an answer, make a purchase, or conduct research).
So what IS Google looking for?
Google wants to see that you have not only provided the web visitor with content relevant to their primary search term but also that you have taken the time to:
- Cover other topically relevant content
- Offered relevant recommended links and resources
- Suggested synergistic content for exploration
- Provided various viewpoints, context, and more as it relates to the primary search term
- Uses multi-media and other engagement tools to cover the topic further
As such, at Salterra SEO we advocate for writing articles that focus on:
- A search phrase that is used to explore a larger topic
- Answering specific questions
- Tailoring content to the intent behind the search phrase
- Various informational formats (images, text, video, user-generated comments, social, etc)
Let’s take a look at an example.
If your primary keyword was “Losing Weight Fast”, you would want to ask yourself what the “intent” was behind that search, as well as what other topics users might also have an interest in.
The apparent intent would be to lose weight fast literally. But, what we don’t know is “how” they want to do this.
So we may offer a paragraph on multiple ways this can be accomplished such as:
- Diet
- Exercise
- Combination of diet and exercise
- Supplements
- Surgery
We may also want to consider the “why” as to the reason behind wanting or needing the weight loss:
- Medical reasons (high blood pressure, diabetes, etc)
- Aesthetic reasons (getting abs, wanting that beach body, etc)
- General health
Each of the aforementioned needs to be mentioned in your article to provide an excellent semantic, LSI, and topical relevancy score that will be highly impactful when ranking your post on Google.
Remember that each of the aforementioned is their own “sub-topics” and can easily be explored in depth in their blog posts. What we are looking to do in this scenario is mention them, and perhaps explore the topic with a paragraph, ideally linking to a relevant blog post (on or off your website) that explores the topic in depth.
All other things being equal, Google wants to rank the page that provides the most well-rounded and useful article to the end-user.
This includes using authoritative and recommended links (internal to your site and to other external resources), using various multi-media to cover the topic, and providing a broad scope of relevant and useful information for the user to explore further.
But what about the actual “Keyword Density” on the page?
After analyzing millions of websites and billions of data points, we can confidently say a few things about keyword density:
You’ll want to:
- Mention your primary keyword at least once within the first 150-200 words on the page
- For a 500-700 word post kw density can reach 2-3% without a high spam penalty
- For a 1000-2000 word post kw density should be 0.5 – 1.5%
- Posts over 2000+ words can have a kw density of 0.1 – 0.5%
- Use your primary kw once in alt image tags
- Use your primary kw once in the meta description and title tag
Anything outside of those parameters tends to do more harm than good and may result in higher SPAM scoring of your posts, leading to reductions in ranking.
About Salterra Digital Services
Salterra was started in 2011 by Terry and Elisabeth Samuels; nothing fancy and nothing pretentious. Quality work at a fair price. Starting with a web design focus, they both quickly learned that while having an amazing website to highlight your business is a great start, marketing is intrinsically foundational for our clients. When several clients were not seeing results through the search efforts of other companies, Terry took it to the next level. While digging into SEO and marketing, he found something he was very passionate about. His inner geek pushed him to focus solely on the data and analytics side of the business while Elisabeth built on her creative and visual strength and expanded the design side. In the industry, it is not always common to have both designers and digital marketing so closely connected, but to them it made perfect sense. Salterra’s World Headquarters is in Tempe Arizona
Terry and Elisabeth are the Hosts of Roundtable SEO Mastermind Series and SEO Spring Training Conference.