How often can you repeat a key phrase in one article?

Suppose you have a 2-3 word key phrase. How often can you repeat it in an article without offending the reader (or search engines)? Do you think it's okay to use synonyms or alternate phrases to avoid too much repetition? Or would it be better to use the same phrase throughout the text?

 

Well, obviously you probably want to make sure that your article is readable, and it has to feel natural. Keyword density is overplayed, and most search engines don't use it as a part of their algo because of keyword stuffing and what not. Just focus on writing good content and then point a crapload of links to it.

 

Hi,To use number of key word depends on the length of the content. If it is a short article (like below 400 words) then using it 2 times is sufficient. But you should not use synonyms in place of original keyword,it doesn't make any impact in the article.

 

there is no set rule as to what % of keyword density you should be having. all depends on your purpose and what you do with the articles. if you are submitting to ezine, your articles need to have less than 2% keyword density. if you are using the articles on your site or blog or for any other purpose, you can spread the keyword through out the entire page and make it as normal as you can. somewhere around 2%-3% KW density is fine.

 

3% to 4% is ideal density to repeat keyword

 

Don't make it "sound" fake. If you need to alternate the words around to get the keywords in there to sound natural, go for it.

 

3-4 % is allowed. But dont stuff much keyword which lead you to get penalized.

 

Your article should appear natural and not forced . so find a balance and use your keywords to maximum .

 

Thanks for the tips! I was thinking more of "key phrases" not keywords. While it's not hard for me to avoid keyword stuffing, I'm not so sure about key phrases. For instance if I use "SEO consultant" as a key phrase, do I have to use that every time or is it okay to say "consultant" once in a while? I'm leaning more toward the latter. It seems to me what matters is placing the right keywords / key phrases in the title, meta and headings as well as getting good links to the article.

 

A 2.5% - 4.5% major keyword density may be acceptable. If humans will like your articles then SEs will also like, so first make it addictive for human readers.

 

You don't have to use it everytime. Take the tips above regarding the length and figure out the proper word count. So lets say you have a typical 500 word article. You will want the keyword in the title (try to keep it in the front if you are submitting to article directories), within the first two sentences of the 1st paragraph (preferably the first 100 words), 1 in the last paragraph, and pinch throughout the body.

The amount again will depend on the length of your body. I've been an SEO writer for 3 years and taking this route has been very useful for my clientele. Unfortunately it's not all about where you put your keywords or how many you use.

If you just let it flow, you'll soon realize that you can use a something like SEO consultant naturally without even thinking about it. Actually most keywords and phrases.

All the information above is helpful as well.

Cheers~