Target keyword
The main search phrase or close query family a page is built to satisfy. It guides the page; it is not a phrase to stuff everywhere.
See it
What it is
A target keyword is the query, or tight family of queries, that a page is deliberately built to satisfy. It gives the page a center of gravity: the right search intent, format, title, headings, examples, and internal links should all make sense for that target.
Reach for one before writing or when two pages seem to compete for the same demand. Start with real query data from Google Search Console, then inspect the live SERP. If the top results are product pages, a tutorial aimed at the same phrase is targeting the words but missing the intent.
Gotcha: it is a planning label, not a phrase to repeat on a timer. Yoast SEO calls the same idea a focus keyphrase and turns a light green when the page uses it enough, which is how most people first meet the term. That light scores your compliance with a checklist, not your chance of ranking. Google can rank a useful page for close variants and related language that never appears verbatim. Creating one page for every tiny wording change usually produces duplicates and splits your own relevance signals.
Ask AI for it
Choose one target keyword cluster for this page using Google Search Console query data, Google Ads Keyword Planner volumes, and the live Google SERP. Name the primary phrase, close variants, search intent, winning page type, and questions the page must answer. Map the cluster to one URL, draft a natural title tag and H1, and flag any existing URL that already targets the same intent. Do not create separate pages for singular, plural, or trivial word-order variants.