Keywords are a primary method of SEO in content marketing. But how many keywords are too many? Many marketers agree that content will continue to be a key part of any digital marketing strategy as we enter a new decade.

However, a longer perspective will raise caution. Content marketing evolved because of a variety of factors, including search engines and their evolving algorithms.

Many things may change in the next few years, but it remains to be speculated what, how, and to what extent.

Content marketers can learn how to best approach content writing right now.

The ghost of keywords in the past

SEO can include many elements, but Google claims to have about 200. The truth is that keywords are still the most important. These are what people search for when they use search engines.

SEO was once simple. Writers could hit page one using the following methods:

• Even if the search terms are not related to the topic, you can still use popular search terms

• Keyword stuffing is the practice of using large numbers of keywords.

• Spam is when you use the same keyword repeatedly

This resulted in a lot of low-quality content, and many searches that led people to the wrong subjects.

Since 2010, however, search engine algorithms have changed to filter out irrelevant and poor content. Relevance and authority were more important than ever, along with other elements such as strong backlinks, good images, and videos.

Now, the question is: How do you go about using keywords?

Finding keyword best practice

Keyword stuffing is a form of spamming that has been deemed obsolete. How many keywords are too many?

Marketers will need to have their own keyword set when developing a content strategy.

Some people may rely solely on their initiative and the priorities set by the nature and products of the services or products they want to market. Others will do additional research to find the best keywords to use.

You can use a variety of tools such as Spyfu, Buzzsumo, and SEMrush to find the answers to these questions.

• Which keywords rank highly and get a lot of responses?

• What keywords are used the most by competitors that offer similar products and services?

• What keywords fail to have an impact?

This will allow you to create a list of powerful and effective keywords that can be used in your blogs, news articles, and other content.

Selecting the right number

Once you have determined your top keywords, the difficult question of how many keywords to use is now. Many writers can imagine keyword stuffing. This is especially true if they have been writing content for years.

This is due to the content’s length. A shift in search engine algorithms towards giving more authority and ranking to longer articles has also been part of the change. However, the length of these articles should be determined by many factors, not just the complexity of the subject.

It may seem obvious that an article with 1,000 words should contain more keywords than one with 500 words.

This is not always true. A keyword list that contains a dozen keywords is fine, but using them all to create an article that is too long can lead to search engines penalizing you.

It is the same principle: If you seem to have too many eggs in one basket, it could indicate that you are trying to grab the attention of potential readers.

A fact to remember is that a search engine can only be used to find one keyword at a given time. This is true regardless of how long any articles are directed as a result.

The best number of keywords to use is three to four from a long list. These keywords can be rotated or chosen based on the topic of the content.

Make the most of the long tail

The importance of each keyword is therefore less important than the number.

It is therefore crucial to make sure the keywords you use are high-quality and relevant. Also, it is wise to research what other competitors are using.

It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of each keyword individually. It was not only possible to curb bad keyword practices but also allowed for the widespread use of long-tail keywords. Because a phrase that consists of multiple words does not have to be repeated exactly; it can be approximated to a good level.

This should serve as a reminder of the best way to use keyword phrases: It’s not about how many keywords you use; it is about how relevant they are used in well-written, optimized content.