Keyword Density: It Ain't no Big Deal

[steveweber]

I get a ton of folks asking me about what the EXACT keyword density should be in their articles. Some say 3%, some say 4%, some say higher.

There is no exact keyword density Google is looking for.

First, this comes right from "the horse's mouth". Matt Cutts' most recent video (on his blog) talks about this. He said, "...put the keyword in the title and a few times in the content....they'll figure it out...."

Second, love 'em or hate 'em, EzineArticles makes their money with search engine traffic to their articles. If anyone has a heads-up as to what Google is looking for, they surely do. And we all know what their MAXIMUM density allowed is... 2%. They have good reason for that rule no doubt.

So stop fretting about some exact number (that's probably too high anyway).

Besides, backlinks are what really count in all but the smallest niches.

[awmi]

Good advise Steve.

[Jacob Martus]

Originally Posted by steveweber

I get a ton of folks asking me about what the EXACT keyword density should be in their articles. Some say 3%, some say 4%, some say higher.

There is no exact keyword density Google is looking for.

First, this comes right from "the horse's mouth". Matt Cutts' most recent video (on his blog) talks about this. He said, "...put the keyword in the title and a few times in the content....they'll figure it out...."

Second, love 'em or hate 'em, EzineArticles makes their money with search engine traffic to their articles. If anyone has a heads-up as to what Google is looking for, they surely do. And we all know what their MAXIMUM density allowed is... 2%. They have good reason for that rule no doubt.

So stop fretting about some exact number (that's probably too high anyway).

Besides, backlinks are what really count in all but the smallest niches.

Definitely good advice. I would also add that having LSI (related keywords) in your content is super important for strengthening the relevance of your site. A good mix of your primary keyword and related keywords will work wonders.

Basically, if you spend the time to do some research about what you're writing about, and write a quality article not focused on how many times you can squeeze in your main keyword you'll do well.

Just make sure to follow some basic principles like having the keyword in the title and an h1 (if you're using Wordpress, your title will take care of both of these).

[steveweber]

Good advice Jacob. I'd like to point out a good way of coming up with good related keywords (taking advantage of LSI) is to use the google keyword tool and enable "synonyms"

[Jacob Martus]

Yep. Another great way to determine which related keywords Google finds most relevant is to look at the top 10 for the primary keyword. I outlined how to do it here.

[Underground SEO]

Great thread, thanks for the keyword info as well guys.

[simonedrich11]

These is really a great advce about the keyword density. As Keep the keyword density between 2-5% percent, instead of repeating a keyword try to simply use alternative terms.

[jason_simpson]

Keywords are the reasons that people discover a website. Through searches for information, visitors are led to a website. It's important that a site provide as many opportunities to be included in those search results as possible.

Proper keyword placement, both on and off the page, provides an additional keyword boost as well.

[Abhinandangarg]

Keywords placement is most important part for an seo strategy and they can't forget density of keywords in pages.