What it is
Keyword management is everything you do after a keyword has been added to a project. This includes editing tracking settings, organising keywords, and maintaining a clean, accurate keyword set over time.
Why this matters
Good keyword management keeps your data accurate, your reports meaningful, and your account easy to work with at scale. Poorly managed keywords lead to duplicated tracking, lost history, and misleading performance trends.
How it works
Adding keywords
Keywords are always added to a specific project.
You can add keywords:
Individually
In bulk
With optional tags
With custom tracking settings (device, location, language, URL type)
For full step-by-step instructions and all tracking options, see: Adding & Editing Keywords.
How keyword usage is counted
A keyword is counted as unique based on its full tracking configuration, not just the keyword text.
For example:
Tracking the same keyword on desktop and mobile counts as two keywords, because rankings are collected separately per device.
Tracking the same keyword in multiple locations (e.g. Auckland and NZ-wide) also counts as multiple keywords.
As a result, keywords that look identical in your project may be counted more than once depending on their setup. This is why your total “used keywords” can be higher than expected.
To optimise usage, review whether you need all device types or location variations, removing unnecessary configurations will reduce your total tracked keywords.
Keyword adding limits and rate limiting
Keyword.com applies daily limits on how many keywords you can add or delete within a 24-hour period. This prevents accidental bulk changes and system abuse.
Limits depend on your plan type:
Daily update plans: up to 1× your keyword allowance per day
Weekly update plans: up to 1x your keyword allowance per week
Bi-hourly update plans (legacy): up to 3× your keyword allowance per day
If you hit a limit, you’ll see an error message asking you to try again later.
For exact limits and examples, see Keyword Add & Delete Limits.
Editing keywords
You can edit keywords at any time after they are added.
Editable settings include:
Tracking URL (Broad vs Exact)
Google region
Language
Device (desktop, mobile, or both)
Local tracking settings
How to edit:
Select one or more keywords using the checkbox
Click Edit in the action bar
Update the required settings
Click Done to save
Edits can be applied to multiple keywords at once.
For full details, see Adding & Editing Keywords.
Importing keywords from CSV
You can import keywords in bulk using a CSV file. This also supports importing historical ranking data from other tools.
Because this is a larger workflow with multiple steps and validation rules, CSV importing is documented separately.
Deleting keywords
Deleting a keyword permanently removes it from the project.
How to delete keywords:
Select one or more keywords from the table
Click the Delete icon in the action bar
Confirm the deletion
‼️ Important:
All historical ranking data for deleted keywords is permanently removed
Deletions cannot be undone
Deleted keywords still count toward daily rate limits
Marking keywords as favourites
You can mark keywords as favourites to keep important terms visible.
How it works:
Click the ⭐ icon next to a keyword
Favourite keywords always appear at the top of the keyword table
This is a visual preference and does not affect tracking or reporting
Organising keywords with tags
Tags help you organise and filter keywords within a project.
Key points:
A keyword can have multiple tags
Tags can represent themes, regions, priorities, or campaigns
Tags can be added or removed at any time
How to manage tags:
Select one or more keywords
Click Manage Tags in the action bar
Add or remove tags
Apply changes
Moving keywords between projects
Keywords can be moved from one project to another.
What happens when you move a keyword:
The keyword is removed from the original project
It is added to the destination project
Historical data remains intact
How to move keywords:
Select the keywords
Choose Move to project from the actions menu
Select the destination project
Displaying Group keywords in the parent Project view
By default, keywords inside Groups are only visible when viewing that specific Group.
You can choose to display all Group keywords directly inside the main Project ranking table.
What happens when enabled:
Group keywords appear in the main Project view
Keywords are organised under Group headings
Tracking data and history remain unchanged
ViewKey reflects the same structure
How to enable:
Go to Table Settings
Under Other Settings, toggle Display Groups in Parent Projects
This setting only affects table display. It does not duplicate keywords or impact keyword limits.
Duplicating keywords
Duplicating creates a copy of an existing keyword with the same tracking settings.
Common use cases:
Tracking the same keyword across different projects
Testing different locations, devices, or URLs
💡 Notes:
Duplicated keywords start with new tracking history
They count toward your keyword allowance
How to duplicate:
Select the keyword
Click Duplicate
Choose the destination project and tracked url
Best practices
Clean up unused keywords regularly to stay within limits
Use tags early, they become critical as projects grow
Be cautious when deleting keywords, as history cannot be recovered
Use favourites for executive or high-priority terms
For large migrations, always use CSV import rather than manual adds