Google’s Guide to Better SEO Content

John Mueller and Martin Splitt then offered some honest insight into how publishers and SEOs should choose keyword phrases to target. Their message was clear: it isn’t just about picking the hardest or most popular terms; it’s about selecting ones that genuinely fit the website and its purpose.

Mueller explained that it helps to look critically at the keywords you’ve chosen. Rather than simply aiming high, it’s worth testing them out to see what actually appears in search results and considering if it’s realistic for your own site to compete there.

He shared his thoughts:

“And then I would take those and just try them out and see what comes up, and think about how reasonable it would be for one of your pages, perhaps to show up there… because it’s sometimes tempting to say, ‘Well, I would like to appear first for the search bookstore on the internet.’ Probably that’s not going to happen.”

Mueller pointed out that there’s fierce competition for broad, highly sought-after terms. Instead, it makes more sense to focus on narrower, better-defined keywords, like “bookstores in Zurich” or “bookstores on Maps,” where the competition is more manageable.

He encouraged site owners to look at what’s currently ranking for those specific searches and see whether their own pages already appear or could reasonably rank there with some adjustments.

This practical approach helps ground keyword strategies in reality, rather than chasing phrases simply because they have high search volume.

Mueller also touched on another important point: sometimes, the question isn’t whether your site is perfectly optimised for SEO, but rather whether it’s achieving its goals.

He noted that if a business owner is satisfied with the traffic and conversions their site is bringing in, then obsessing over optimisation might not be necessary.

Mueller put it this way:

“I mean, it all depends on how serious you take your goal, right? If you’re like a small local business… and you’re happy. There’s no one to judge you to say, ‘Your website is not SEO optimised.’”

This view challenges the idea that every site must chase perfection in SEO. Sometimes, what matters most is whether your website is doing the job you need it to do, rather than ticking every technical box.

Of course, as Mueller acknowledged, others might argue that further optimisation could help the site do even better. But in the context he described, the priority was practicality and business satisfaction rather than endless chasing of higher rankings.

Ultimately, his advice serves as a reminder: SEO should be a tool to support your business goals — not an end in itself. Focusing on realistic keywords and being honest about what your site can achieve is often the smarter path.