Many affiliate marketers write off keyword density as a measure of the past. They cite semantic indexing and intelligent search algorithms as the end of keyword density.
It’s true that link popularity, quality inbound links, and relevant content can carry your SEO campaign further. Getting your page ranked high in Google can occur without optimizing keyword density.
But keywords are important and they are central to any search engine optimization campaign. Not optimizing your page for a keyword is silly if you want search engine traffic.
Keyword density is the total count of your targeted keyword divided by the total count of words on the page. This measure will give you the percentage of times your keyword appears on the page.
Google uses links and content to rank pages in their SERPs. If the content on your web page isn’t optimized for a keyword then:
- Google is less likely to display your page for the right keyword
- Google will most likely rank your page lower in its search results
Others edit out naturally occurring semantically related words and keyword modifiers. This may lower their ranking in search engine results and subsequent traffic.
Generally, 1%-6% is considered the optimum keyword density for a webpage. If your keyword density is high, search engines will penalize your page for keyword stuffing and spamming. If it is too low then the search engine may not be able to determine your targeted keyword.
Remember, you are writing for search engines AND people. It is important to strike a balance with your keyword optimization tactics.
3 comments:
Keyword density is a myth. What is important is having an ability to write intelligibly for human beings while understanding the weight that search engines give to on-page and off-page content.
I pay more attention to Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) these days. When I write an article or web page, I structure it around a main keyword, but then I don't worry beyond one occurrence of that keyword. Instead, I use variations of that keyword peppered throughout the content. Like, say your keyword is article writing... I'll use it once or twice if it fits, but then I'll sprinkle in words like "articles", "write", "written", etc. It's more natural and Google LOVES natural looking language more than the same keyword stuffed to a specific percentage. My 2 cents, anyway.
I still think keyword density is important. While it may not be the main ingredient in indexing algorithms, it's still a part of the recipe. It's a lot like Google PageRank, which is also not as important as it used to be.
Following that ratio is still a good idea for easier, faster indexing in my opinion. I have found that without it, pages take longer to get indexed (if they get there at all), and don't often achieve very high rankings.
I don't agree that it's a myth. We have to remember that Google isn't the only option for SEO out there. Yahoo and the other somewhat major players still consider keyword density as a part of their overall indexing & ranking process. At the end of the day, it's just a guideline to go by. Optimizing for it may not be the end-all, but it definitely doesn't hurt!
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