When designing a website, selecting suitable keywords and phrases is crucial in helping users to find relevant pages. Careful consideration is given to choosing words that accurately represent the business and attract potential customers. These chosen keywords are strategically added or placed within the website’s URL, title tags, and content to enable Google to rank the content in relevant searches.

However, determining the optimal frequency of keyword usage can be a challenging task for businesses. Many companies find it difficult to strike a balance between effective keyword use and overuse.

What is keyword density?

Search engine optimization (SEO) heavily relies on keyword density, which is the proportion of times a specific keyword or phrase appears on a page compared to the total number of words. For instance, using a keyword 20 times on a 2000-word page would result in a keyword density of 1%.

While SEO professionals have debated about the ideal keyword density, the consensus is that a range of 1-3% is appropriate.

Keyword Density formula

Calculating keyword density is a straightforward process that involves determining the frequency of a particular keyword on a webpage with the total number of words. To find the keyword density of a page, simply divide the number of times the keyword appears by the page’s total word count. This formula tells a specific figure representing the keyword density of the page. However, the exact percentage that constitutes the ideal keyword density remains unknown.

The reason is Google. It has not provided any official confirmation on the impact of keyword density on website rankings. However, Google has acknowledged that using a keyword in the first and second sentences on a page can effectively optimize rankings. Nonetheless, beyond these initial uses, it is challenging to determine the exact number of keywords that are beneficial to Google.

Since Google has not provided a specific number of times a keyword should be used. People often go overboard with the keywords, which results in keyword stuffing.

WHAT IS KEYWORD STUFFING?

During the early days of SEO, a tactic called “keyword stuffing” gained popularity. This practice involves overloading a webpage with as many keywords as possible, resulting in awkward and unnatural-sounding content for the reader.

For example

Welcome to our website, where we offer the best shoes online. If you’re looking for shoes, then you’ve come to the right place because our shoes are the best shoes around. We have a wide selection of shoes, from casual shoes to formal shoes and everything in between. Our shoes are the best quality shoes on the market, and our customers agree that our shoes are the best shoes they’ve ever worn. So if you want the best shoes, come to our website and buy our shoes today!

Many businesses used to achieve keyword stuffing by adding long footers at the bottom of web pages, featuring numerous variations of common search terms. Hotel websites were particularly notorious for this tactic, displaying linked keywords such as “cheap hotels Barcelona,” “cheap hotels Cairo”, “cheap hotels Dresden,” and so on. Each keyword would lead visitors to another webpage with a similar and overloaded footer.

How to avoid keyword stuffing and determine an optimal number of keywords.

Determining the appropriate keyword density for SEO can be challenging as there is no definite number to follow, making it difficult to avoid keyword stuffing. However, there are several best practices to ensure the effective use of keyword density.

Write naturally.

One such practice is to write naturally without forcefully adding keywords. Try to use the keywords where they fit naturally and perfectly so that the content makes sense. Once the writing is complete, reading the content out loud can help identify any keyword repetition, which you can then easily delete.

Use Related keywords.

Related keywords are another useful technique. Prior to writing, it is important to consider the proof and relevant terms associated with the topic. Proof terms are commonly used words or phrases that help Google understand the topic, while relevant terms are synonyms that expand the vocabulary and prevent overuse of a single keyword.

Calculate the keyword density.

To maintain an appropriate keyword density of 1-3%, simple math can be applied by dividing the number of times the keyword is used by the total word count and multiplying by 100.

Various keyword density tools are available that not only help in examining competing websites and identifying common phrases that they use but also help in analyzing the content on webpages, including the number of words used, linked and non-linked words, and short words. These tools also display a list of the most frequently used keywords on the page, from most to least frequent, which can help provide valuable data that you can use to manage and optimize your pages effectively.

 Analyzing all this information can help you determine which phrases may be beneficial to include in your own content in order to keep up with your competition. And you can use this data to manage and optimize your pages effectively.

By following these best practices, keyword stuffing can be avoided while effectively using keyword density for SEO.

How can we help?

We understand that every business is unique, which is why we offer customized SEO services tailored to your specific needs. Our team of SEO experts will work closely with you to identify the right keywords for your business and implement them in the most effective way. And the best part? We offer affordable pricing that won’t break the bank. You can rest assured that your investment in SEO will be well-spent, and you’ll know exactly where your money is going. If you’re interested in learning more, contact us or send us an email at sales@oneirosol.com to talk to one of our SEO specialists.

We’d love to hear from you and help you start optimizing your site today!