Let’s turn back the hands of time to a younger me, back when I was getting started in SEO.
I thought the secret to ranking was repetition — the more times I squeezed in my keyword, the better my chances of landing that coveted first-page spot.
If I wanted to rank for best running shoes, I made damn sure those exact words showed up everywhere — in the title, in the first paragraph, in every subheading, and if I could shove it in without setting my brain on fire, twice in the meta description.
The result?
My content read like it was written by a malfunctioning AI.
But here’s the thing — it used to work before my time.
In the old days, Google wasn’t as smart back.
It didn’t care if your content actually answered the Searcher’s question.
If your page repeated the right phrase enough times, you ranked.
So, SEOs stuffed keywords into their articles. They forced. They turned good writing into SEO drivel.
And then?
Google evolved.
Today, stuffing an exact-match keyword into every other sentence is one of the fastest ways to kill your rankings.
Instead of rewarding you, Google sees it as a sign that your content is low-value, spammy, and unhelpful.
SEO has changed. The question now isn’t how many times you use a keyword—it’s how well your content matches what people are actually searching for.
The short answer:
No. Google doesn’t need exact-match keywords anymore.
✅ What matters now?
- Using natural language instead of robotic, forced phrasing.
- Writing for humans first, search engines second.
- Understanding search intent — what people actually want when they type a query into Google.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- How Google understands keyword variations (and why exact matches are dead).
- How to optimise for SEO without forcing awkward keywords.
- How to rank for multiple keyword variations naturally.
- The biggest mistakes people make with keyword targeting (and how to avoid them).
Let’s dive in.
How Google understands keywords today
Today, exact-match SEO is dead.
Google doesn’t just read words anymore—it interprets meaning.
It looks at search intent, synonyms, variations, and the overall topic of a page instead of just scanning for an exact string of words.
This shift happened when Google introduced RankBrain and Natural Language Processing (NLP).
How RankBrain & NLP changed everything
RankBrain is Google’s AI-driven algorithm that helps it understand what people actually want when they search.
Instead of relying purely on keyword matching, it analyses search behavior to determine which results are the best fit — even if they don’t contain the exact words the user typed.
How does this work in real life?
🔹 It connects similar phrases to the same intent.
Google knows that:
- best running shoes = top running shoes = best sneakers for running
- how to fix a leaky faucet = leaky tap repair
Before RankBrain, if you searched for leaky tap repair, Google would prioritise pages that contained that exact phrase — even if they weren’t helpful.
Now? Google understands that a leaky tap and a leaky faucet are the same thing, and it ranks content that actually answers the question, regardless of the exact words used.
What does this mean for your SEO strategy?
This changes the game.
It means you don’t have to cram awkward, unnatural keyword phrases into your content.
You don’t need to worry about exact-match wording.
Instead, your focus should be on:
- Using natural language: Write like a human, not like a machine programmed to hit a keyword quota.
- Including keyword variations: Instead of repeating one phrase, use synonyms and different wordings.
- Covering the full topic: The more depth you provide, the more likely Google is to see your content as relevant.
Do you still need exact-match keywords?
So, if Google no longer requires exact-match keywords, does that mean you should never use them?
Not exactly.
While Google is getting smarter about understanding intent, synonyms, and variations, there are still times when using an exact-match keyword is the best move.
Let’s break it down.
Brand & product names
When people search for a specific brand or product, they’re usually looking for that exact item, not something similar.
Google understands this, and so should you.
✅ Example:
- Someone searching for nike air zoom pegasus 40 doesn’t want to see pages about top running shoes — they want info about that specific shoe.
- If you’re writing a product page or review, using the exact brand/product name ensures Google and users know your content is relevant.
Highly specific or technical terms
Some searches are so specific or technical that changing the phrasing would change the meaning entirely.
✅ Example:
- intermittent fasting 16/8 → this refers to a very specific type of fasting window (16 hours fasting, 8 hours eating).
If you rewrite this as an Occasional Fasting Plan article — someone searching for 16/8 fasting isn’t looking for just any fasting guide, they want info on that exact schedule.
For technical industries, medical terms, or niche topics, using the exact phrase ensures accuracy and ranking potential.
But of course, there are times when you don’t need exact-match keywords.
For most informational and broad-topic searches, Google doesn’t need exact matches to understand relevance.
That’s all he wrote, folks.
Thanks for reading.
