What Is an SEO Keyword Strategy and How to Define It Correctly?

The world of SEO is highly competitive, and selecting the right keywords through thoughtful and thorough analysis is essential to increasing your chances of success. 

That’s exactly what a keyword strategy is: a well-defined plan that guides your search engine optimization efforts.

What to Consider When Selecting Keywords

Defining your keywords isn’t just about gut feeling. It requires balancing several key factors:

Number of Keywords

The more keywords you select, the more resources you'll need to position them, and the more diluted your efforts will be. As a general rule, if you're working with limited resources, start with a small, manageable set.

Business Relevance

Ranking for searches that don’t attract your ideal customers won’t drive results. Your keywords must align with your value proposition. 

While you can include a few lower-relevance terms to generate traffic, they should support, not define, your overall strategy.

Validate with Paid Search First

In many cases, it's smart to run paid search campaigns (e.g., Google Ads) before launching your SEO efforts. 

When professionally managed, these campaigns can provide valuable insights into which keywords are most effective.

Level of Competition

If competitors dominate a keyword, it may not be worth fighting for. Sometimes, targeting a top 10 ranking instead of the #1 spot is a realistic goal. 

But if even the top 10 is out of reach, your resources might be better spent elsewhere.

Search Volume

Ranking well for terms that nobody searches for will not generate results. Volume matters just as much as relevance.

If your business is new to SEO and has a modest budget, a good starting point might be to work with around 10 initial keywords. 

You can brainstorm a list of 20 to 30 business-relevant terms, then analyze them to find opportunities based on search volume vs. competition.

From Data to Strategy: What a Keyword Strategy Involves

A keyword strategy is the plan that defines which terms your business will target (and which it won’t), in what order, and with what type of content. 

This approach transforms SEO from a guesswork-driven discipline into a structured one with a direct impact on demand generation and growth.

Keyword Selection Starts with Understanding the User

It all begins by asking the right questions:

• What is my audience searching for?

• How do they search for it?

• How much do they already know about the topic?

Keyword research helps narrow a long list down to something more manageable using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Ubersuggest. These tools help you identify:

• Monthly search volume

• Keyword difficulty or competition

• Seasonal or geographic trends

They may also suggest search intent (informational, transactional, etc.); however, it is always wise to validate these insights with your team or stakeholders.

Prioritization: Choosing What to Tackle First (and What to Postpone)

Having a list of 500 keywords doesn’t mean you need to work on all of them at once. An effective strategy prioritizes based on:

• Business relevance.

• Conversion potential.

• SEO difficulty (your domain authority vs. your competitors')

• Resources available for creating or improving content.

In short, it’s not just about what has search volume—it’s about what creates real value. Picking the right battles can mean the difference between a blog with irrelevant traffic and a system that feeds real opportunities into your pipeline.

Conclusion

Defining a keyword strategy correctly is the first step toward leveraging SEO as a true growth driver. 

By making data-driven decisions, setting clear priorities, and focusing on what yields tangible results, you can develop a sustainable SEO plan that resonates with your audience and supports your business objectives.