As you may have already guessed by now, keywords are a very critical aspect of search engine optimization. After all, how can you rank on Google if you have no idea what your ideal customers are actively typing into Google?
That being said, there is a right and a wrong way to target your focus keywords on your website. One such consideration you must make is keyword density. But, what is meant by keyword density and how can you know if you’ve overdone it on your website? Read on and let’s find out!
Keyword density (aka keyword frequency) quite simply refers to the number of times that your focus keyword is mentioned on a web page.
Many SEO professionals agree that the ideal keyword frequency should be one mention every 200 words. That being said, writing specifically with SEO in mind is never a great idea. This is because your writing will invariably end up sounding unnatural and those keyword placements will feel forced.
It’s no different than writing poetry and feeling compelled to make every single stanza rhyme. What usually happens is that writers squeeze in any old random word thus spoiling the piece entirely.
In SEO, this ends up in a web page that has focus keywords that are forced into the copy unnaturally. Readers don’t like it and neither does Google!
So, by all means, aim for one focus keyword per 200 words of copy, however, unless that keyword occurs naturally, don’t do it!
For one thing, if you are struggling to rank at all for your focus keywords despite your efforts, it could be a sign that Google has flagged your web page as being “spammy” due to an unusual number of keyword mentions.
You can also tell by reading your website copy out loud. Take off the rose-tinted goggles and imagine that you are a website visitor. How naturally does your content read? Does it read like something you would say in conversation or is it blatantly forced in for the sake of meeting a certain keyword ‘quota’?
If it doesn’t read naturally to you then you have almost certainly overdone it (not only that, but you’ll struggle to rank as a result).
This is precisely why it is important that you don’t get too caught up in keyword density and focus on providing valuable content instead.
For example: in some cases, when writing about a given subject, your focus keyword may come up naturally a number of times – more so than the ‘recommended frequency’.
In this case, don’t panic. Just make sure that the content does read naturally and that the keywords do add value.
That, and it may be worth writing some different variations of the keywords where possible in order to mix things up (otherwise it can get a little repetitive).
In any case, Google has gotten very good at differentiating those who are spamming their keywords for the sake of it and those who are writing quality content that will provide value to their readers.
Again, do so as naturally as possible. If it feels forced, it is.
The fact is, Google is looking to rank websites that are dedicated to providing a superior on-page experience for their users with high-value content that can genuinely improve lives.
If you commit to this and treat SEO as an afterthought, then you will have greater success. Yes, your keywords must be relevant and placed accordingly in your Title, Meta, etc. However, if the content quality is superior, Google won’t get too caught up in having ‘too few’ or a little ‘too many’ keywords.
With that in mind, there is definitely an art and a science to writing sales website copy that is both ‘SEO-friendly’ and bound for high conversion rates – and that’s just one aspect of your larger SEO requirements. So, if you do feel a little out of your depth, it may be worth hiring professionals to help with your website marketing. For example, this New York City SEO company with dozens of 5+ reviews and case studies is worth a look!
In any case, we hope you’ve found the information in this article insightful and wish you the very best with optimizing your website for optimal performance.
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