do you still rely on exact match keywords or focus more on topics now?

I think both are important, but I focus more on covering the topic properly. Long-tail keywords still bring targeted traffic, but good content that answers the user's intent seems to perform better over time.

I begin with exact match keywords as well, but only to see what users are really searching for. Next, I make the entire page according to the question, related subjects and intentiions hidden behind this keyword. This method has provided me with better results than keyword stuffing.

Google is prioritising authority more than keywords and content quality. They are showing 10 irrelevant pages from an authority site instead of relevant pages from 10 different sites. Bing is also doing exactly same thing. So, this discussion of keyword vs topic is meaningless for SEO.

I think the conversation has become a bit too polarized. It's not really a choice between exact match keywords and topical authority—they work together. Exact match keywords are still useful for identifying search intent and shaping a page, but they shouldn't drive every sentence.

For example, if someone searches "best budget gaming laptop," I'd rather create a page that covers buying factors, comparisons, FAQs, and recommendations than obsess over repeating that exact phrase twenty times. The keyword provides direction, while the depth and relevance of the content are what make the page genuinely useful.