For years, keywords and keyphrases have helped organize the internet. Keywords help search engines understand what different webpages are about, and help them show these webpages to the right users at the right time. However, the use and understanding of keywords has evolved significantly over the years. Now that search engine algorithms are smarter than ever and artificial intelligence is answering users’ queries, we’re left with an important question; do keywords still matter? Let’s take a closer look.
What Are Keywords?
First, what exactly are keywords? Keywords are critical words or phrases users put in a search to find particular information. Through this process, keywords also help webpages get traffic by matching the keywords on the page to a users’ query. This process seems pretty simple, but it’s changed a lot over the years.
How Keywords Worked Before
In the early days of search engine optimization (SEO), it was enough to simply use keywords on your webpage. Marketers and SEO experts would identify commonly searched terms related to their product or service and use them throughout a webpage to signal relevance to search engines. For example, if someone searched “best electric lawn mower,” and your page used that exact phrase a few times, you had a good chance at showing up in search results.
At this time, search engines weren’t great at understanding nuance or intent. They relied on direct word matching to connect users’ queries with webpages. That led to keyword stuffing, where sites would repeat target phrases as many times as possible, sometimes sacrificing readability and quality. Now, however, search engines are much more advanced, and these tactics no longer work.
The Evolution of Keywords and SEO
Google and other search engines have worked constantly to improve their algorithm and provide a better experience to users (and continue beating out their competitors). One of the key developments that changed the way search engines—and, in turn, users, marketers, and web writers—use keywords was natural language processing (NLP).
NLP allowed Google and other search engines to understand users’ queries as more than simple words, but as concepts. As search engines began to better understand what users’ queries actually meant and how they were connected to concepts, they no longer simply matched queries to keywords on a page. This meant that using keywords verbatim on your webpage wouldn’t help you get traffic. You had to organize data and concepts in a way that a user would prefer.
Google Updates and Changing Keywords
A series of Google updates can help map the changing usage and importance of keywords. As Google made these updates and changes to their algorithm, other search engines followed in similar ways. This cumulatively changed the way users, marketers, SEO experts, publishers and the entire internet used keywords.
- Hummingbird (2013): The Hummingbird update marked a shift toward understanding the meaning behind a query rather than relying solely on specific keywords. This update laid the foundation for more nuanced search.
- BERT (2019): This update further cemented the use of NLP to help Google understand how words relate to each other in a sentence. It allowed the algorithm to process queries more like a human would, by understanding prepositions, tone, and sentence structure.
- MUM (2021): The Multitask Unified Model was a powerful update and one of Google’s early, public-facing algorithm changes informed by artificial intelligence (AI). This update helped the algorithm understand more complex queries across languages and formats (text, images, video). It used deep contextual learning to offer richer answers, often from multiple sources. This update also inaugurated the early use of Featured Snippets to answer users’ queries, allowing them to bypass webpages completely for many searches.
- EEAT (2023): Although not a specific algorithm update, EEAT—which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness—became a major factor in how Google evaluates content. Google emphasized during this shift that sites that demonstrate deep subject knowledge, credible authorship, and first-hand experience are more likely to rank, regardless of keyword density.
These updates together outline a clear trend towards more complicated understanding of language, not just keyword matching. This trend has been developing for some time, and it’s continued to become more complex as search engines become more sophisticated. The use of AI—including AI augmentation to search engine algorithms, as well as users’ growing preference to replace search engines with generative AI—has further complicated the internet’s relationship with keywords. This has led many to wonder if keywords still matter at all.
Do Keywords Still Matter Today?
The use and importance of keywords hasn’t disappeared, but it has changed. Rather than one-to-one matching, like putting together puzzle pieces, keywords now serve as content signals pointing users in the right direction, like symbols on a map. However, like a map, there are many symbols that help users find where they want to go. Search engines use a mix of semantic analysis, topic modeling, and user behavior to determine which content is helpful and relevant.
This means modern SEO is built around topics, questions, and intent, not just phrases. If someone searches “how to fix a leaky faucet,” Google doesn’t just look for that exact phrase. Instead, it looks for pages (and, increasingly, videos, and products) that provide helpful information or solutions, even if the exact wording is different.
Modern Keyword Strategy
Today’s keyword strategy is about alignment with real user needs, not mechanical repetition. Here are a few strategies that can help improve your content’s visibility today:
- Use long-tail keywords that reflect specific, intent-driven searches
- Organize content into topic clusters instead of isolated pages
- Answer common questions related to your field or product
- Incorporate keywords naturally in headings, subheadings, and body copy
- Prioritize clarity, completeness, and usefulness over keyword count
In short, keywords still play a role, but only when paired with high-quality content and thoughtful structure.
AI Models and the Future of Keywords
AI Search Assistants
As AI-powered search becomes more mainstream, the way people interact with search results is changing. Tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity AI allow users to ask complex questions and receive synthesized answers without ever clicking on a link. These AI models are trained on massive datasets—including content created by independent creators and marketers—to provide instant value.
This shift means your content isn’t just being evaluated by search engines, it’s also being analyzed and summarized by AI. That raises a new question: are keywords still helpful in a world where AI summarizes your content in seconds?
The answer is still yes. AI tools rely on patterns and context to understand what your content is about. If you use clear, descriptive language and include the kinds of phrases your audience is actually searching for, you increase the chances that your content will be understood, included in AI outputs, and linked to as a credible source.
What This Means for SEO
As AI continues to shape the way users consume information, marketers need to think beyond keyword rankings. That doesn’t mean abandoning SEO, but rather adapting it.
To succeed today, your content must:
- Be well-written, with a strong topical focus
- Demonstrate real expertise and firsthand experience (EEAT)
- Use keywords naturally, in context, not in isolation
- Provide complete answers that AI tools and search engines can reference
- Be structured and scannable, using headings and logical flow
New Uses for Keywords
Search engines and AI programs are changing faster than ever, as are users’ preferences and the way they use the internet. However, high-quality content, good data, and well-organized ideas have always had value, and will continue to be valuable. To sort them in a way that’s findable for users, you’ll need to adapt and stay up-to-date on the right strategies.