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keyword count vs keyword density

by codecreative
11 replies
  • SEO
    • |
ok so here is my question

say you have an article with 500 words and a kw density of 2%

and a second article of 1200 words and a keyword desnity of 1.5%

Which article is more likely to rank better. Clearly the second article has a large count but the first article a larger percent
#count #density #keyword
  • Profile picture of the author socialbookmark
    It depends on many other factors too. I think you 3% keyword density is OK too and both short and long articles are not ranking in top results in many cases. I prefer 500 words article with keyword density less than 3%.
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  • Profile picture of the author VinRFP
    Originally Posted by codecreative View Post

    ok so here is my question

    say you have an article with 500 words and a kw density of 2%

    and a second article of 1200 words and a keyword desnity of 1.5%

    Which article is more likely to rank better. Clearly the second article has a large count but the first article a larger percent
    Try both and see what works for you.

    Again,

    Try both and see what works for you.

    Also, after Panda/Penguin, I would seriously lower my kw density to 1% or lower. Even better, don't even worry about kw density. Write an article that does a fantastic job at answering the question the keyword is asking and provide value to your readers.

    If you actually provide quality information, you will have a ton of LSI keywords in the article that the SERPs will pick up on. Just make sure that the kw you are trying to rank for is in the title tag, h1 tag, url, and first/last paragraph.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMSince2003
    You know, keyword density is a tricky thing. I have sites that discuss niche topics and they rank on Google's front page for years. In a natural conversation, the keyword density is sometimes over 10%. Funny thing is that I've never been penalized for it so who knows. If you have obvious keyword stuffing, then you are going to be in trouble.
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  • Profile picture of the author ilovechinesefood
    Keyword density is a thing of the past.
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  • Profile picture of the author markowe
    My honest opinion - we really need to close the book on keyword density. I believe it now has next to NO relevance whatsoever. Google has got WAY more sophisticated in the way it analyses human language, and simplistic metrics like keyword density I believe don't figure anymore.

    Honestly, most niche sites are a joke in that respect - people don't just keyword-stuff, they write in a totally unnatural way in order to shoehorn the keywords in, and it's getting to the point where Google can spot that stuff.

    Much more important is to write naturally on the topic. Spot the difference:

    Square blue widgets
    A lot of people these days are looking for square blue widgets. Square blue widgets are an important item to have around the house and needn't cost the earth. If you are interested in square blue widgets... etc. etc. etc.
    Contrast with:

    Getting to grips with square blue widgets
    Widgets come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours, probably the most popular being the square blue type of widget. Perhaps you have already considered other colours, but let us once again state our unequivocal opinion that blue and square is the way to go.
    Do you see how the second example reads naturally in a way which still leaves the reader (and I believe the Googlebot) in no doubt as to the fact that the article is about square blue widgets?

    Just write naturally - anything else is probably going to be over-optimisation, and I strongly believe Penguin had a lot more to do with this than many people are willing to accept.
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    • Profile picture of the author ilovechinesefood
      Originally Posted by markowe View Post

      My honest opinion - we really need to close the book on keyword density. I believe it now has next to NO relevance whatsoever. Google has got WAY more sophisticated in the way it analyses human language, and simplistic metrics like keyword density I believe don't figure anymore.

      Honestly, most niche sites are a joke in that respect - people don't just keyword-stuff, they write in a totally unnatural way in order to shoehorn the keywords in, and it's getting to the point where Google can spot that stuff.

      Much more important is to write naturally on the topic. Spot the difference:



      Contrast with:



      Do you see how the second example reads naturally in a way which still leaves the reader (and I believe the Googlebot) in no doubt as to the fact that the article is about square blue widgets?

      Just write naturally - anything else is probably going to be over-optimisation, and I strongly believe Penguin had a lot more to do with this than many people are willing to accept.
      Please everyone, take this guys advice. I have a few articles ranked on the first page of google without even repeating my keyword more than once. If it's good, people will link to it. Its pretty much as simple as that.
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      • Profile picture of the author markowe
        Originally Posted by ilovechinesefood View Post

        Please everyone, take this guys advice. I have a few articles ranked on the first page of google without even repeating my keyword more than once.
        Actually, please don't take my advice, I am quite happy with the way things are .
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  • Profile picture of the author Blue445nm
    From what I've seen and learned, I'd compare the density of your competitor sites and check out theirs and place your around what they have.

    From what I see now, I'd def. go with the 500 word 2%
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Keyword density, word count, whatever you want to call it, isn't SEO.

    You can easily rank a page with the keyword mentioned once or twice on the page, doesn't matter If you have 50 words (total) or 5,000 words (total).

    Avoid anyone that promotes keyword density.
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  • Profile picture of the author rizoalbert
    Keyword density should be less than 3%.You should give more care about the quality to rank the article.
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  • Profile picture of the author antony05
    Keyword density is the percentage of times a keyword or phrase appears on a web page compared to the total number of words on the page. In the context of search engine optimization keyword density can be used as a factor in determining whether a web page is relevant to a specified keyword or keyword phrase.
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