KeyWord Density?
-
What is an acceptable density for a keyword? It's wise to push it as close to spam without sacrificing user experience, correct?
I read an article on SeoMoz (outdated I think) that mentioned 6%.
If it's a keyword phrase, do you have to make sure you don't go over the density level of a particular word in the phrase. If it's a three word phrase, do you have to not use any one word more than X% or just monitor the exact keyword.
-
In my understanding - Google is a machine that wants us to think that it is acting as a human being
In general - there is some human influence on their 'algos' but it's important to understand - it is still a machine! And most important is to clearly lied down - it is machine that constantly keeps upgraded and tweaked by humans.
I see where and why Joseph coming from and I see why he still is not satisfied with the answer. You know why? Because question is wrong for this community
Everyone here wants to do good for you Joseph! And that is why you are not getting direct answer regarding correct keyword density percentage. The truth is - this number is keeping changing constantly and whatever 'density' will you apply to your article it is - DANGEROUS! There is no exact magical number but there is a safe side that works for present moment.
And to answer you directly - do not cross 1.5 - 2.0 percentage at the moment. Think about this like that - If you will apply wrong keyword density to your article you will get fired from your job.
So, how to apply correct keyword density you are asking! - you see, you asking to guarantee you something that only Google can guarantee as there is no insight - what Google will implement next and how that will affect everyone here.
One golden rule applies for this though - keep constantly updating and changing your content! As far it is the best of the best of all ranking advices what I can give you because as far as it goes now - Whenever new content is published Google clearly and immediately recognizes, responds and communicates with you via changes of you ranking positions via what!? - via keyword density,placement,decoration,website structure, credibility,visibility and all this blah,blah,blah stuff You see - keywords are still there!
So, sorry, but there is no magical and precise pill for this! That is why question was a bit wrong.
all the best,
Jungles
-
Google is placing less and less importance on keyword density.
As a general rule always have the keyword/phrase in the Title, summary and opening paragraph and enbedded in any images/videos attached. And include some variations of the key term throughout the content eg. using synonyms.
I would recommend sticking at around 3% anything more than that definitely looks spammy
A little bit 'old school' but a tool you can use is http://www.visiblepr.com
You just enter in your top 3 keywords/phases and copy and paste the text into the box and it will tell you the density.
As mentioned through Google will probably appreciate the synonyms throughout the content over high density keywords.
-
Keyword density is passe. Just make sure you have used the targeted keywords in the title and a couples of times in the body content. But no need to use them as it is. For say if you are writing on Web design NY, you do not need to use the phrase as it.
-
I believe the tools are focused on a minimum number of instances of the phrase and not the %. Keyword density as an important ranking factor is a myth.
Here are two great links that will help shine some light on the subject for you:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/10-myths-that-scare-seos-but-shouldnt-whiteboard-friday http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo/myths-and-misconceptions-about-search-engines
-
This is a common sense approach. There is an optimal %.
I can write endless content that has high value. My site targets local real estate. I could write a hundred pages with a high value to customers. I need to know the %. I could write 300 words at 6% phrase. I could write 1,000 words at 3% etc... No matter how much content I add, it will be high quality.
I appreciate the link to the tool; however, even the tool has to target a specific %. It has to have an objective concept in which it weighs by. I am certain it has a %.
A blog on SEOMOZ once said 6%. A local SEO told me that is high level spam.
-
You should always write content for users and not search engines. Trying to achieve a specific percentage of keyword density could do more harm than good if it messes up the natural flow of your content. Instead you should use the on-page optimization tool to make sure your following best practices. It will of course let you know if you should try and include a few more instances of your targeted keyword. Adding additional content sections to the page can sometimes help you find better places to work in your keywords, try adding testimonials, lists, pull out quotes or excerpts of the main content, etc. There's also data that suggests partial match and related terms can help influence your on page relevancy so be sure you're working in these types of terms as well.
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
-
How many keywords should I optimize a page for?
Hi, There is a lot of debate going on on whether to use a single keyword per page or multiple keywords per page. What I know for sure is that it is not advisable to repeat the same exact keyword in different pages. I need to optimize product pages, categories and pages for an online store and still do not know if it is better to: 1-work with one main keyword per page plus latent semantic keywords, 2-to optimize a page for multiple different keywords (2 to 4 keywords) which are strongly related to the main topic or to the product sold in a particular product page 3- use single keyword for each page (and no more than one keyword per page). Some seo gurus argue this is the best way to get higher ranking for that particular page in the serps. My personal opinion would be 1 or 2, but I would like to hear what you suggest and think about it. Any suggestion or opinion is welcome and appreciated. Thanks in advance
On-Page Optimization | | cinzia090 -
Stumped: Site No Longer Showing Up for Important Keywords
URL is: www.radianceofpalmbeach.comGreetings All:I have been working on our company's website for months, and I am finally at wit's end. The site was very out-of-date and had unfortunately been built upon some bad links before my arrival. My partner and I have redone the site with SEO best practices in mind: we created new content for the pages, and have been working diligently on correctly organizing the site. Despite everything we have done, our site has plummeted since September in terms of organic search. Here are some of my suspects: Panda/Penguin: a lot of the content of the old site had been copied. We did our best to make our content helpful and original, but I'm not sure we did enough. Also, many backlinks were suspect. I disavowed all that I didn't like Dec. 8. I have seen minor improvement, but not much. Name Change: Around late October, coinciding with one of the algorithm changes, the doctor insisted we change our name from New Radiance Med Spa to New Radiance Cosmetic Center. We noticed overnight tumbling, but it literally happened at the same time many were complaining about Penguin. Pages too far removed from root directory?: We tried to silo the site by category to make it specific, but I'm not sure if we went too far from the root directory. For example, our botox page is: http://www.radianceofpalmbeach.com/services/injectables/neuromodulators/botox-cosmetic/ -- Should it just be ./botox ? Everything is only one link away, so we didn't foresee a problem. No alternate forms of navigation: Our navigation is solely drop-down. Content Issues: Since the site launch, my boss has changed the organization of the site around. I don't think this should be a problem, but I honestly don't know. Technical Issues: We use a Wordpress site, and the designer has been pretty good about making the site clean and without errors, but perhaps there is something I am overlooking? ??: Despite these issues, I feel like our site should be considered better than many of our competitors who nonetheless perform much better than we do on important keyword searches. Type in "liposuction palm beach" or "botox palm beach" and we don't even come on page 1, whereas we used to dominate. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as, like I said, we are stumped. I feel like I have looked up every possible problem, and with the above list, we feel frozen as to which direction to turn.Thanks in advance,Michael
On-Page Optimization | | mikedelseo0 -
Keyword Optimisation
In terms of on page optimization for Key words, should I be trying to optimise the page for all the keywords in my adwords campaign, which is approximately 200… or just the words that generate the most click throughs, etc
On-Page Optimization | | Hardley1110 -
Internal anchor text. Should we still use keywords?
I have a review site that has approximately 70 category pages. I'd like to include a few of them (not all 70) in the footer of the page for easy navigation and to direct the crawlers to the best ones. Is it advisable to use anchor text of "Category + reviews" or just leave it as "Category". I certainly dont want it to be overoptimized, but I do think its a good usability cue, so I'd be surprised if it was against guidelines. Any thoughts?
On-Page Optimization | | jim_shook0 -
One or two keywords/pages
Hi, I have a question about good keyword practice. I have a page: http://www.holdnyt.dk/skader-karantaener/fodbold/england-premier-league It lists all injuries ("skader" in danish) and suspensions ("karantaener" in danish) for the english premier league in football/soccer. On the page one can choose to show only injuries OR suspensions, which have their own URLs: http://www.holdnyt.dk/skader-karantaener/fodbold/england-premier-league/skader http://www.holdnyt.dk/skader-karantaener/fodbold/england-premier-league/karantaener My question is - what is best. To optimize the first URL (the more general one) to fit both of the following keywords:
On-Page Optimization | | rasmusbang
"skader premier league" and "karantaener premier league" OR should i focus on optimizing the two latter URLs, the more specfiic to target the two keywords. Regards, Rasmus0 -
Need YouTube Tips for ranking videos using keywords
Hi, I'm working on building explination videos to had to our site. The video will be publish on a new YouTube channel I will create and the YouTube file ad to web site. How and Where to use keyword on YouTube to rank well? Is there some tips I should know to bring traffic to site using YouTube? Can anybody give some tips? Thank you, BigBlaze
On-Page Optimization | | BigBlaze2050 -
Strategy for dealing with keyword variants
I'd like your opinion on the strategy of dealing with key phrase variants: I've got a page that is ranking in the top 10 and top 3 for about 10 different variations of the same phrase. Seomoz gives it terrible grades for all but one of the keyphrases. Which course of action do you recommend : ----------- create new pages ------------ Create new pages for each variant and get them to grade A. If I go this route what sort of cross linking scheme should I use between this pages? ---------- improve existing page ----------- Try to make my single page rank better for all the phrases by doing extra on-page work so the page has a better grade for all of the variants? Many thanks for your ideas and opinions.
On-Page Optimization | | PillarMarketing0 -
Anyone have any good strategies for keyword scalability?
As more pages are added to a site, what are some good strategies and tactics for ensuring that those pages are optimized based on keywords.
On-Page Optimization | | RiseInteractive780