How many keywords should one page target?

Think in topics, not single keywords

Google understands that “kitchen renovation”, “kitchen remodel” and “redo my kitchen” mean roughly the same thing. A good page about kitchen renovations will rank for dozens of related phrases without you naming each one.

So the useful question isn’t “how many keywords” but “how many different intents”. If the people searching two phrases want the same answer, one page serves both. If they want different answers, you need two pages. That’s what search intent is about.

How to group them

Write down the searches you care about, then search each one and look at the results. If the same pages rank for two phrases, Google treats them as one topic, so put them on one page. If completely different pages rank, they’re separate topics.

For a Calgary bookkeeper, “bookkeeping services Calgary” and “small business bookkeeper Calgary” probably belong together. “Year-end bookkeeping catch-up” is a distinct need and likely deserves its own page. The main phrase goes in the title tag and H1. Variations fit naturally into subheadings and body text.

Avoid pages competing with each other

When two of your pages target the same intent, Google has to guess which to show and may rotate between them or rank neither well. People call this cannibalization.

It often happens with near-identical location pages or old blog posts that overlap a service page. The fix is to merge them into one stronger page and redirect the weaker one, or to rewrite one so it clearly serves a different need. Search Console’s performance report helps spot it: filter by a query and see if several of your pages swap places.

I plan site structure around intents before I write anything. Each service gets its own page with one clear primary phrase, and I list the related questions people ask so they can be answered on that page.

I don’t count keyword mentions. If the copy explains the service properly, the right words appear on their own. The thing I do check is that no two pages are trying to answer the same question.