How many keywords do you recommend tracking?

[NikCall]

I am working through thousands of organic keywords and would like to create a list of core keywords.  I want the list to be small enough that we can really go after these keywords and track progress.  I work for a B2B software company.  I am thinking between 20-30 but I would love to hear any tips, opinions and recommendations!

Thank you!

[NikCall]

thanks again!

[EGOL]

I have had an account at SEMrush for a long time and they have a long history of what I track.

[NikCall]

Can I ask why you use SEMRush vs. Moz to create your keyword baskets.

Thanks!

[NikCall]

This is fantastic! Thank you!

[EGOL]

I track "baskets" of keywords.

Let's say I am running a website about hammers and I want to rank #1 for the root keyword of "hammers".  Early in the planning of this business and its website I do keyword research and determine that I will be selling hammers made by different companies (with a number of models from each company), hammers used by different occupations (and numerous hammers for some occupations)... I will also have lots of articles about hammers that include: how to select them, how to use them, how to avoid injuries, care of your hammer, etc.

So I am going to go for the root keyword of "hammers" (which might take several years to accomplish - but I am the hammer man and I plan to hammer at this until everyone else drops dead).

Then starts my baskets, each will be a keyword "project" at SEMrush.  These keyword projects will each have many keywords tracked.  We might have a few dozen projects running for this website.  These will track website performance for different parts of the attack.  Knowing where you are succeeding, where traction is hard to get, where you are making money, etc.

BRANDS:  Estwing (and a keyword for each type of hammer, perhaps weight as well, or length), then Black and Decker,  Kobalt, Irwin, Vaughan, etc.

HAMMERS by OCCUPATION:  carpenter, mason, auto body,  etc.

**ARTICLES: ** how to select, how to use, types of handles (wood, drop forged, fiberglass), how to care for, safety (each of these will have several articles)

REVIEWS:  field tests of many types of hammers

RELATED PRODUCTS: that can be sold beside hammers

OTHERS: that will be discovered as the project progresses

Now we start a  content attack and a battle that will advance across time, tracking keywords on all of these levels, using sales data and profit margins as we learn them to prioritize the attack.

Your website might be smaller.  Your content attack might be simpler.  Your industry or business might have broad or narrow product lines and content opportunities.

So the number of keywords tracked might be dozens, hundreds or thousands.  You might have a nascent site and be tracking long tail easy, or you might have a mature site and be tracking mainly single-word root keywords.

I track a lot of keywords.  But each day I mainly look at the progress of the baskets, looking at individual keywords occasionally, but focusing on the big picture.    I load the baskets at the start of the project, knowing that I might not get to writing for some of those keywords for weeks, months or years - depending upon the size of the project.   As the project advances and I populate the keywords and the baskets, things start moving up, up, up.  That is what energizes me and keeps me on the attack.  A person's mental state is worth a million dollars.  The taste of blood and money is worth even more.   It helps keep me motivated and keeps me hammering hard.