Why Targeting 100 Small Keywords Beats Chasing One Big Keyword (Zapier Case Study)

If you run a business website, chances are you’ve been tempted by the dream of ranking for that one big keyword. It sounds appealing: dominate “automation software,” “CRM tools,” or “marketing platform,” and traffic will pour in.

But here’s the problem: those big keywords are brutally competitive. Unless you’ve got millions to spend, they’re a losing battle.

Zapier chose a smarter path, and it’s one that can inspire how you approach SEO.

Zapier’s SEO Strategy: Small Keywords, Big Results

Instead of obsessing over “automation software,” Zapier created thousands of landing pages for very specific keyword searches.

Here are a few examples:

• Connect Gmail to Slack
• Connect Trello to Google Sheets
• Connect Notion to Asana

Each page solved a simple, practical problem. More importantly, each one was exactly what the searcher wanted.

Someone searching for “Connect Gmail to Slack” wasn’t browsing out of curiosity. They were ready to take action. That’s the kind of intent most businesses overlook.

The Compounding Effect of Many Small Wins

One landing page didn’t change Zapier’s growth story. But thousands of them did.

Each page brought in a trickle of high-intent users. Multiply that across 100,000 or more pages, and Zapier turned those trickles into a flood.

The result? Zapier scaled into a company with $140 million+ in annual recurring revenue, largely powered by this strategy.

The Lesson: Don’t Chase the Mountain, Own the Village

Most businesses want to rank for the mountain: the one keyword everyone is fighting for. But the smarter play is to own the village: the hundreds of smaller, intent-driven keywords your competitors are ignoring.

Ask yourself:

• What small problems are people in my industry searching for?
• Can I create landing pages, guides, or tools that solve those problems directly?

Each page might only bring in a handful of visitors a day. But stack enough of them together, and you’ve built a system that drives sustainable growth.

Why This Matters in the AI Search Era

AI Overviews and search tools like Perplexity or ChatGPT Search make it harder for generic, broad keywords to deliver meaningful traffic.

But specific, action-focused searches still matter. If someone types “Connect Google Calendar to Zoom,” they don’t just want information, they want a solution.

That’s where businesses that invest in niche, intent-rich content will continue to win, even as search evolves.

The Bottom Line

Zapier didn’t become a $140M+ ARR company by winning “automation software.” They won by breaking down that massive category into thousands of smaller, intent-driven opportunities.

The real question is: If I looked at your site today, would I see you chasing the mountain, or building your own village of keywords that bring customers every day?

Connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s talk about building an SEO strategy that compounds, just like Zapier’s.