Keyword optimization for homepage?

Hello,

So i'm starting a new blog site. and I found some main keywords for it from google keyword tool, I've read articles from seo by yoast and he advise NOT try and rank any keywords on the homepage. It's exact?

Waiting for some valuable answers and if you can point what i should do it right way?

Thanks

No he must not say don't try, you can try it. I don't rank for my main keyword but my blog posts (inner pages) rank really well. It will take a lot of hard work and time to rank your homepage but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

Focus on ranking long tale and low competition keywords first, then in the near future when your other keywords are ranking maybe you'll also rank for the main keyword, depending on the competition. So go ahead and try it but first, make sure that you rank well for low competition keywords.

To rank on the SERPs your page needs to be relevant for that given keyword and hence why inner pages/posts take up the bulk of that... Most people arriving at a site do not enter via the home page... they enter via the page which is most relevant to search results...

For me the home page is more to do with branding and primary keywords which relate to the niche... Everything else from other keywords and long tail keywords etc is focused on inner pages with content that represents that... So lets say you want to rank for "red apples" - your website is about apples and your post on "Best Guide to Red Apples" is the one which you are attempting to rank for that term...

Also realize if your home page does not even mention the keywords then its unlikely it will rank for those terms... There are exceptions to that - but that relates to your backlinks and the anchor profile... But be careful of that as G is real good at knowing the difference between organic and faked/manipulated backlinks... Slow and steady is the order of the day if you get into that...

Finally all sites should aim to take a bottom-up approach in my opinion... Target the low hanging fruit i.e. long tail keywords and work your way up as you add more content... Group and link that content and create silos which help target certain pages for specific keywords....

Your homepage typically has the most authority compared to all other pages on your website. Adding keywords to your homepage is important, and it should be done in a way that tells users what your entire website is about. Treat your homepage just like any sub-page you are trying to rank. Most local business websites aren't very deep and a good practice is to optimize your homepage with your most competitive keywords.