Simply put, keyword density is the ratio of keywords or key phrases to the total number of words on a particular page of your site. A good rule of thumb is to have a keyword density of 1-3%. Some may be thinking, “how do you get the keyword density percentage?" The mathematical formula is quite simple: you divide the total number of keywords or keyword phrases in your content by the total number of words.

So if you have 10 keywords in a document with 1000 total words, that’s a keyword density of exactly 1%, which is the lowest keyword density your page should have for search engine purposes—anything less and chances are, your site won’t be listed high in a search engine. To achieve the ideal keyword density of 3%, you would have to have 30 keywords or keyword phrases in a site with 1000 words. Generally speaking, you don’t want to have more than 3% keyword density, as the keywords tend to get repetitive in that case and actually hinder your site. But you also don’t want to have less than 1%, as your site won’t be noticed as quickly or as effectively by search engines.

How do I make keywords flow naturally throughout my page?

It’s all about coming up with good keywords that relate to your site and can be used naturally throughout a page without sounding silly or repetitive. Before you even think about writing the content for a page, sit down first to decide on keywords or key phrases to use in the page. Then begin to write the content, and when you see fit, place in a keyword or key phrase.

It is a good idea to take a break after writing a paragraph or two to review the work. When you are looking at what has been written, make sure it makes sense to you and that the use of keywords doesn’t distract you from what the page is actually about. Readers will not enjoy a site that is chock full of keywords that do nothing but distract them from the article or piece of content.

A lot of people recommend placing a keyword in the first and last sentence of every paragraph. While this may be effective for some, it often does no good for others and hurts their content. Try not to be too strict with where you place the keywords—only use them when they seem to “fit" into a sentence. Then, when you’re done, count them up. If you’ve managed to place around 10 keywords naturally into your content, then you’re good to go.

Keyword and word counting seems daunting….are there any tools I can use to make the process quicker?

The short answer is yes, there are quite a few wonderful tools which make counting keywords and total words much easier than it sounds. We will briefly go over a few here.

SEO Keyword Density

Available at: http://www.easyseo.com

This is a tool available from easyseo. What the tool basically does is it analyzes your page for 1, 2, or 3 keywords in your page and tells you what the keyword density of your page is. It is a very effective, easy to use tool that will make figuring out keyword density very easy for you.

To sum it all up, keyword density can greatly impact how well your site does. Learn the basics now, and you’re in for a successful web site.

Checking keyword density is now quicker and easier than ever before. Take advantage of the tools mentioned above to check your keyword density. Your site will be better for it!