Any search engine optimization campaign’s effectiveness hinges on the use of keywords. These words and phrases, when used correctly, can help you get your campaign in front of your target demographic. But how do you know how many times a keyword or phrase should appear in your content? This is where the importance of keyword density comes into play.
Keyword Density Matters
What is keyword density, and what does it mean? Keyword density is the amount of times your keyword or key phrase occurs in the content of your campaign or webpage. Any SEO professional will tell you that keyword optimization is essential for reaching your target audience, and keyword density allows you to see how many times a word or phrase appears in your text. While you can use Ctrl + F to find the number of times a keyword appears, the keyword density calculator uses a different method and calculates the density in percentages or ratios.
Keep Your Keyword Density Calculator Handy
So, how exactly does a keyword calculator function? It’s a straightforward computation that yields the keyword’s ratio or proportion of your total word count.
The keyword density formula works like this: (KWU/TWC)*100;
Where,
KWU stands for “Keywords Used.”
TWC stands for Total Word Count.
To express it in numbers, the calculation would be as follows:
If your overall keyword count is 20 and your total word count is 1000, the calculation is: (20/1000)*100.= 0.2*100= 2%
This means that the keyword density for a specific phrase or term is 2% of the entire word count. 2 percent seems like a little percentage when you think about it. Is 2% sufficient, and what should the optimum keyword ratio be in any content?
Understanding the benchmark ratio or % for excellent keyword density optimization is aided by knowing the optimal keyword density.
Knowing the Optimal Keyword Density
When it comes to appropriate keyword density, there are no hard and fast rules as long as the keyword density percentage is healthy.
When it comes to keyword density, there are several schools of thought. It varies from 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent for some people. Some analysts believe the figure should be higher, ranging from 0.5 percent to 2.5 percent. However, the majority of specialists think that it should be less than 3%.
This means that you must employ the keyword at least twice for every 100 words you use to describe your content.
ALSO READ: How to do Keyword Research in SEO [2021]
What Exactly is Keyword Stuffing?
Consider reading a blog and coming across a sentence that is repeated, either with or without context. Every SEO service provider understands that using the proper keywords in the content of a blog or webpage can help them rank higher in search engines. Keyword stuffing is when a set of keywords is repeated over and over again.
It’s not a certainty that if you utilise a key phrase or keyword several times, you’ll be accorded first place in Google’s search results. This black hat SEO strategy may appear to be a smart idea at first, but it will only get you into trouble with Google. You’ll be breaking their quality standards, which could result in penalties and the removal of your website from their search engine.
Not only that, but your reader may be confused as to why keywords are repeated so frequently in a content piece from a reputable source, causing them to lose interest in your material.
Best Practices for Good Keyword Density
Think about Your Audience
In every field, the saying “the customer is king” holds true. Concentrate on who you’re writing for and strive to capture their attention first. Content flows easily once you know who your target audience is. Thinking about search engines and rankings will give you writer’s block and cause you to lose the consistency you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
Put yourself in the reader’s place to assess if the piece might pique your attention. After that, think about how you want the information to flow. If the keywords flow naturally while producing the material, you’ve accomplished half of your task.
After you’ve finished your material, look for places where you may naturally incorporate keywords. This will allow you to achieve desired keyword density without looking forced.
Add Your Keywords in the Right Place
After you’ve perfected your content’s flow, you’ll need to add keywords and achieve optimal keyword density. Before you start throwing keywords into your text at random, you need to know where they should fit.
Start with the headline: Make sure your keyword is at the top of your headline so that it is the first thing a reader sees while searching. This also aids Google’s algorithm in determining what your content is about, allowing your material to achieve a higher search ranking.
In the main body: This is where you can improve keyword density by optimising keywords. It should be used in a way that complements the flow of your material.
Keywords in the URL: Because Google’s algorithms read the URL first, placing keywords in the URL will help you rank higher.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing
To avoid getting in problems with the search engine algorithm and breaking the flow of your text, avoid keyword stuffing.
Using variations of the keyword within your content is one of the greatest methods to do this. The goal is to find words that are similar enough to the keywords. You’d also have to utilise synonyms, or words that have the same meaning. This can help you prevent keyword stuffing while keeping your content at the top of the search results.
If you’re wondering how this would work, it’s really straightforward. Not the same terms, but comparable words are what search algorithms look for. If you’re producing a content post about cheap vacations and don’t want to use the word “cheap,” use the terms “budget-friendly” or “affordable.” It means the same thing, and you’ve avoided keyword stuffing while still maintaining the proper keyword density ratio.
Create Quality Content
The strategies listed above will only work if your material is of excellent quality. Before you think about keyword density or simply avoiding keyword stuffing, you need to know what kind of content you’ll be writing.
You’re in luck if they blend right in with the rest of the group. Allow your words to take their own path if you’re having trouble adding them. First and foremost, complete your material. This indicates that you have completed the majority of your task. After that, go over it again and see where you might add the essential keywords by replacing some of the ones that are currently there. This enables you to make essential adjustments without sacrificing quality.
Checking for Keyword Density
How would you check for keyword density now that you’ve learned about the best practices? You can do it the old fashioned way by searching for each term individually and then dividing the total by the number of words.
However, this procedure is time-consuming. Not only would you lose interest in your profession, but you’d also give up at some time. So, how do you determine keyword density?
There are numerous internet tools at your disposal to assist you with this.
- Keyword Density Checker: Simply type in your URL or content, and this keyword density checker will tell you the keyword density ratio in your material.
- SEOBook Keyword Density Analyzer: This free tool not only gives you the percentage of keyword density, but it also takes data from the top pages that use the same keywords and performs Google searches for target keywords.
- On-Page SEO Checker by Alexa: You’ll need to input the URL of your landing page as well as the keyword you’re aiming for. This checker can only be used once your page has gone live. This allows you to see if the keyword has been adequately optimized. You can test it out for free to see if it’s right for you.
- SEOCHECKWEB Keyword Density Checker: It truly checks all of the keywords that are used on the page or text that is being examined, and it displays the following metrics for enhancing SEO performance and effective content optimization:
Conclusion
Finally, when it comes to keyword optimization, keyword density is critical. You must, however, strike a balance between term density and keyword stuffing.