Focus Keywords: What They Are, and How to Choose the Right One

At this stage, don’t judge—just collect. You want a solid list of potential focus keywords to evaluate.

Step 2: Check the numbers

Now it’s time to evaluate your options. For each potential focus keyword, look at four key metrics:

Search volume: How many people search for this term each month?

Volume tells you whether there’s demand. But don’t chase high-volume keywords blindly. A lower-volume keyword that’s highly relevant to your audience can be more valuable than a high-volume one that attracts the wrong visitors. 

Keyword difficulty (KD): How hard is it to rank in the top 10?

Ahrefs’ Keyword Difficulty score ranges from 0-100. As a general rule:

• New sites: target KD under 20.
• Established sites with some authority: can aim higher.
• Very competitive terms (KD 50+): need strong backlinks and content.

Traffic potential (TP): What could the #1 page realistically get?

This metric is often more useful than raw volume. Traffic potential estimates the total organic traffic the top-ranking page receives from all the keywords it ranks for—not just the one you’re analyzing.

Why does this matter? Because if you rank #1 for your focus keyword, you’ll likely rank for dozens of related terms too. Traffic potential captures that upside.

Search intent: Does the intent match your content type?

This is crucial. Search intent is the reason behind a search query:

• Informational: People want to learn something (blog posts, guides, tutorials)
• Commercial: People are researching before a purchase (comparisons, reviews)
• Transactional: People want to buy or take action (product pages, sign-ups)
• Navigational: People are looking for a specific site or page

Your focus keyword’s intent must match your content. “Best running shoes” has commercial intent—people want comparisons and recommendations. If you write an informational blog post about running form, that keyword won’t work as your focus.

Step 3: Validate against the SERP

Before committing to a focus keyword, Google it. The search results tell you exactly what Google thinks searchers want.

Check who’s ranking.

Look at the domains in the top 10. Are they major publications with sky-high authority, or is there a mix of smaller sites? If every result has a Domain Rating of 80+, you’ll need significant authority to compete. If you see sites with DR 30-50 ranking, there’s opportunity.

Ahrefs’ SERP Overview shows you the Domain Rating, traffic, and backlinks for every top result—making this analysis quick.

Check what type of content ranks.

Is the SERP dominated by listicles? How-to guides? Product pages? Video results?

If every result is a “10 Best…” listicle, that’s the format Google expects. Don’t write a deep-dive essay if the SERP clearly wants a list.

Check if the intent matches your assumption.

Sometimes you think a keyword is informational, but the SERP shows shopping results. Let the SERP override your assumption—it reflects real user behavior.

Check this using the “Identify intents” button in Keywords Explorer. You’ll get an automatic summary of the primary intent of the actual pages in the search results:

Look for a gap.

Even if competitors are strong, there might be an angle they’re missing. Maybe all the guides are outdated. Maybe no one covers a specific subtopic. A unique angle can help you compete even in crowded SERPs.

Step 4: Confirm it’s right for your site

The final check is relevance to your site specifically.

Is it relevant to your business or audience?

A keyword can have great metrics but attract the wrong people. If you sell enterprise software, ranking for beginner tutorials might drive traffic but not customers. Make sure your focus keyword aligns with who you want to reach.

Do you already rank for it?

Check if another page on your site already targets this keyword. In Site Explorer, go to the Organic Keywords report and search for your potential focus keyword:

If you’re already ranking with a different page, you have two options:

1. Update and improve the existing page, known as content refreshing.
2. Differentiate the new content to target a different intent

Don’t create competing pages for the same keyword—that’s called keyword cannibalization, and it hurts both pages.

Can you actually create great content on this topic?

Be honest. Do you have the expertise, authority, research, or access to create something genuinely valuable? The best focus keyword in the world won’t help if your content is thin.

over-optimization. That means:

• Don’t stuff the keyword everywhere (readability matters more)
• Don’t sacrifice natural writing for exact-match placement
• Don’t use the exact keyword in every single heading
• Don’t obsess over “keyword density” (that’s an outdated metric)

Modern search engines and AI search engine understand synonyms, variations, and context (thanks to something called semantic search). Write for humans first. If your content genuinely covers the topic well, the focus keyword will appear naturally—and that’s exactly what Google and ChatGPT both want.

Site Audit can help identify keyword cannibalization issues automatically.

4. Obsessing over exact match.

Your focus keyword is “best running shoes 2024.” Does that exact phrase need to appear word-for-word? No. Google understands “top running shoes this year” means the same thing. Focus on natural language.

5. Targeting keywords you can’t compete for.

A brand new site won’t rank for “insurance” anytime soon. Be realistic about your domain’s authority and target keywords within reach. Build up to competitive terms over time.

6. Setting it and forgetting it.

Search intent changes. Competition changes. New content appears. A focus keyword that was perfect two years ago might need reassessment today. Revisit your key pages periodically.

Rank Tracker, you can add your focus keywords to monitor daily position changes. You’ll see visibility trends over time and can compare your rankings against competitors for the same keywords.

New content deserves weekly attention for the first three months, while established pages can be reviewed monthly. A full content audit each quarter is also worthwhile.

As for when to act, if a page is stuck below page two after six months, the keyword may be too competitive or the content may need strengthening. If you’re ranking but not seeing traffic, check whether intent matches or if CTR needs work. And if rankings are dropping, look to see if your content needs updating (or if your competitors have published something even more epic than your article).

SEO is a long-term pursuit, so don’t panic over day-to-day fluctuations. Look at trends over weeks and months.

Further reading

position 1 isn’t what it used to be. Your content might be the source for the AI Overview without getting the click. Comprehensive, authoritative content is more important than ever—it’s what AI systems cite—but you might need to lower your expectations for website traffic.

Our research found that AI Overviews reduce the click-through rate for top-ranking content by an average of 58%.

Topic coverage matters more.

A focus keyword is still useful as a targeting strategy, but Google increasingly rewards pages that thoroughly cover a topic. Don’t just optimize for one phrase—make sure your content answers every related question someone might have.

Search is becoming conversational.

Voice search and chat-based AI use natural language queries. Focus keywords should reflect how people actually ask questions, not just short keyword strings.

The bottom line

Focus keywords remain a practical mental model for content optimization. But think topic-first, keyword-second. Your focus keyword is the entry point; comprehensive coverage is what keeps you ranking.

Final thoughts

A focus keyword is the main search term you want a page to rank for. It’s your optimization North Star—the term that guides your title, headings, content structure, and measurement.

Here’s the process in a nutshell:

1. Find keyword ideas using tools, competitor research, and brainstorming
2. Check the numbers: volume, difficulty, traffic potential, intent
3. Validate against the SERP to confirm you can compete
4. Use ONE focus keyword per page and place it strategically
5. Track performance and iterate based on results

The best focus keyword isn’t just the one with the highest volume. It’s the one that brings the right audience to content that genuinely helps them.

Start there, and the SEO follows.

Got questions? Ping me on LinkedIn.

Further reading