To add keywords to your website, put the main phrase your customers search for in the page’s SEO title, its main heading (H1), the first paragraph, one or two subheadings, the meta description and your image alt text. Then write the rest of the page naturally, using the words your customers actually use. Google ignores the old “meta keywords” box completely, and stuffing the same phrase in over and over breaks Google’s spam rules, so one clear page per service beats a page crammed with keywords.
“How do I add keywords to my website?” is one of the first questions small business owners ask me, usually after someone has told them they need “more keywords”. I’m a freelance SEO consultant in London, and on 8 November 2026 I checked every rule in this guide against Google’s own documentation: the SEO Starter Guide (last updated 10 December 2025), Google’s spam policies (28 August 2026), its image SEO guide (2 March 2026), its guide to AI search (10 July 2026) and the Google Business Profile guidelines. Most articles on this topic are WordPress plugin tutorials from 2021 to 2024. This one tells you where keywords go, what Google ignores and what can get you penalised.
Key takeaways
- Seven places to add keywords matter most: SEO title, H1, first paragraph, subheadings, meta description, image alt text and the words in links to the page.
- Give each page one main keyword. One page for “boiler repair”, another for “boiler installation”, not both crammed onto the home page.
- Google doesn’t use the meta keywords tag. Filling it in does nothing for your rankings.
- Keyword stuffing is against Google’s spam policies, and that includes blocks of town names a page is “trying to rank for”.
- Never add keywords to your Google Business Profile name. Google says it can get your profile suspended.
How do I add keywords to my website?
You add keywords to your website by writing them into the parts of a page that Google reads to work out what the page is about: the title, the headings, the opening text and a few supporting spots. There’s no hidden “keywords” box that does the job for you. Here are the seven places I use on every page I build, in order of importance:
| Place | Where you’ll find it | How to use your keyword |
|---|---|---|
| 1. SEO title (title tag) | The SEO settings for the page, or your SEO plugin in WordPress | Put the main keyword near the start, then your business name or a reason to click |
| 2. Main heading (H1) | The big headline at the top of the page | Use the keyword once, written the way a person would say it |
| 3. First paragraph | The opening lines of the page | Answer what the page is about, with the keyword in the first sentence or two |
| 4. Subheadings (H2s) | The section headings down the page | Use the keyword or a close variation in one or two of them, plus related questions |
| 5. Meta description | The SEO settings for the page | A short summary of the page with the keyword in it, written to earn the click |
| 6. Image alt text and file names | The image settings when you upload a photo | Describe the photo accurately; include the keyword only if it really fits |
| 7. Link text | The words you click on when other pages link to this one | Link from your other pages using words that describe this page |
The first two matter most. Google’s Starter Guide says “a good title is unique to the page, clear and concise, and accurately describes the contents of the page” (Google Search Central). If you want the details on that one, I’ve written a full guide to what an SEO title is and how to write one.
What about the web address? Keep it short and readable, like /boiler-repair/, but don’t expect it to move you up. Google says keywords in the domain name or URL path “alone have hardly any effect beyond appearing in breadcrumbs”. So please don’t buy a new domain with your keyword in it for SEO.
How to add keywords to a page, step by step
The quickest way to add keywords properly is to pick one main phrase per page and work through the page from top to bottom. This is the order I follow:
- Choose one main keyword for the page. For example “emergency electrician Brixton” for one page and “EV charger installation” for another.
- Check nothing else on your site targets it. Two pages chasing the same search compete with each other.
- Write the SEO title with the keyword near the start.
- Write the H1 and first paragraph so a visitor knows in five seconds they’re in the right place.
- Add subheadings that answer real customer questions, such as prices, areas you cover and how long the job takes.
- Write the meta description and image alt text, describing what’s really there.
- Link to the page from your other pages with descriptive words, then read the whole page out loud. If it sounds like a robot wrote it, cut keywords until it doesn’t.
Step one is where most small business sites go wrong. If you do five services and you only have a home page, there’s nowhere sensible to add keywords for all five. The fix isn’t more keywords on one page, it’s a page for each service.
How do I find the right keywords for my website?
Before you add keywords, you need the right ones: the exact words your customers type into Google, which are often different from the words you use in the trade. Google’s own example is that some people search for “charcuterie” while others search for “cheese board”. A plumber might say “combi boiler”, while the customer types “boiler not heating water”.
Three free ways to find them:
- Listen to your customers. Write down the words they use on the phone, in emails and in reviews.
- Check Google Search Console. The Performance report groups your data “by the search query users typed”, so you can see what people already searched before they found you. My guide to what Google Search Console is shows you how to set it up.
- Search like a customer. Type your service into Google and look at the questions and related searches it suggests.
Don’t panic about catching every variation. Google says its “language matching systems are sophisticated and can understand how your page relates to many queries, even if you don’t explicitly use the exact terms in them.” Add keywords for the main phrase and the obvious questions, and Google handles the rest.
How many times should I add keywords to a page?
There’s no magic number. Google doesn’t publish a “keyword density” target, and its Starter Guide says “The length of the content alone doesn’t matter for ranking purposes.” If you add keywords to the title, the H1, the opening and a subheading or two, the rest can be natural language.
A useful test: if you have to bend a sentence to fit the keyword in, leave it out. “Looking for affordable plumber Clapham services?” reads badly to a customer, and it doesn’t help you on Google either. I go into the numbers people quote, and why they mislead, in how many keywords you should use for SEO. And if writing isn’t your thing, SEO copywriting is exactly this skill: writing for customers first, with keywords in the right spots.
Not sure which keywords your pages should target? I’m a freelance SEO consultant, not an agency, so you deal with me from the first call. I’ll check which searches your customers make, which of your pages should rank for each one and what’s missing, and I’ll tell you honestly if it’s something you can fix yourself. See my SEO consultant services in London or book a free consultation.
Do I still need to add keywords to the meta keywords tag?
No. Google’s Starter Guide is blunt about it: “Google Search doesn’t use the keywords meta tag.” Google first said so publicly back in 2009, yet some website builders and old plugins still show a “keywords” box, which is why so many people think that’s where you add keywords.
You can leave that box empty. If an SEO company sends you a report that says “missing meta keywords” as an error, that tells you something about the report.
What is keyword stuffing, and how do I avoid it?
Keyword stuffing is when you add keywords to a page over and over to try to rank, and Google treats it as spam. Its spam policies define it as “filling a web page with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate rankings in Google Search results”, and list examples including “Blocks of text that list cities and regions that a web page is trying to rank for” (Google spam policies).
That second example matters for local businesses. The footer that says “Plumber Clapham, Plumber Balham, Plumber Brixton, Plumber Streatham…” is exactly what Google describes. Image alt text gets stuffed too: Google’s image guide says “Avoid filling alt attributes with keywords” and gives “Dalmatian puppy playing fetch” as the best kind of alt text: short and accurate (Google image SEO).
| Where | Stuffed (avoid) | Better |
|---|---|---|
| SEO title | Plumber Clapham | Clapham Plumber | Plumbers in Clapham | Cheap Plumber | Plumber in Clapham: Same-Day Repairs | Smith Plumbing |
| H1 | Best Plumber Clapham Plumbing Services Clapham London | Your local plumber in Clapham |
| Opening text | Plumber Clapham offering plumber Clapham services to Clapham homes. | I fix leaks, boilers and blocked drains across Clapham, usually the same day. |
| Areas covered | A footer listing 40 towns with “plumber” in front of each | A short “areas I cover” paragraph, and a proper page for your main areas |
| Image alt text | plumber clapham boiler repair clapham cheap plumber london | Plumber repairing a combi boiler in a Clapham kitchen |
Should I add keywords to my Google Business Profile?
Not in your business name. Google’s guidelines say your name “should reflect your business’s real-world name”, and that “Including unnecessary information in your business name isn’t permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile.” Service and location information are on the banned list: Google’s own example is “Equinox near SOHO”, which should just be “Equinox SOHO” (Google Business Profile guidelines).
So “Smith Plumbing” is fine, but “Smith Plumbing – Emergency Plumber Clapham 24/7” is asking for trouble. Where you can describe your services is the business description, which Google says is for “useful information on services and products offered”. You can add keywords there naturally, but write it like a short introduction to a customer, not a list of search terms. If you’re new to profiles, start with what a Google Business Profile is, and if you need to fix your name or description, here’s how to change your business information on Google.
Do I need different keywords for AI Overviews and ChatGPT?
No. Google’s guide to its generative AI features says “You don’t need to write in a specific way just for generative AI search”, and that you “don’t have to worry that you don’t have enough ‘long-tail’ keywords” (Google Search Central). It also says optimising for AI search “is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO”.
So add keywords the same way for AI search as for normal search. In practice, the pages that get quoted in AI answers are the ones that answer a question clearly near the top, exactly as I’ve done at the start of this article. That’s why I say SEO isn’t dead; it just rewards clear pages more than ever. More on that in my guide to ranking in Google AI Overviews.
Can I add keywords to my website myself?
Yes, if your site has a page for each service and you can edit the titles and text, adding keywords is a job you can do yourself in an afternoon. Most website builders have SEO settings for each page where you can add keywords to the title and description, and WordPress SEO plugins add fields for the SEO title and meta description. It’s worth getting help when the problem is bigger than wording. Find your situation:
| Your situation | What I’d do |
|---|---|
| You have a page per service and can edit it | Add keywords yourself using the seven places above, one page at a time |
| Everything is on one home page | Add a proper page for each main service before worrying about keywords |
| You don’t know what customers search for | Check Search Console, or get keyword research done once so every page has a target |
| Pages are full of town lists and repeated phrases | Rewrite them now: that’s keyword stuffing under Google’s spam policies |
| Your Google Business Profile name has extra keywords | Change it back to your real business name to avoid a suspension |
| Your site is slow, dated or hard to edit | A rebuild with SEO planned in from the start usually works out cheaper than patching |
| You’ve done all this and still don’t rank | It’s likely competition, links or local signals: time for a proper SEO review |
One honest note about how I work: I don’t edit websites someone else built, because you never know how they were put together. I do run SEO on existing sites, though, and I can give you or your web designer an exact plan of which keyword goes on which page. My monthly local SEO plans start at £495 (minimum six months, then month to month), and new websites with SEO built in start at £1,500. Everything is listed on my pricing page.
How do I add keywords to my website: frequently asked questions
How do I add keywords to my website?
Put the main phrase your customers search for in the page’s SEO title, main heading (H1), first paragraph, one or two subheadings, meta description and image alt text. Then write the rest of the page naturally. Give each service its own page with its own main keyword.
Where do I put keywords in WordPress?
Write the keyword into the page title and opening text in the WordPress editor, then use your SEO plugin’s fields for the SEO title and meta description. Add alt text to images in the media settings. WordPress doesn’t need a meta keywords box, because Google doesn’t use it.
How many keywords should I add to one page?
Aim for one main keyword per page, plus the natural variations and questions that come with it. There’s no magic number of repeats: Google says content length alone doesn’t matter for ranking, and repeating the same phrase unnaturally counts as keyword stuffing.
Does Google still use the meta keywords tag?
No. Google’s SEO Starter Guide says Google Search doesn’t use the keywords meta tag, so you can leave that box empty.
Can I add keywords to my Google Business Profile name?
No. Google’s guidelines say your business name should match your real-world name, and adding extra information such as services or locations could get your Business Profile suspended. Describe your services in the business description instead.
Do keywords still matter for SEO in 2026?
Yes, but as clear wording rather than repetition. Google needs to understand what each page is about, so the right words in the title, headings and opening still help. Google’s language matching also understands related terms, so you don’t need every variation.
Once your keywords are in place, expect to wait before rankings move. I cover the real timings in how long does SEO take.
Want your keywords in the right places, without the guesswork?
Now you know where to add keywords, what Google ignores and which shortcuts can get you penalised. If you’d rather have someone map the right keyword to every page, check what your competitors rank for and do the work properly, tell me about your business. I’ll look at where you stand on Google and give you an honest answer, even if it’s “you can do this yourself”. You can also see my local SEO services in London.
Book a free consultation, see my SEO consultant services, or call or WhatsApp me on 07404 145722. No keyword stuffing, just pages your customers and Google both understand.
Freelance web designer and SEO in Clapham, London, and two-time Prestige Awards Web Designer of the Year. I design, build and rank websites for small businesses. More about me
