I have seen several posts within a few forums asking about keyword density, specifically if there is an optimal figure and what it would be. I had written an article a few weeks back and thought I would share it with those who are curious. Towards the bottom you will also find places where you should place your keywords. Cheers! What is keyword density? First let’s start off by defining exactly what keyword density is. Keyword density is the number of times a word or phrase appears on a web page in comparison with the total number of words on that page. In other words, it is simply referring to the number of times you use that specific keyword versus all the other words on that page. What is my sites recommended keyword density? Simply put, the recommended keyword density for your site cannot be summed up into one figure. Sadly enough, the search engines just don’t encapsulate it into one number across all markets. For some sites, having a density of 1% may suffice for good rankings and for others it simply is just not enough. The basic rule of thumb has always been 3% to 5%, or roughly 3 repetitions for every 100 words used on a page. However, placing too much emphasis on your keyword can also be considered stuffing and will actually have an adverse effect and lead to lower rankings. As with most things, the law of diminishing returns plays a role in ranking for specific words and phrases. More importantly, your focus should be on providing content that can be consumed and understood clearly. Not only will this help keep a reader engaged, but it will also keep them browsing your site longer and more often. Why is keyword density important? It is necessary that you understand why keyword density is important, and how it can affect the ranking of your website. Keywords or key phrases are terms that regular internet users use in order to search for information on the internet. Searchers punch these words or phrases into the search engine, looking for specific results. How important is Keyword Density as it pertains to Search Engine Optimization? The answer is simple: if you’re thinking too much about a recommended keyword density figure, you’re probably using your words and phrases more than you need to. Where to put your keywords With the above being said, to optimize a site, one should take a few main variables into account. Implementing the following correctly will undoubtedly boost your rankings among the search engines: Title Tag – The title tag is an optimal place to use your long tail keywords. The title tag consists of those words you see at the top of your browser window in the blue space located in the tab, and it is what search engines grab for the title display in their search results. Needless to say, it’s an important part of your search engine optimization strategy. Here's an example: [long tail keyword] - How To [long tail keyword]. Headline – This could be the most crucial place to put your long tail keyword. In an effort to save time, most people who read the Web scan Web pages very rapidly. This is why headlines are so important - they give your reader a chance to get what they need, fast, with less hassle (again, back to that great user experience). Use your word or phrase again in the headline: How To [long tail keyword]. Content – This is the place to write your keyword phrases into your site content. Also, this is where most people get caught up because it's easy to just write that keyword phrase where ever that keyword phrase might fit into where the keyword phrase could go (see what I mean? sounds terrible!). Be natural about it – again, the recommended keyword density varies per site. Focus on making your site sound as fluid and conversational as possible while providing the content that the user is searching for. Make this your priority while optimizing the title tag, headline and content and you will surely see your rankings climb!
Keyword density shouldn't even exist in your mind when you're writing content. A great article back in 2005 by DR. E. Garcia called The Keyword Density of Non-Sense provides some great insight into why keyword density is useless to both humans and search engines. Content should always be written to be 100% readable by a human that is 100% fluent in the native language the content is written in. Search engines may consider repetition of a keyword or keyword phrase as a single for spam, but there is no clear cut % to worry about. Write unique, quality content and you'll never have to wonder if "you have the write keyword density".
You're absolutely right - which is why I tried to emphasize that you must create quality content that can be consumed and understood clearly. This will keep your visitor engaged and on your site longer.
...So, you guys know that most people don't actually read the entire posts...right? You're aware that most people just want to see "oh hey, not complete spam" and a nice design, yeah? keyword density goes with the keyword itself and competition. If you spam "innsurance" 5 times in 100 words, you're screwed, as that means 25 times in 500 words. If you spam "reverse mortage insurance premiums" with a density of like 7%, you'll rank nicely. Always worry about density in regards to competition; the more competitive, the more natural you need to make your conntent. if there is no competition, you can even direct insane baccklinks to your mainsite with little worry. It's not like Google's algorithm is a genius (it actually promotes spamming by making dofollow and nofollow have equal weight)