Each year, Google makes changes to perfect their search algorithm and return more accurate results. This means that within a few years, the best practices endorsed by the best marketers in the business are outdated and stale. Keyword stuffing, the practice of working a search term into content an excessive amount of times in order to rank in search results, was once a popular technique. Now, the rules surrounding keyword usage and frequency have completely changed. Here’s a guide to how keywords can impact modern SEO and how to use them to your advantage.

Should I Still Include Keywords in My Content?

While Google’s algorithm has gotten smarter, it still requires the right pieces of information from you in order to understand and classify your website. This means keywords are still important, however they are no longer the most important element of your content.

Intent Analysis and Search Results

Google is concerned with the intent behind a search query more so than the words used. This means that you don’t necessarily have to use the exact phrase that searchers are typing in the way you did years ago, when the search algorithm only looked for exact matches. Similar queries, such as “internet marketing” and “web marketing” are interchangeable, removing the need for separate pages optimized for each query.

How Many Keywords is Too Many?

Keywords should still be used at least once in your page’s metadata, including the title tag, meta description and headline. But on the actual page, you can dial back your use of keywords. Two to three instances of a targeted keyword within page content should be enough to allow Google to interpret and rank the page.

There are a few other places that keywords can provide a helpful boost to your rankings:

• Use a keyword in your alt image tag to describe the pictures used on your site.
• Place a keyword in the URl of a certain page or the top level domain of your site.
• Use keywords as hashtags on social media posts for easy grouping and sharing with people who may not follow you, but are interested in the services you provide.

Using keywords in these areas can make more of an impact than packing your whole page chock full of them.