It indicates how close the words of a keyphrase placed. More closed keyphrase get more attention from Google bots. It helps to boost search ranking. The keyword proximity will be the highest if you use the exact key phrase. It is natural that your article will be on top.
But there are thousands of people who will think the same. So, Google will consider a few of the highest authority sites for the top page and ignore others.
There are some people who use the synonym of keyphrase and write articles with lower proximity. They may have better chances to rank higher than those low authority sites.
Some Tips on Keyword Proximity-
1. Use The Exact Keyphrase For Low Competition Keywords: If you think, the competition is lower for a keyword/keyphrase. Then use the Exact Keyphrase on Title, Meta, first paragraph, and Headings. It will work
2. For High Competition Keywords- Use Synonymous Keyphrase: If the search volume and competition for a keyword is higher, keep the proximity lower. And use synonyms on Title/Headings and first paragraph. Look at the first-page result carefully. And analyze what you need to write. No one will visit your article if they got the same title in the first article.
3. Natural, Catchy, and Unique Title: You can use Top 10, Beginners guide, Secret Revealed, and a lot more catchy phrases. Whether you use the exact keyword or a Synonym it must look natural. Write content for human readers. A unique and catchy title and meta description bring more visitors.
Both Keyword prominence and proximity will help you to boost your web page ranking if you can use it perfectly. Write longer articles, keep keyword density[^2] below 3%, use a synonymous keyphrase, keep proximity higher or, lower based on your understanding and rank better than 90% of websites with less effort. Please, comment below to give your opinion.
You can read- What is deep architecture in SEO?
Hey, don’t spoil your SEO efforts, read – keyword density range
