Onsite Content - Word Count & KW Density
-
Does the word count of a webpage make a difference to search engines? Are longer word counts on pages indexed higher or given higher priority?
For example,say you have 300 words of copy packed with 20 keywords, and say you also have 700 words of copy that have the same 20 keywords worked in, does Google have a preference over which one it ranks higher?
-
I think there are some good points here, but I want to warn that it really depends. There are sites with 250-word pages that do well, if that content is unique and isn't buried in ads, etc. If you have 1,000 words but it's all syndicated from other sites and jammed with ads, you could have Panda breathing down your neck.
I would generally not worry about keyword density. Write natural copy, with solid topic focus, and your keywords will organically end up represented in various forms. Google is a lot more sophisticated than just counting keywords or density these days, and trying to engineer the perfect number is more likely to harm you than help (as others mentioned). Plus, you can drive yourself crazy for something that will ultimately have a very small impact.
What I think is a lot more important is your overall keyword strategy. Instead of worrying about how many times a keyword is on a page, focus on the structure of your site. Which pages target which keywords? Are there important variants that need their own content (and can you create unique content for them)? Are you spread too thin. I see many more problems caused by bad keyword strategy ACROSS sites than within any one page.
-
I would suggest keyword density not to exceed 2 to 3%.
Excessive usage will lead to keyword stuffing penalty.
Less usage may not relay the topic relevancy to search engine.
http://tagcrowd.com is a nice tool to visualize keyword concentration in any page.
-
This is always a discussion I see that really does not matter all that much. Do not write content with keyword density in mind. Write it on topic and for the users and it should com naturally. If you focus too much on pushing your keyword in teh copy then it will look spammy and may be hard for readers.
As for length, I say the more the better. You do not want a page with nothing on it but you also do not want pages and pages of absolute nothing. 500-1000 words i think is a good range
-
Keyword stuffing will also likely lead to the dreaded Google Allinanchor penalty which can cause your rankings to slip dramaticly. Might want to do some research on Allinanchor penalities. Would be worth your while.
-
Two separate issues
a) keyword density. it is now better to not overuse your keyword or keyword phrase in your content, your example is way too high. you only need a few instances in the content - add synonyms and similar industry terms rather than the same keyword over and over again. it reads horrible and Google knows you're keyword stuffing.
b) content on page. yea the word count absolutely matters in a post panda world. flimsy pages with 250 words or so will be considered low quality. pages with 500+ words will have a much better shot at ranking.
-
Personally, I would try and focus on page titles, descriptions and user friendly content. I have found search engines these days seem to frown upon "keyword stuffing". Just my thoughts........ keep it simple, clear and clean, focus based for the viewer. Just my thoughts, hope it helps.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
If my blog is on Wordpress, and I've installed the AMP plug-in, what do I need to do to get Google to start indexing all my posts as AMP pages?
If I add /amp to the end of any of my posts, I can see that the plug-in is working. It's been months since I installed it, though, and Google hasn't indexed any of the AMP pages. Am I missing a step?
Content Development | | DeanRamadan0 -
The blog section of my website just got deleted, Would it get my website penalized if I posted the same content again?
The blog section of my website just got deleted, Would it get my website penalized if I posted the same content again?
Content Development | | DustChasersToronto0 -
How much should I pay for one hour of content creation work?
Hi I have recently been looking for some new content creators to work with. And I recently asked a blogger that I know of how much he would charge for some content creations. I told him that I'm looking for some good compelling content that is about 400 to 500 words. And he told me that he would charge $180 an hour. I sorta feel like that's a bit to much, but I don't want to jump to conclusions without any advice from you all. I'm very well versed in my SEO and do most of the work for my site. But I think a fresh touch would really be helpful.
Content Development | | LittleDog1 -
Reposting content.
I have some good articles I wrote for article directories a couple of years ago. I took them down 6 months ago. I am hoping to repost them somewhere better if the content isn't listed on google and passes Copyscape. Would this be safe?
Content Development | | T0BY1 -
Curated content on page one of google for medium competition keywords?
Has anyone here ranked curated content on page one of Google for medium competition keywords?
Content Development | | jtbaker19710 -
Do comments count as page content, as it relates to the length of content on a page?
I understand Google likes long content, and I make all my pages at least 500 words of unique and good content. But there is something I am curious about. Do they also count comments as content? The reason I'm asking is that I'm considering creating a Q&A site, where I'd control the questions, making sure they would be good ones and not duplicates, and then have people add answers. In reality, I'd be populating most the questions as first, and most definitely supplying a very good and long answer to questions. The answers would likely be in the form of comments, with highest ranked answers at top. So, I'm wondering what Google would think of a 100 word question, with a several hundred word answer in a comment, often followed by some other comments after that. Would it be a 100 word page or a 500+ word page?
Content Development | | bizzer0 -
Syndicating content with rel=author tag in it
If I have an article with my rel=author tag attached to it, and then I syndicate that article to another web site, should I keep the rel=author tag in that synbdicated article? Basically, what I'm worried about is that there will be 2 duplicate articles with my author tag on 2 different web sites. (I intend to put a canonical tag in the syndicated article so there is no duplicate content penalty) What is the best practice for this?
Content Development | | greggseo0 -
Metrics to measure the quality of content?
When trying to decide what is low quality content, page views & bounce rate are the main indicators I use for pages already on site. But, how do you measure the quality of content that you are trying to produce? Is it entirely subjective?
Content Development | | nicole.healthline0