Keyword Density: How Important is it for SEO?

Keyword Density

Keyword Density indicates how often a certain keyword or specific word combination occurs in a web text. This is important for SEO optimization and for online marketing, or Search Engine Optimization. The more ideal the distribution of these search terms over the total text, the better it meets the SEO conditions, and the greater the chance that search engines such as Google and Bing will rank the page higher in the search results.

More precisely, the Keyword Density shows the density of a keyword in percent within the total number of words of the text. Often a percentage between 1 and 2% is requested. For a text of 600 words, this concerns a mention of 6 to 12 times the keyword. You can also calculate the other way around. Suppose there is a text of 900 words with 15 times the keyword. The density is then 15/900 x 100, so that rounds out to 1.7%. Based on this percentage, you can make a text score better in search engines with SEO. As a rule, at Textbroker the Keyword Density is not expressed in percentages, but a minimum and maximum number indicates how often the keyword must appear.

Importance of keywords for SEO and Marketing

Adding keywords and implementing SEO are among the most important aspects of online content development. Search engines scan millions of web pages every day and analyze all words, keywords and phrases according to certain algorithms. The better the content matches with search queries that users enter via the search engines, the higher the online content ranks within the results page, or the ‘Search Engine Results Page’ (SERP).

For web marketers it is always looking for the ideal percentage for the Keyword Density. Exactly which counts the search algorithms use, insights and opinions are constantly changing. Search engines themselves, such as Google, also do not provide a ready-made recipe for an ideal SEO text. Usually, therefore, an ideal distribution of keywords is chosen with a safe margin, around 2-3%. This often results in readable texts in which the search terms can be processed in a natural way.

Avoid Stuffing and Spamming with Content Optimization

The more relevant keywords and the better the Keyword Density, the better for the ranking in search engines such as Google. But too many keywords also have a negative marketing effect on the online text. Not only because search engines absolutely penalize this kind of ‘keyword stuffing’ or ‘keyword spamming’ with a lower score, it is also not conducive to readability. Readers then quickly give up and start looking for other information.

Optimization through Natural Written Text

To perform higher within SEO and to be higher in the ranking, the quality of the text itself is just as important as the Keyword Density. A pleasantly readable text with relevant information holds the reader’s attention longer and search engines take this into account in their assessment. That is why it is important that keyword processing does not disturb the reader. This can be quite a puzzle for a web author, especially with certain specified keyword combinations. The use of permitted connecting words often offers a solution.

Synonyms, singular and plural keywords, and rearranging word orders within word combinations can also be used to achieve a lively, natural text. Furthermore, the alternation of short and long sentences, a well-arranged paragraph layout and the use of lists contribute to a good readability of the online text.

Where do keywords appear in SEO?

Keywords are not only used in the so-called body text of the page. Search engines also scan other text parts for relevant keywords, which gives the page a better ranking. Keywords are also important in:

• the url
• metadata, such as meta-title and meta-description
• title and subtitle tags (H1 and H2)
• bold text (strong tags)
• alt tags on images
• internal and external links

Latest insights into Keyword Density and SEO

The technology behind search engines and SEO is developing at lightning speed and is increasingly anticipating human search behaviour. For example, online search engines such as Google interpret search queries more accurately and can offer completely appropriate suggestions for content based on a few keywords. The importance of Keyword Density for Google thus shifts somewhat to the background; modern search algorithms also analyze synonyms, related terminology and automatically make connections between words, phrases, context and even previously asked queries. This analysis of a correlation belongs to the principle of LSI.

SEO: What does LSI mean for Search Queries?

Within SEO strategies, the application of ‘Latent Semantic Indexing’ (LSI) is becoming increasingly important. This refers to all terms that are logically related to a subject. Not only are these synonyms, it is mainly a combination of words that together form a context. The words ‘pump’, ‘trapper’, ‘valve’, ‘tyre’, ‘spoke’ and ‘handlebar’ quickly conjure up the image of a bicycle, even though that keyword is not mentioned. The latest search engines no longer only work with SEO via Keyword Density, but also with LSI.

It is therefore useful for writers to make a collection of words with associations around a subject. For example, words such as ‘home’, ‘NHG’, ‘validated’, ‘unvalidated’, ‘WOZ assessment’, ‘value assessment’, ‘inspection report’, ‘mortgage’ and ‘appraiser’ fit in with a theme such as ‘appraisal’. The person who types ‘appraisal’ as a search term will often not immediately add these related terms. But the page will show up in Google’s search results as highly relevant content that is likely to answer the question. Especially if this person previously searched for ‘buy a house’.

SEO: Give direct answers to Search Queries in Google

Question-answer structured texts now also score higher in search engines. Especially if the text corresponds 1 to 1 with the entered search query. Due to the proliferation of voice-enabled mobile devices (smartwatches, navigation systems) it has become much more common to formulate search queries in sentences than with a few short keywords. This trend can also be seen on social media. By designing content as demand-driven, the text becomes much more relevant and logically performs better ranking in google.

Disk tips for finding good online keywords

A thorough keyword analysis and a correct Keyword Density are the basis of a good SEO text. Therefore, research on which terms or keywords the online text should be found and then look for synonyms and connections. The Google AdWords Keyword Planner is a handy tool for this. This tool can be used to see which terms the intended target group often searches for. Not only the highest scoring keywords are interesting, but also look at the terms at the bottom of the list. They often provide a good entry point to possible alternative terms and associations.

Do your own research within different search engines on the basis of a set of keywords and phrases. Check the results and see how the new text should distinguish itself. More relevant keywords and content suggestions can also be found within the User Generated Content. So in reviews, blogs and forum discussions in which consumers discuss the topic or their experiences with it. Sometimes it provides a surprising new approach to a theme.

Conclusion: keywords also remain important for your online SEO Ranking

Although the application of an optimal Keyword Density, i.e. a certain repetition of search terms over a web text, seems less important nowadays, it still forms a good basis for a thorough SEO page. Make the text pleasantly readable, informative, question-driven and provide it with sufficient synonyms, related terms and relevant internal links. Write mainly for the readers and not for the search engines.