SEO & Targeting a Single Keyword Per Page
Keywords are a core part of On-Page SEO and can attract the right traffic to your business website, blog or even YouTube channel. Your content will rank for keywords naturally, but it helps to use a single keyword per page that highlights the main topic of your piece.
What is SEO?
SEO means search engine optimisation. It’s basically a way to tell a search engine like Google or Bing what your content is about. There are a few different types of SEO, but the main one most people use is On-Page SEO. This relates to all the things a user sees or interacts with. Examples are the URL, image Alt tags, and, of course, keywords. Writing a good page description is also a core part of On-Page SEO that can attract the right kind of traffic.
SEO is a pretty powerful way to bring traffic to your site. However, a survey by Pollfish found that only around 45% of businesses have an SEO strategy that they actually use[1]. This is shocking when you consider that SEO, especially On-Page SEO, brings in most of the organic traffic from search queries and features most prominently for ranking in search results. Without a proper SEO strategy, your website essentially just acts as an online business card that nobody sees.
The Importance of Keywords
SEO can bring in more traffic, and it helps to focus on as many parts as you can. However, SEO is a complex subject and often requires expert help, especially for technical SEO where code is optimised and Off-Page SEO methods such as backlinking. But one of the most essential parts of SEO is keywords because they are so powerful. Good keyword strategies can boost your organic traffic (traffic that isn’t paid for, like PPC) by quite a lot, with the aim of ranking #1.
So, why would you want to rank at the number one SERP spot? For more traffic, of course. Because more traffic means more potential business. Consider that the top spot of a Google SERPs page gets 10 times more clicks[2] than the other spots, say down at number 10 with an average CTR of 27.6%[2]. So, of course, this is where you want your site’s position to be for a relevant keyword in your niche. But ranking for a keyword is trickier than you might think.
Methods of Ranking with a Single Keyword Per Page
Ranking is essential in SEO and for your site. But what is it exactly? Your ranking refers to the position of your site, page or post in relation to a specific word or phrase entered into a search engine. When you search for a word or phrase, Google or Bing will show you results. You want to be as close to the top as possible because that is where most people click. So, how do you rank using keywords? Research is vital, and there are a few methods to rank for keywords.
High volume keywords
You can use tools like Jaaxy to find a lot of data relating to a specific keyword. These let you check how much a keyword is searched, and you can target high-volume keywords. Still, you will generally have a higher competition rate unless you get really lucky and have a strong domain.
Low hanging fruit
One of the best tricks for organic traffic is to find keywords with a high search volume and low competition. These are often keywords that appear on the second page of Google[3] but can bring in more traffic over time. This can work well for newer sites with a lower domain authority.
Long-tail keywords
You can use longer keyphrases that are related to your niche to attract organic traffic. Broader keywords are likely to have much more competition, so you can capitalise on specific phrases to narrow it down and bring in the traffic that more prominent sites aren’t focused too much on.
You can find solid keywords and phrases to use on your pages as focus keywords. Traffic can be brought in by identifying keywords through research that have a higher volume and low competition, such as longer phrases that others in your niche may not really focus on.
Why Use a Focus Keyphrase?
So, now you know a little bit about keywords and why you should target them. But how many should you target? Believe it or not, many content writers will target a single keyword or key phrase to include in their articles. Why? Well, your content piece will naturally rank for many keywords anyway as a crawler scans it and indexes it. The purpose of a focus keyword is to inform the crawler precisely what the main topic of the page is using just one relevant phrase.
When a crawler knows what the main topic is, it can rank your page where it thinks it is best suited. Of course, there are other things that can affect the ranking of your page, such as the quality of the content overall, the domain authority of your site, and even the speed of your website. You can improve these using Google PageSpeed Insights or other tools like it. Also, you shouldn’t go plastering the main keyword all over your page, and there is a right way to use it.
Using a Focus Keyword Correctly
When you place your focus keyword all over the posts and pages you create, you will be penalised for it because it is considered “keyword stuffing”. This is an old technique that creators used to use to rank higher. There are a few ways to use a focus keyword correctly, as follows[4]:
>>> Include the focus keyword in a correctly formatted URL structure.
>>> Make sure the focus keyword is used in the title of the page as well.
>>> Write a good meta description that also includes the focus keyphrase.
>>> Include it in the first and last paragraphs and in at least one sub-heading.
>>> Use no more than four words in the phrase and use it in at least one Alt image tag.
Using a focus keyword correctly can help both a search engine and your users find what they need. Hopefully, a search engine will identify your page or post as the best source.
Summary
It can help your On-Page SEO to use a single keyword per page. This lets users and search engines know what the content is about. You can use methods like low-hanging fruit and long-tail keywords to really drill down into niche-related phrases and hammer out the competition.
References
Search Engine journal. Could 57% Of North American SMBs Still Lack An SEO Strategy?. view link
Neil Patel. SEO Keyword Rankings: Choosing the Right Terms to Rank #1 on Google. view link
LinkedIn. How to use Low Hanging Keywords. view link
WPBeginner. How to Properly Use Focus Keyphrase in WordPress (Beginner’s Guide). view link
