what is keyword density?

what is keyword density?

Keyword density is important in search engine ranking.

Keyword density is number of times a keyword or a keyword phrase, in proportion on a Web page. The more times the keyword appears in relation to the total number of on page words, the greater the overall keyword density.

Keyword density is a combination of the number of times a keyword or a keyword phraseappears on a Web page. The more times the keyword appears in relation to the total number of on page words, the greater the overall keyword density

The various search engines, including Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search consider keyword density as part of their search algorithm. Each search engine has a different mathematical equation regarding the density of keywords that is rewarded with higher search ranking placement. There is also a different level of tolerance between the different searches engines as to the degree of density permitted before a penalty is imposed.

How to Measure Keyword Density

Establish the total word count of a body of content on a web page – e.g.: 500 words

Calculate how many times a target keyword is used on the web page – e.g.: 20 keywords

Divide the number of keywords (20) used by the total word count (500)

Multiply the answer (0.4) by 100 to calculate the keyword density percentage (4%)

You can calculate the keyword density of a particular text as:  (keyword count/ total word count) * 100.

Keyword Density Tips

With all content that is to be displayed on a website’s pages, keyword density is essential. Keyword density is quite literally your ticket to the best search engine ranking that you can get.

Some SEO keyword density tips include

  •  A keyword density percentage of between 3 and 5 % is considered effective. At least one web page with this keyword density percentage is likely to rank well on any of the major search engines. A high keyword density will likely annoy internet readers, as well as be perceived by search engines as spam.
  • Latent Semantic Indexing achieving a high ranking in search engines can also be done by having a low keyword density. Latent Semantic Indexing makes use of words that are strongly related to a target or main keyword and used at random throughout content
  • Keyword usage in title and headings, target keywords should always be used in the main title of any content displayed on a web page. When search engines scan content, these keywords are easily found much quicker than if they were located further down a body of text.
  • Keyword usage as the last word of a body of text
  • Keyword usage in a hyperlink – keywords can be incorporated in hyperlinks without contributing to SEO overkill (i.e.: overdoing content with keywords or keyword stuffing).
  • Submit keywords to search engines as well as use within the body content of a web page. The same keywords that are used in content should also promote a website on search engines.