What it is
Adding keywords is how you start tracking rankings in Keyword.com. Editing keywords lets you refine how those keywords are tracked without losing historical data.
Keywords are always tracked inside a project or a group.
Why it matters
Correct keyword setup is critical for accurate rankings.
Tracking the wrong URL type, device, location, or language can lead to misleading results. Editing allows you to correct or refine tracking without needing to delete and re‑add keywords.
How it works
Adding keywords to a project
To add keywords:
Open an existing project or create a new one
Click + Add Keywords
Choose how you want to add keywords (manual or bulk)
Configure tracking settings
Save
💡 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.
Tracking URL type: Broad vs Exact
When adding a keyword, you must choose how the URL is tracked.
Broad domain tracking
Tracks any page ranking under the domain, including sub-pages
Reports the highest‑ranking URL on that domain
Ignores the specific path entered
Example:
URL entered:
www.domain.com/page1/page2Result: any
domain.compage can be reported
Exact URL tracking
Tracks only the specific URL entered
Sub‑pages are not counted
Use Exact when page‑level accuracy matters. Use Broad when tracking overall domain visibility.
How to check this setting in the Ranking Table
You can verify how a keyword is being tracked directly from the Keyword Ranking Table.
In the Ranking URL column, hover over the tracking icon next to the URL:
 | Indicates exact domain is being tracked |
 | Indicates broad domain is being tracked |
Hovering over the icon will also show a tooltip confirming the tracking type and if you have ignored or included sub-domain.
This makes it easy to audit tracking settings without opening the edit panel.
Ignoring sub‑domains
You can choose to ignore sub‑domains when tracking.
This is useful if you want to track only the main domain and exclude results from sub‑domains such as:
blog.domain.comsupport.domain.com
Region, language, and location tracking
Each keyword can be tracked with custom Google settings:
Google TLD region (e.g. google.com, google.co.uk)
Language
Optional physical location (city or postal code)
If a location is set, rankings are returned only for that location.
Important note on Google regions (TLDs)
Google is increasingly consolidating results across regional TLDs. In practice, this means that even if you select a specific region such as google.co.uk, Google may still return results from google.com.
Because of this behaviour, setting a location is the most reliable way to ensure localised results.
Best practice:
Always set a location, even if it’s at a country level
Use region + location together for the most accurate local SERPs
How Keyword.com handles locations by default
When you select a Google region, Keyword.com automatically pre-populates the location with the capital city of that region.
Examples:
google.co.uk→ London, United Kingdomgoogle.fr→ Paris, France
This default is applied to ensure consistent and repeatable results even if you don’t manually enter a location.
Leaving the location field blank can lead to inconsistent rankings, because Google may return results from different cities on different updates. This is especially noticeable when tracking local or service-based businesses, where rankings can vary significantly by city.
To avoid this:
Keep the auto-filled location, or
Replace it with a more specific city or area you want to track
This ensures Keyword.com consistently returns the most relevant, localised results you’re expecting.
How to check this setting in the Ranking Table
You can verify which location is being tracked for a keyword directly from the Keyword Ranking Table in two ways:
Search Location column
Displays the location currently used for tracking that keyword.Keyword column
Hover over the location pin icon next to the keyword to see the tracked location in the tooltip.
Device tracking
You can track keywords on:
Desktop
Mobile
Desktop + Mobile
Desktop & mobile are selected by default.
Mobile tracking includes Google Mobile AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) results automatically.
How to check this setting in the Ranking Table
You can verify which device a keyword is being tracked on directly from the Keyword Ranking Table.
Keyword column
The device icon next to the keyword indicates how it is tracked:Desktop icon → tracked on desktop SERPs
Mobile icon → tracked on mobile SERPs
Hovering over the icon will show a tooltip confirming the device setting.
Adding keywords in bulk (inline)
Multiple keywords and domains can be added at once using the bulk input format:
domain.com:keyword:tag
Notes:
One entry per line
Tags are optional and separated by commas
Bulk input is best for quick additions, not historical imports
Keyword character limits
Keywords have a maximum limit of 150 bytes.
Important:
Non‑Latin characters use more bytes after UTF‑8 encoding
The visible character count may not match the actual limit
If a keyword exceeds the limit, it cannot be added.
Editing keywords after they are added
You can edit keywords at any time.
Editable settings include:
Tracking URL
Broad vs Exact
Region
Language
Location settings
Device type
How to edit:
Select one or more keywords using the checkbox
Click Edit in the action bar
Update the settings
Click Done
Edits can be applied to multiple keywords at once.
Duplicate URL behaviour
Keyword.com automatically filters duplicate URL/keyword combinations.
Duplicates may appear if:
One keyword uses Broad tracking
Another uses Exact tracking
Both resolve to the same ranking URL
You may keep both if you want to compare page‑level vs domain‑level behaviour.
What to expect
Editing keywords does not reset historical ranking data
Changing tracking scope may change which URL is reported going forward
HTTP and HTTPS are handled automatically
Best practices
Use Broad tracking for discovery and monitoring
Use Exact tracking for page‑level SEO work
Set tags at creation time when possible
Avoid deleting and re‑adding keywords unless necessary