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How Many Keywords Should You Track for SEO?

One common SEO question we get at Maude Studio Design is simple: How many keywords should I track on my website? Too few, and you miss valuable growth opportunities. Too many, and you dilute focus, waste time, and struggle to interpret what’s actually working.

The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all number. The right keyword count depends on your business goals, site structure, content depth, and stage of growth. What matters is having a clear plan for choosing, improving, and tracking keywords. These keywords should bring in qualified traffic and conversions.

To determine the ideal number of keywords to track, start by assessing your business objectives. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or attract a specific audience? Your goals will guide your keyword selection process.

Next, consider the structure of your website. If you have a large-scale site with many product categories or services, you might need to track more keywords. This will help you cover each area well. A smaller site might do better by focusing on a few important keywords that match your services.

Content depth is another crucial factor. If you regularly produce in-depth articles, blog posts, or resources, you can afford to track a broader range of keywords. This allows you to capture various search intents and topics related to your niche.

If your content is limited, it’s better to focus on a smaller group of keywords. This way, you can optimize them well.

Check your keyword performance often. Be ready to change your focus based on new trends or opportunities.

Ultimately, the key is to maintain a balance. Create a keyword strategy that meets your business needs. It should be broad enough to cover everything but focused enough for easy tracking and improvement. By doing so, you’ll be well on your way to improving your SEO performance and achieving your online goals.

In this guide, we will explain how to determine how many keywords to track for SEO. We will start with keyword research.

Then, we will discuss how many keywords to optimize on each page. Next, we will show you how to calculate a realistic tracking range. Finally, we will share the tools and best practices we use with our clients.

Start With Keyword Research (Always)


Before you even think about how many keywords to track, you need to start with keyword research. Tracking keywords without research is like throwing darts in the dark—you may hit something, but it won’t be intentional or scalable.

Effective keyword research helps you:
  • Understand what your audience is actively searching for
  • Identify search intent (informational, commercial, transactional)
  • Discover realistic ranking opportunities based on competition
  • Prioritize keywords that align with revenue-driving pages

At Maude Studio Design, we start keyword research by layering three data sources:

  1. Google Search Console – to see what your site already ranks for
  2. SEO platforms (SEMrush or Ahrefs) – to expand keyword ideas and assess difficulty
  3. Business intent mapping – to connect keywords to services, products, or content
Only after this process do we decide what to track.

Use Google Search Console as Your Foundation


Google Search Console (GSC) is one of the most underutilized SEO tools—and it’s free. It shows you:

  • Queries your site already appears for
  • Average position for each keyword
  • Click-through rate (CTR)
  • Pages ranking for those terms

This data is invaluable because it reveals existing keyword momentum. Often, the best keywords to track are not new ideas. They are terms you already rank on page 2 or at the bottom of page 1.

Why this matters:
  • Keywords ranking positions 8–20 are often the fastest wins
  • You can optimize existing pages instead of creating new ones
  • Improvements here typically lead to faster traffic gains
Your initial keyword tracking list should always include keywords pulled directly from Google Search Console.

By focusing on these keywords, you can leverage the momentum you already have. Start by analyzing the average position of each keyword. If you notice that certain keywords are hovering around positions 8 to 20, these are prime candidates for optimization.

Next, look at the click-through rate (CTR) for these keywords. A low CTR might indicate that your title tags or meta descriptions need improvement. Small tweaks, such as making your titles more compelling or ensuring your meta descriptions accurately reflect the content, can significantly boost your CTR and, in turn, your traffic.

Additionally, take note of the pages that are ranking for these terms. Are they fully optimized? Do they provide the best possible answer to the search intent behind the keyword? If not, consider updating the content, adding relevant images, or improving the overall user experience on those pages.

Remember, optimizing existing content is often more efficient than starting from scratch. You already have a foundation; now it’s about enhancing it. By making these adjustments, you can expect to see quicker traffic gains, as these keywords are already familiar to search engines and users alike.

Finally, keep your keyword tracking list dynamic. Regularly revisit Google Search Console to identify new opportunities and monitor the performance of your optimized keywords. This ongoing process will help you stay ahead of the competition and ensure that your site continues to grow in visibility and traffic.

How Many Keywords Should You Optimize Per Page?

A critical mistake we see is trying to optimize a single page for too many keywords. This leads to diluted relevance and weaker rankings.

Best practice:
  • Optimize 1 primary keyword per page
  • Support it with 1–3 closely related secondary keywords
That puts you at 1–4 keywords per page, depending on page length, depth, and intent.

For example:
  • Primary keyword: Utah social media agency
  • Secondary keywords: social media management Utah, Utah Instagram marketing, Utah digital marketing agency

All these share the same intent and can live naturally on one page without competing against each other.

Don’t optimize one page for unrelated keywords or different search intents. This can lead to keyword cannibalization and lower rankings overall.

How many keywords should I use? For SEO, it is best to focus on one main keyword for each page. You can also use 1-3 related secondary keywords. This means you should aim for a total of 1-4 keywords per page, depending on the content’s depth and intent.

By focusing on a smaller set of important keywords, you can boost your chances of ranking well in search engines. This also keeps your SEO strategy clear.

Focus on Organic Landing Pages


Not every page on your website needs keyword tracking. Instead, focus on organic landing pages—pages designed to attract search traffic and convert users.

Typical organic landing pages include:
  • Homepage
  • Service pages
  • Core product pages
  • High-value blog posts
  • Location-based pages (if applicable)

Pages like privacy policies, terms, cart pages, or login pages should not be part of your keyword tracking strategy.

Start by identifying the pages that matter most to your business goals. These are the pages you’ll assign keywords to and actively monitor.

How to Estimate the Right Number of Keywords to Track


Once you find your organic landing pages and the keywords for each page, you can estimate how many keywords to track.

A practical approach is to:
  • Identify the number of organic landing pages you’re actively optimizing
  • Assign 1–4 keywords per page
  • Use an average of 2–3 keywords per page for a balanced strategy

For example:
  • Homepage: 3 keywords
  • 5 service pages: 2–4 keywords each
  • 3 blog posts: 1–2 keywords each

That gives you a realistic tracking range without overcomplicating reporting. For many small to mid-sized service-based businesses, this typically lands between 15–40 tracked keywords to start. As your site grows, this number naturally increases.

Tools to Track Keyword Rankings


Tracking keywords manually is inefficient and inaccurate. We recommend using a combination of tools, each serving a specific purpose.

1. Google Search Console


Best for:

  • Actual Google performance data
  • Clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position
  • Identifying keywords gaining or losing traction
Limitations:
  • No daily rank tracking
  • Less competitive evaluating.

2. SEMrush


Best for:
 
  • Daily keyword rank tracking
  • Competitor keyword comparisons
  • Visibility and trend reporting

3. Ahrefs


Best for:

  • Keyword difficulty assessment
  • SERP movement tracking
  • Content gap and opportunity assessment
We typically use Google Search Console for truth and SEMrush or Ahrefs for strategy and monitoring.

5 Additional Factors That Influence How Many Keywords You Should Track



1. Business Size and Website Authority


A newer or smaller website should track fewer keywords and focus on quality over quantity. Tracking 100 keywords on a site with 10 pages creates noise, not clarity.

As domain authority increases, your keyword footprint can scale naturally.

2. Search Intent Matters More Than Volume


High-volume keywords are tempting, but intent matters more. Ten keywords with strong commercial intent will outperform fifty informational keywords that never convert.

Track keywords that:
  • Align with your services or products
  • Match buyer intent
  • Support long-term growth, not vanity metrics

3. Content Depth and Page Length


Long-form, authoritative content can support more keywords than thin pages. A 2,000-word guide may rank for dozens of long-tail variations, but you still only need to actively track a focused subset.

Tracking every variation is unnecessary—choose representative keywords that reflect performance.

4. Keyword Cannibalization Risks


Tracking too many similar keywords across multiple pages can hide cannibalization issues. If multiple pages compete for the same keyword, rankings may fluctuate without clear progress.

A tighter keyword list makes it easier to:

  • Spot overlap
  • Consolidate content
  • Strengthen page authority

5. Reporting and Decision-Making Clarity


SEO data is only valuable if it informs action. Tracking fewer, more meaningful keywords makes reporting clearer and decisions faster.

Ask yourself:

  • Can I quickly tell which pages are improving?
  • Do I know which keywords drive conversions?
  • Can I tie rankings back to revenue or leads?
If not, you’re likely tracking too many keywords.

When Should You Add More Keywords?


Keyword tracking is not static. You should expand your list when:

  • You publish new optimized pages
  • Existing pages rank consistently on page 1
  • Your business adds new services or locations
  • Search Console reveals new high-impression queries
SEO growth is iterative. Start focused, then scale.

So, how many keywords should you track for SEO?

Enough to give you clarity—without overwhelm.

Begin with strong keyword research. Focus on important organic landing pages. Optimize each page for a small, specific keyword group. Track performance with trusted tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush, or Ahrefs.

When done right, one well-organized page can rank for many keyword variations. You only need to track a few focused ones.

At Maude Studio Design, we make SEO strategies. Our focus is on real growth and clear data. We aim for lasting authority, not just vanity metrics.

If you are not sure if you are tracking the right keywords, a strategic audit can help. It can give you clarity and direction.
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