Keywords are the building blocks of every content. These are the words that the target audience uses for accessing the desired information. At the time of integrating keywords in the web page content, you need to be careful that there is no stuffing of keywords because this is not the right solution for achieving a better ranking on the SERP. The right density of keywords on your web page is very much helpful for achieving a good rank.
On this page, we are going to describe keyword density and how to optimize content with the right density of content. Whenever we hear the word keyword density, keyword overstuffing comes to mind. But it should not always be a reference point. KD (Keyword Density) is the total number of times you are using your target keyword in any piece of content or the frequency of keywords on a webpage. It should also be interpreted with LSI ( Latent Semantic Indexing) and secondary keywords along with total target keywords present in the content.
Whenever you add a new page or blog to your webpage, keywords are effective in improving the ranking of the webpage. TF-IDF technique has become popular in the current time, and keyword density has gained a good place in SEO techniques. TF is the acronym of the Term Frequency, and IDF is Inverse Document Frequency. This is calculated on the basis of the keyword frequency in the existing page that is already ranking on search with the page that you will publish.
Formula For Calculating Keyword Density
With keyword density, the most asked question is about the ideal keyword density percentage. So for that, there is some specific formula.
Keyword Density = Number Of Times Keyword Is Mentioned / Total Number Of Words On The Page.
For getting the keyword density of the webpage, you need to consider the total number of keywords on the page and have to divide it by the total number of words on the page. You can convert the result into a percentage by multiplying with 100.
For example- the total number of words on any web page is 1500, and there are 20 targeted keywords on the webpage, then the density of the keyword for that particular web page will be-
20/1500= .013
.013×100= 1.3%
So the keyword density for the particular web page is 1.3%, and that leads to further one question.
Ideal Keyword Density for SEO
While calculating the keyword density for a web page, you must be wondering about the good ratio that can be applicable for every page.
And frankly speaking, when you will start finding the ideal value of keyword density, then you will get lots of answers for that.
Some SEO experts say that the ideal value lies between 0.5% to 0.8%. On the other hand, some say that the acceptable keyword density value is from 0.55 to 2.5%.
In a broader way, we can say that you should try to keep the keyword density below 3%. You can achieve this value by doing some trial and error. You should prepare a list of important keywords that should be used on your web page that has a role in granting ranking.
Role of Keyword Density in SEO
Keyword density is one of the important and essential factors for SEO as Google tries to display the most relevant results to the users as per their search query.
If the searched phrase is present inside your content, then there is a chance to rank in the SERP. Google gets a better understanding of your content with the related key phrases. For ranking on particular keywords, you need to optimize your content according to that. Also, the targeted keyword should appear a few more times naturally in the content.
But be aware of the fact that using exact matching keywords several times in the content neutralizes the power of complete content; thus, you should avoid repetitively using the same keywords. However, you can use synonyms of the keywords to maintain the effectiveness of the article.
What is Keyword Stuffing?
Keyword density never gets complete without talking about keyword stuffing. And it is necessary to understand it properly so that you can rank your website without any harmful effects.
Keyword stuffing is the over usage of keywords. Or when there is the repetition of the same keyword many times in the content that finally results in the unnatural appearance, then it comes under keyword stuffing.
With keyword stuffing, readers find difficulty in understanding the context of the content, and they leave that site. But in the current time, Google bots detect such stuffing work and impose penalties over such web pages.
You should keep on checking the optimal density of your web page after doing any changes so that you can avoid a negative impact on your web page ranking. Use keywords in the right proportion so that it can help you in getting a better ranking, not punishment or penalty.
When Keyword Stuffing Occurs
- Continuous repetition of words or phrases
- Using out of context words
- Keywords are not relevant to the heading of content.
- Use of same keywords in the meta tag, alt attribute, page code, and comment tag
Keyword Density Checker Tools
There is a simple formula to calculate the web page’s keyword density by considering the total word of the web page with the keyword present on the web page. But this can become a time taking process when you start doing it manually. To do it in a quick manner, you can use keyword density tools. Over the web, you will find potential options for checking the keyword density of the webpage. Here we are providing some of them.
This is a free tool to check the keyword density. You have to simply add your website URL or web page text and then verify the “I’m not a robot” captcha to check the keyword density.
While its free version will not offer you in-depth information, you will only get a report of the current density of the webpage.
You have to create an account on the SEOBook tool to access the information but don’t worry; it is free of cost.
Along with the keyword density of the webpage, you can also get information regarding the five top-ranking pages with the same keyword, and you can analyze your keyword strategies.
- WordPress SEO Post Optimizer
If you like the WordPress plugin for calculating the keyword density, then you can try WordPress SEO Post Optimizer. You have to pay a small amount for this wonderful tool, $19. With this tool, you can evaluate a variety of SEO conditions and keyword density that helps improve your website to get a better ranking on SERPs.
It is another WordPress plugin that is used for checking keyword density. It is free for the first seven days and after that costs $5 per month.
Besides checking the keyword density, this tool also offers potential SEO checkups and reports for web pages’ titles and metadata. You will find this tool worth the money.
How To Avoid Keyword Stuffing
To get ideal keyword density, you can follow some of the best practices.
- Allot A Primary Keyword To Each Page
You should choose the low, competitive keyword for your web page. And you should assign that keyword to one web page only, don’t use it for another web page. If you don’t do this, then your own page will keep competing with each other, and the content will not remain unique.
- Use Lengthy Content
You should try to create lengthy content for your web page so that keywords can be covered easily without any stuffing. To rank on certain keywords, you should create at least 300 words of content. Google appreciates content that is relevant, informational, and satisfied the queries of users.
- Placement Of Keywords At Right Place
There are some common places where you should add keywords. These places include the title tag, image alt tag, page title, meta description, the first section of content, end of the section, etc. These are the places on which you should focus while doing keyword optimization.
- Check Quality Of Content
The quality of content matters a lot. It will help if you try to create original content as much as possible. The target keyword should be used in the content. Also, you can first complete your content and then can insert the keywords in a natural-looking manner. You can make little changes in the sentences to make keywords appear natural and meaningful. The user experience should be given priority while doing keyword optimization.
Conclusion
Keyword density plays an important role in improving your website ranking, but it also comes among some misunderstood concepts. If you understand the importance of keyword density, you can get your website ranked in the SERP without any penalty. You should create a healthy balance between keyword addition in content to avoid keyword stuffing.
To achieve the ideal keyword density of the webpage, you can contact professionals of Marketing Sweet. We have a deep understanding of keyword density and do our best to achieve the result. Our SEO professionals follow all guidelines of Google to rank your website in the top position. Feel free to contact us at 08 8337 4340.
