Every time your page appears in Google's top 100 for a search query, SEO tools count that as one 'ranking keyword'. The more keywords you have, the more different ways people can find you through Google.
What are good numbers?
- 0-50 keywords: very few. You're barely findable in Google.
- 50-200 keywords: the basics. Average small business level.
- 200-500 keywords: good. Your content is working.
- 500-2000 keywords: strong. Competitor level for local/regional.
- 2000+ keywords: top tier. National authority.
Important: quantity ≠ quality
1,000 keywords in positions 80-100 are worth less than 50 keywords in positions 1-10. Don't just look at the total, but also at how many keywords are in the top 10. Those are the ones that actually bring in traffic.
How do you grow your number of keywords?
- Publish more content. Every page and blog post is a new chance to rank for keywords. Consistent new content = a growing keyword set.
- Expand existing pages. Going from 300 to 1,500 words on a service page can make that page rank for 10x as many keywords.
- Link building. More authority = a better chance of winning rankings for more keywords.
- Internal link structure. Make sure every important page is well linked from other pages on your site.
- Target long-tail keywords. Besides 'hairdresser', also go for 'hairdresser for curly hair Arnhem-Zuid'. Long, specific searches are easier to rank for.
Where do you measure this?
Various SEO tools show this:
- Google Search Console (free): shows the search queries for which you're in the top 100
- SEMrush / Moz and similar (paid): give an estimate of the total number of ranking keywords plus their positions
A realistic timeline
Going from 50 to 200 keywords in 6-12 months is realistic if you publish content consistently. From 200 to 1,000 often takes 1-2 years. These numbers don't grow in a straight line: after a while, every new page picks up more and more 'free' keywords because Google sees your authority growing.