What Is It In SEO? (With Examples) – How To Learn SEO

This guide explains keyword proximity.

Below, you’ll learn what keyword proximity is and how it applies to search engine optimization (SEO). You will also find a list of examples of keyword proximity in SEO so that you know what this practice looks like on a website. There’s also a section about how close keywords matter to ranking algorithms, along with important guidance on optimizing your web pages correctly.

By the end of this page, you’ll understand everything there is to know about keyword phrases and proximity on a web page.

What is the keyword proximity?

Keyword proximity is the distance between individual words of a keyword phrase within the body of the text. Keywords can have low proximity or high proximity to related search terms.

Keyword proximity types

low proximity

Low keyword proximity refers to a keyword phrase in which two or more words are separated from each other in the same sentence. Having less proximity reduces keyword relevance for SEO.

high proximity

High keyword proximity refers to a keyword phrase that occurs in an exact match order or that contains only one word separating the main phrase in the same sentence. Having high proximity increases keyword relevance for SEO.

keyword proximity example

Here are some keyword proximity examples to help you understand how this concept works for search engine optimization and content writing.

The keyword phrase for these examples is “best blue clothes”.

• We sell the best blue dresses online: Has high keyword proximity because it uses exact match phrases.
• We offer the best new blue dress: The high keyword is closeness because the distance between “best” and “blue dress” is one word.
• The best blue dresses we have: The high keyword is proximity because the distance between “best blue” and “dress” is one word.
• We stock the best fashion designer blue dresses: There is less keyword proximity because the distance between “best” and “blue dress” is two words.
• We have the best types of new blue dresses: There is less keyword proximity because the distance between “best” and “blue dress” is three words.

As you can see, keyword proximity is different from the concepts of keyword density and keyword prominence. Proximity has nothing to do with density (the percentage of a keyword phrase being used on a page) or prominence (where the keyword is placed on the page).

Does Keyword Proximity Matter for SEO?

Keyword proximity matters for SEO because it increases the relevancy signal of a web page to specific keywords. The higher the proximity of the keyword phrase to the web page, the more relevant the content is to related search terms.

It is important to understand the concept of keyword proximity in SEO so that you know how to take advantage of keyword prominence, which is another useful exercise for on-page search engine optimization. Having high keyword proximity in specific HTML locations on the page can help improve the ranking of your web pages in search engine result pages (SERPs).

One thing you need to avoid in keyword proximity and SEO is keyword stuffing, which is the practice of repeating keywords on a page to manipulate a site’s ranking in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Although there is no specific keyword density (or keyword frequency) limit according to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, it is a good strategy to mix a variety of low keyword proximity words throughout the content to avoid a potential algorithmic penalty.

Now that you know what keyword proximity is and how to use it effectively for on-page search engine optimization, you might also want to check out these related guides on how many keywords to focus on per page and an article. How to enter keywords in . SEO.

Keyword Proximity Summary

I hope you enjoyed this guide about keyword proximity.

As you found, keyword proximity refers to the distance between individual words of a keyword phrase within a body of text. And the keywords can have low proximity or high proximity in SEO for related search terms. Therefore, understanding this is an important element for on-page search engine optimization so that you can effectively use keyword proximity to improve your website’s ranking on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing.