Targeting Multiple Keywords on a Single Page

It’s an age-old question in SEO: should I optimize each page on my website for a single keyword phrase, or can I optimize for multiple keywords on the same page?

There is no one right answer to this frequently asked question. It requires a case-by-case analysis based on various factors. So, instead of just stamping this with a “yes” or “no,” let’s find the right answer for your unique and specific scenario.

It’s important to approach this topic with one overarching principle: every page you publish should automatically contain multiple related search phrases simply because you’re being thorough.

If you’re writing a piece about the art of making a good peanut butter sandwich, there’s a strong chance you’ll also mention peanut butter and jelly because there’s a standard, widely recognized relationship between these concepts. Searchers looking for a “peanut butter sandwich” might also want to know about a “peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” Both search phrases may share a strong intent. Your content might also use a term like “PB&J” because it’s an acronym for these popular sandwiches. The use of acronyms and synonyms will be baked into good writing because it has more appeal to human readers than the endless repetition of a single keyword phrase. Any fully-covered topic should contain multiple variants of your core search phrase and related phrases. Including multiple words in search phrases can significantly enhance search results. This is normal.

Where questions begin cropping up is when you aren’t sure whether two phrases really go together or if they stem from different searcher intents. To see this in action, let’s imagine your organization or your SEO client is an organic seed company, and you’re looking at a list of keywords like this one from Moz Keyword Explorer.

Let’s say you already have a unique product page for each of your types of seeds, but you’ve been asked to write some really excellent blog content to generate more discovery via search of the organization’s expertise in your industry. Your task is to look at this list and determine whether you need to write a unique blog post for each of these seven search phrases, or whether some of these phrases can be grouped together in a single post. How do you go about making that decision? We’ll cover this next.

1. Put searcher intent first

Decide what the searcher is looking for when they type a specific keyword phrase. You can learn to identify searches by intent from this guide and from The Basics of Building an Intent-based Keyword List. In our fictitious scenario of the seed company, we can understand intent by asking questions like:

• Does someone looking for “heirloom vegetable seeds” want the same information as someone looking for “native vegetable seeds.” meaning that a single page should be optimized for both terms in order to be a thorough resource?
• Does someone looking for “native plant seeds” automatically want to know about “native vegetable seeds” as well as seeds for non-edible plants, meaning both these terms belong on the same page?

Understanding searcher intent can also help improve the search feature, especially when handling multiple keywords. Many users express frustration with the current system, which only retrieves results containing all specified terms, leading to missed relevant entries.

Our example is hypothetical, but let’s imagine the organization you’re marketing has built up the institutional knowledge to recognize that the intents of the two search phrases in the first example are different. You’re in the US and you know that gardeners here grow lots of heirloom vegetable varieties from plants that originate in Europe, Africa, and Asia, meaning these don’t quality as plants that are native to America. A US searcher looking for “heirloom vegetable seeds” will be happy to learn about and buy the seeds of old varieties of Japanese mustards, French carrots, and Belgian endive. But if the American searcher wants “native vegetable seeds”, chances are they are hoping to plant corn, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, squash and other crops that originate nearby.

In the second example, you recognize that the intents might be closer. Someone wanting to plant a garden with “native plant seeds” might well be glad to know that they can include edibles in their garden by sowing “native vegetable seeds”.

Whatever is on your keyword list, start your process by using your institutional knowledge to group phrases by intent. If you are going through these steps on behalf of a client, bring their institutional knowledge to bear.

2. Put Google's behavior second

Next, look up each of your terms to see what Google is actually ranking for them. Are there top-ranked pages that are optimized for multiple words in search queries, or do all the most visible pages appear to be strongly optimized for a single phrase? Document your findings.

Search engines like Google use complex algorithms to interpret keyword usage on a web page. When a user searches for a specific keyword, the search engine’s algorithm analyzes the content of the page to determine its relevance to the search term. The algorithm looks for keyword variations, synonyms, and related phrases to understand the context and intent of the content.

By incorporating multiple relevant keywords on a single page, you can increase the page’s visibility in search results for those keywords. This means that instead of focusing solely on a single keyword, you can use a variety of related terms to create a more robust and contextually rich page. This approach not only helps in ranking for the primary keyword but also captures traffic from related search queries, enhancing the overall performance of your webpage.

3. Put your organization's goals third

Finally, decide what results you are hoping the new content will bring. If you were promoting a veterinarian at a medical practice with the goal of demonstrating that they have expertise in treating the common ailments of both dogs and horses, chances are good that you'd want two different resources. If the practice wanted to engage horse owners, focusing a single resource on that would make sense, and these customers probably wouldn't want information about dog health on that page, even though the vet is an expert in both areas, and vice versa for dog owners.

But what about our hypothetical seeds company? Do you want customers coming to learn about your expertise in native plant seeds to know you've also got native vegetable seeds? If so, then it's a vote for including information about both topics on the same page. But if the business really wants to focus on non-edible plants in this publication, you could decide to separate the terms and create unique resources for each topic.

By going through these three steps, you should be closer to making an informed decision about how to optimize a new piece of content, taking into account searcher intent, Google's behavior, and your company's goals. There will be times when intent in search language is vague, and you may have to experiment to see whether a page that is optimized for multiple keyword phrases is converting better or worse than if you present single pages for each search term.

Now, let's look at three top FAQs that may come up in your workflow.

Let's imagine that your organization is publishing a guide written by an expert at the business, but they want to be sure it's optimized both for “native plant seeds” and “native vegetable seeds.” What are your opportunities for optimization? Look at the screenshot of the beginning of this hypothetical guide above and read the key to it below to understand your optimization opportunities and best practices for ranking for more than one keyword.

1. Title Tag

If space allows, incorporate both search phrases into the title tag in a natural manner, as shown. It must make sense to human readers.

2. URL

Multiple keywords can also be incorporated into the URL of the page if you work on wording them carefully. Avoid repetition.

3. Header

As we can see, our sample header tag incorporates several related terms, indicating that the guide is about both native plant seeds and native vegetable seeds for a particular state. Optimize your header to convey the most information about your multi-keyword focus in as few words as possible in a way that offers the easiest comprehension to human readers of what they can expect from the page.

4. Images

Google can understand a great deal of image content now, but you can add to this understanding with how you name your image files and the alt text you include with each image. You don't have to optimize your images for multiple phrases. You can include multiple images on a page to represent each concept. If you have a video on the page, provide a transcript.

5. Write naturally and comprehensively about your topic

The main body text of your page is your space to showcase everything you want to say about your topic. It’s often best to start with a short introduction to the page contents and then continue on with your thorough coverage of the topic.

A comprehensive approach to writing can help overcome the limitations of the search feature, especially when dealing with multiple keywords.

6. Do include your core keyword phrases at least once

Both “native plant seeds” and “native vegetable seeds” are clearly mentioned in this area of the page. Don't worry about having to repeat these phrases a certain number of times, but do be sure you've mentioned them at least once on the page!

7. Do link out

Linking to other information related to the topic can add more context and richness to visitors' experiences. This could be to other pages on your own site or to third-party sources you find to be valuable, trustworthy, and useful.

8. Internal Links

Internal links are an essential part of keyword targeting. By linking to other relevant pages on your website, you can help search engines understand the structure and content of your site.

The links you build from your own site to this new page can help it rank for multiple terms via the link anchor text used when creating the link. The same applies to links your page earns from third-party sites. Just be careful to avoid building or getting lots of links with the same anchor text, as this can be a signal of spammy practices.

For a complete, detailed tutorial on on-page search engine optimization that you can apply to pages that you are hoping will rank for multiple phrases, read the On-Page SEO chapter of Moz's Beginner's Guide to SEO.

Here are some tips for using internal links effectively:

• Link anchor text: Use descriptive link anchor text that includes your target keywords to help search engines understand the content of the linked page.
• Relevant pages: Link to relevant pages on your website that are related to your target keywords.
• Keyword variations: Use keyword variations in your link anchor text to help search engines understand the context and intent of the linked page.
• Single page: Link to a single page from multiple relevant pages on your website to help search engines understand its relevance and importance.

By strategically using internal links, you can enhance the navigational structure of your site, making it easier for both users and search engines to find and understand your content. This not only improves the user experience but also boosts your SEO efforts by signaling the importance and relevance of your pages.

Yes, if you use a single page to focus on too many different keywords, it can dilute the purpose of the page in the eyes of both Google and human visitors. Look at Page A in the above graphic and imagine that the page has been optimized for all of these terms. It would be asking too much to expect a search engine bot or a visitor to the page to understand its core focus. If they came to this page expecting to read about native plant seeds but are then seeing lots of space devoted to talking about chocolate, tea, or gardening gloves that are also sold by the business, clarity, and direction have been lost.

But Page B's purpose is easier to decipher, because all of the terms for which it's optimized have a sensible relationship to one another and cater to the same or similar search intents. A search engine bot or human visitor reaching this page would feel guided toward understanding rather than distracted by a mess of unrelated information.

Some common website pages, like homepages, FAQ pages, and sitemaps, may, by nature, contain a large number of unrelated terms because they cover every aspect of what an organization does or offers. Don't be concerned about this. But if you are developing a piece of content with the goal of ranking well for a particular topic, be sure your optimization is confined to a moderate set of keywords that have a natural relationship to one another and are respectful of the intent of the visitor.

At first glance, these two searches may look the same, but “mix” vs. “mixes” could actually indicate a really different intent. Oftentimes, plural versions of keywords will have the same intent. Someone looking for “good taco near me” may want the exact same information as someone seeking “good tacos near me”. But there are other times when a slight change in search phrasing hints at a desire for different content.

In our example, a person looking for “best wildflower seed mix for northern California” is likely looking for a definite answer on the best choice. Their intent might best be served by a piece of content from an expert stating why a particular seed mix has proven to be the best of all possible choices. But the person looking for “best wildflower seed mixes for northern California” may be hoping to see a comparative list of multiple options for which they can select the item that best fits their criteria. In this case, an organization might publish a chart of the relative strengths and weaknesses of many different products. In this latter case, the site owner will likely be wiser to publish two different resources, instead of trying to optimize for both the singular and plural keyword phrase on the same page.

The above conversation on X (formerly Twitter) includes a remark from Google employee Gary Illyes, and while the timestamp on it is old, the sentiment remains a good way of summing up how Google might view pages that take optimization too far. Over the course of many years, Google has repeatedly referenced the possibility of penalizing sites that are over-optimized, and when spammy practices bring down the quality of a website, it can, indeed, result in failure to rank well in Google's results.

Questions about over-optimization can come up when you've decided to optimize a page for multiple keyword phrases, and while writing in a natural, human-centric manner about a multi-faceted topic is typically not going to cause you any problems, Google's documentation does cite specific practices you should avoid, including:

• Inserting numerous unnecessary keywords that are aimed at search engines but are annoying or nonsensical to users.
• Having blocks of text like "frequent misspellings used to reach this page" adds little value for users.
• Deceptively hiding text from users, but displaying it to search engines.
• Writing generic link anchor text like "page," "article," or "click here."
• Using link anchor text that is off-topic or has no relation to the content of the page linked to.
• Using the page's URL as the anchor text in most cases, although there are certainly legitimate uses of this, such as promoting or referencing a new website's address.
• Writing long anchor text, such as a lengthy sentence or short paragraph of text.
• Using excessively keyword-filled or lengthy anchor text just for search engines.
• Creating unnecessary links that don't help with the user's navigation of the site.
• Writing excessively long alt text that would be considered spammy.
• Stuffing keywords into alt text or copying and pasting entire sentences.

The good thing about Google's guidelines is that they frequently coincide with pure common sense. If the way you're optimizing a page is either of no use to people or is meant to fool them in any way, chances are good that Google won't like that and could penalize you for it. You can avoid the majority of risks by writing and optimizing your content for human readers rather than for what you think might impress search engines.

Measuring the success of your keyword targeting efforts involves tracking key metrics in Google Search Console and other analytics tools. Here are some metrics to focus on:

• Search volume: Monitor the search volume for your target keywords to see if your efforts are driving more traffic to your page.
• Search results: Track your page’s ranking in search results for your target keywords to see if your efforts are improving your visibility.
• Keyword column: Analyze the keyword column in Google Search Console to see which keywords are driving the most traffic to your page.
• Specific keyword: Track the performance of specific keywords to see if your efforts are improving their ranking and driving more traffic.
• Single page: Monitor the performance of a single page to see if your efforts are improving its visibility and driving more traffic.
• More keywords: Track the number of keywords your page is ranking for to see if your efforts are increasing its relevance and visibility.
• Keyword list: Analyze your keyword list to see if your efforts are improving the ranking and traffic for each keyword.

By regularly monitoring these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your keyword targeting strategy. This data will help you make informed decisions about optimizing your content further, ensuring that your web pages continue to perform well in search results and attract the right audience.

Using a tool like Moz's free keyword research tool is particularly useful for spotting shared intent in your keyword sets and building high-intent keyword lists. 

Additionally, Moz Pro includes a helpful feature that helps you group keywords by low, medium, or high lexical similarity, making it easier to spot shared intent among a set of search phrases.

You can learn more about the Keyword Suggestion feature on our Help Hub. You'll find it useful in helping you sort through large keyword lists when you're the one making the decisions about whether to optimize a page for a single or multiple keyword phrases.

Written by Miriam Ellis, edited by Jo Cameron November 21, 2024