Primary keyword
A primary keyword is the main search term a page is written to rank for, which shapes its title, headings and opening.
A primary keyword is the main search a page is built to rank for. Each important page gets one, and it shapes the page's title, its main heading, its address and its first paragraph. Related searches, sometimes called secondary keywords, fill in the rest.
Choosing one keeps a page focused, and stops two of your own pages from competing for the same search.
How to choose one
A good primary keyword fits three things: what the page is really about, what people actually search, and what you can realistically rank for.
For example, Harrow & Pine is writing a page about looking after oak furniture. "Oak furniture" is too broad and too competitive, and the people searching it mostly want to buy. "How to care for oak furniture" matches the page, has steady searches, and is something Harrow & Pine knows well. That's the primary keyword. "Oiling an oak table" and "removing water marks from oak" become sections on the same page.
Where it goes
- The title tag and the main heading, in natural wording
- The page's address, kept short
- The opening paragraph, which should answer the search straight away
- Headings for the related questions, where they help a reader
Use it where it reads naturally, and no more. Repeating a keyword to rank just makes the page worse to read, and search engines treat it as spam.
Primary keywords and AI search
People don't type keywords into AI platforms. They ask questions, often long ones. So the AI search version of a primary keyword is the main question the page answers: "How do I look after an oak dining table?"
That changes the writing a little. Put the question, or something close to it, in a heading, and answer it in the first lines below. A page that clearly answers one question is easier for a platform to pick out and quote than one that touches on ten.
In AnswerOrbit
Page checks look at a page against one of your prompts. Two of the eight checks are The prompt in a heading and An opening that answers, and we run the same checks on pages the platforms cite for that prompt, so you can compare.