One Simple Way To Improve Keyword Density

Writing by Nick Stamoulis Tweet

Keyword density is a double-edge sword. On one hand, it doesn’t mean much. There is no perfect keyword density. But that doesn’t mean that keyword density isn’t important. It is.

Some folks strive to get the perfect keyword density as if achieving that one goal would be the panacea of all their online marketing efforts. Other folks just say “write from the heart” and let keyword density take care of itself. I’m somewhere in between. More measured, less precise.

There is one thing that everyone can do, however, to improve keyword density no matter what their basic philosophy regarding what it is, how to do it, and the level of importance placed upon it. The one small difference you can make to your keyword density is to simply write good copy. By that I mean, employ the rules of good copywriting and, more particularly, the rule of brevity.

Brevity Leads To Keyword Density

Keyword density is simply the number of times you use your keyword versus the number of total words on your page. If you like mathematical formulas, you can write it this way:

KW/TW = KD

where KW = keyword; TW = total words on the page; and KD = keyword density.

Study copywriting and you’ll find that good copywriters say what needs to be said in the fewest words possible. That’s brevity. Cardinal rule No. 1.

That’s not to say you should cut down on the number of your keywords. But you should cut down on the number of unnecessary words in your content. In other words, slash the fluff without slashing your keywords.

Suppose you have a 1,000 word web page and you use your important keyword on that page 20 times. That’s a 2% keyword density. You can improve that density simply by taking out some of those 1,000 words and leaving in your keywords. Cut the content down to 700 words and maintain the same number of keywords (20) and you’ll increase your keyword density to 2.85%. Add five more instances of your keyword at the same time and you increase your keyword density to 3.57%. Even better, slash your content to 500 words and add 10 keywords. What will your keyword density be then?

Is Keyword Density Really That Important

When you consider that websites are ranked in the search engines for specific keyword phrases then you must conclude that keywords are important. But does it really matter how many times a keyword appears on a page? Well, it does matter relative to the total number of words on the page. But all SEO does not boil down to keyword density. Other factors are important too. Nevertheless, for on-page SEO, keyword density is one of the most important things to consider.

Needless Words Cut Into Keyword Density

When I talk about needless words, I’m talking about words that you could take out and not change the meaning of your content. This not only improves your keyword density, but it improves your writing overall. If you start every sentence with the word “however,” then you could take out most of those and improve the effectiveness of the writing as well as the keyword density.

The next time you write a web page, give serious thought to what you say as well as how you say it. Do you really need all that text? Do your customers care how much you know about your topic? Do you have to tell them everything? Likely not.

Bare essentials, brass tacks, keyword density. It all goes hand in hand. Cut the fluff. Add keywords. Your keyword density just got better.