Keyword Density
Analyze keyword frequency and density in any text.
What is keyword density?
Keyword density is the percentage of times a target keyword appears in a piece of content relative to the total word count. It was historically used as an SEO metric, but modern search engines use far more sophisticated signals. Today, keyword density is best used as a sanity check — to confirm a keyword appears naturally in content — rather than a target metric to optimise for.
Keyword Density = (Keyword Count ÷ Total Words) × 100
Example:
Text: 500 words, keyword appears 8 times
Density = (8 ÷ 500) × 100 = 1.6%Keyword density guidelines
Beyond keyword density: what Google actually measures
Google's algorithms have evolved far beyond simple keyword counting. Modern ranking factors include TF-IDF (term frequency-inverse document frequency), entity recognition, semantic similarity (LSI — latent semantic indexing), and passage-level relevance. Focusing on writing comprehensive, helpful content on a topic naturally produces good keyword usage without manual density management.
Where to place keywords for maximum SEO impact
| Location | SEO weight | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Page title (<title>) | Very high | Include primary keyword, ideally near the start. Max ~60 characters. |
| H1 heading | Very high | One H1 per page, containing the primary keyword |
| URL slug | High | Short, keyword-rich slug; avoid stop words |
| First 100 words | High | Establish topic immediately; include keyword naturally |
| H2/H3 subheadings | Medium | Use keyword and related terms in section headers |
| Image alt text | Medium | Descriptive alt text including keyword where relevant |
| Meta description | Low (CTR only) | Keyword in description improves click-through rate, not rankings directly |
| Body content | Medium | Use keyword and semantic variants throughout naturally |
Frequently asked questions
What is keyword density?
Keyword density is the percentage of times a keyword appears relative to the total word count of a page. It is calculated as (keyword occurrences ÷ total words) × 100.
What is a good keyword density?
There is no exact target, but roughly 1–2% is natural for a primary keyword. Much higher can look like keyword stuffing, which modern search engines penalise.
Does keyword density still matter for SEO?
It is a useful diagnostic, but search engines now focus on topic relevance and natural language rather than raw density. Write for readers first and use density only to catch over-optimisation.
What is keyword stuffing?
Keyword stuffing is unnaturally repeating a keyword to manipulate rankings. It harms readability and can trigger a ranking penalty. Aim for natural, varied phrasing instead.
Keyword density = (keyword occurrences ÷ total words) × 100 Ideal density: 1–3% for your target keyword. Above 3% may be seen as keyword stuffing by search engines.