Keyword density plays an important part in web page optimization for the search engines. Even though the rules of SEO are always changing, and Google doesn’t place as much emphasis on keyword density, many others still do. You don’t want to ignore this important factor.

Keyword density is basically the number of times your selected keyword, or keyword phrase, appears in a web page. Keyword density is calculated by taking the total number of keywords on a page and dividing that by the total number of all words on the page.

For example, if you have 100 words on your web page, not including HTML code or any other code, and you use your keyword five times throughout the page, your keyword density is 5%.

Here’s what the numbers look like:

5 (keyword usage) divided by 100 (total words) = .05

0.05 x 100 = 5%

The key here is to not overuse a keyword or keyword phrase. You want to strive for a percentage between 3% and 5%. You should never exceed this as it might be seen as keyword stuffing, or spamming, by search engines.

You want your keywords to appear in important places on your page. This includes the first paragraph, ending paragraph, and a few times in between. Remember to check that you don’t exceed the 5% limit; otherwise your page could be rejected by search engines and not be ranked in search results.

Keep this in mind when creating web pages. This rule applies to every single page of your web site. The most important page is your index or home page. You certainly want to use the optimal keyword density when optimizing your home page for the search engines.

Less than 5% density is best and it should sound natural to your visitors. You don’t want it to look obvious that you’re just throwing keywords in. You want the sentences to flow and sound natural to your visitors. Trust us, if your visitors notice you spamming your keywords, the search engines will too!