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One way I get my content to perform is by using the right keywords—the words my target audience uses. The right keywords will help them find my content, which is why they are so important. Of course, that makes some people wonder: How many keywords should I use for SEO?
Up to 12. (Just kidding. I wish it was that easy of an answer.)
Let me explain how I go about it and also what the reality of ranking in search looks like.
Article sections
Good content ranks for dozens of keywords
No matter what keyword I actually go after and use, Google (and other search engines, including AI ones like Perplexity.ai). Those systems will then determine what the content ranks for based on whatever the signals are that they use to decide what content to show to people.
So, I could write an article without any keyword research or strategic writing at all, and that article could still rank. Of course, by being a bit more strategic, I can align my content with what people search for.
By being strategic, I can give my content a better chance to perform.
This article ranks for 46 phrases
Let’s take my article on What does partially blocked mean on YouTube. I got the idea for this article when one of my YouTube videos was partially blocked.
And while that article ranks for that exact phrase in the Top 5 on Google, it also ranks for 45 other related phrases.
Now, the others are wildly related, but sometimes, there are terms that aren’t even spelled out specifically in the article. To keep track of what might be important, Ubersuggest will add SEO Opportunity recommendations on making some updates to articles based on what’s already starting to work.
Here’s an example for an article I wrote on why my AirPod microphone isn’t working and how to fix it.
Data-driven ideas for updates. Now some might be too similar what’s already in there, but at times when they are wildly different updates can make sense.
The recommendations here were:
- “why won’t my left airpod work”
- “airpods microphone not working on calls”
- “airpods mic not working on calls”
Then, it’s a judgment call to see if any of these need to be sprinkled in the content after the fact. In general, when they are super close, I don’t bother, but at times, there are questions or phrases that should become a subsection in the article.
Read next: How to write a call to action
How to determine keywords for SEO
It depends on where the content comes from. Here are my common scenarios on how I determine keywords for SEO.
From a podcast
Even though episodes of my podcast – “The Business Storytelling Show” – have defined topics, since it’s a conversation, it can end up in many places. So, I take the video, upload it into Otter.ai. Once that’s complete, I take the transcript, push it into Claude.ai. And ask:
What could an article based on the content in this transcript rank for?
It then gives me ideas. Here is how that looked for this podcast episode on corporate America and balance.
Based on the content of this transcript, an article could potentially rank for several key topics and phrases. Here are some suggestions:
- “Navigating corporate America”
- “How to survive in corporate America without losing your spirit”
- “The idea space concept in business”
- “Understanding objective reality vs. imagined realities in business”
- “Applying skepticism in corporate life”
- “The importance of sabbaticals for career development”
- “Creating financial independence for career flexibility”
- “Changing corporate systems from within”
- “Balancing corporate life with personal growth”
- “The evolution of business institutions over time”
- “Intersubjective realities in corporate structures”
- “Applying scientific thinking to business challenges”
- “The role of skepticism in professional development”
- “Creating opportunity in corporate environments”
- “Adapting to change in corporate America”
These topics reflect the key themes discussed in the interview, including the concept of the “idea space,” navigating corporate structures, maintaining personal growth while working in corporations, and understanding the nature of business institutions as intersubjective realities. An article focusing on one or more of these areas could provide valuable insights for professionals looking to thrive in corporate environments while maintaining their personal values and growth.
From there, I will evaluate what articles might be worth writing. Then, I will use keyword tools like Keywords Everywhere to determine which ones have a relevant search volume.
From there, I will create the content based on the source content from the podcast.
Read next: Podcast SEO: How podcasts help you rank in search
For articles from scratch
Many content strategies create articles from scratch, and that’s necessary—especially when no content exists at all. So, when I have ideas for articles, I will check if I already have similar content. If I have, I might just update that.
If no similar content exists, I do keyword research to determine what people are searching for and how that aligns with my content idea.
Now, this is not a hard and fast rule and if I have what I feel is important content, I might still write it even when there’s currently no search volume at all. But, aligning my content to things people search for does help it perform quicker.
Then I declare my main target keyword and I do that in Yoast.
Then, I write and optimize for that keyword to get started. But, of course, I want it to rank for all the related things. So, for example, ranking for hundreds of keywords for almost 700 keywords and phrases sounds great to me. Here’s an example of an article that does just that.
Breaking it down into some topical areas, this article ranks for:
- How to know if someone blocked you on LinkedIn
- What happens when you block someone on LinkedIn
- How to unblock someone on LinkedIn
- Finding people you’ve blocked on LinkedIn
- LinkedIn account restrictions and errors
- Removing or unfollowing connections on LinkedIn
- Blocking on social media in general
Then there are subareas and plenty of different ways people search for related topics, which this article addresses.
Going after all those hundreds of keywords specifically and completely intentionally would not be feasible or practical at all. Using all those phrases in an 800-word article just doesn’t work. So here’s my solution…
Choosing the main keyword
I choose the main keyword or specific keyword phrase that is the main target, then write the content around that. Some other phrases might become headlines of subsections, but in general, I choose one main one and then go from there.
So, in short, go after ONE KEYWORD or PHRASE and then build the content from there. Consider updating it later when SEO opportunities arise. But never ever overdo it, and definitely do not try to optimize a high-ranking article for dozens of keywords – even when you want to rank for all of them.