How Many Keywords Should you Target?

As seen elsewhere Importance of Proper Keywords the key to a successful SEO campaign is the choice of keywords. As far as the novice is concerned, this is an area of tremendous confusion. 

When clients approach us for a SEO campaign, we first ask them to send us a primary list of keywords for their website. Often times, the list includes more than 25 keywords. 

It s important to understand that keywords are exactly that - 'key' words. Whatever the nature of your company, you should be able to focus on at the most three to four keywords that best describes your business.

Quite often clients target broad keywords for their SEO campaign. For example, something like 'web design', website, etc. There are numerous companies that provide web design services, and it is better to narrow the choice to something like 'website Design Company'. It will be better still if you can stay more focused - a 'website design company, Pune' or a '˜website design company, India' is more easily achievable (read: more economical) and most importantly, more practical. Suppose you are an orthodontist located at Pune, it is best to optimize your website for - orthodontist in Pune, India - rather than only for 'orthodontist'. Practically speaking, there are not too many people residing outside Pune, India who will travel to Pune to get treatment for their teeth. It is most important to remember that a SEO campaign is not inexpensive; in many instances the cost can exceed the cost of designing the website itself. So it is very crucial to target only focused keywords.

As a rule of thumb, it is best to concentrate on 3-4 key phrases (rather than keywords) that best describe your company. Once your campaign is successful, you can think of adding more keywords.