Keyword Density Tips
There are an incredible amount of companies offering
services to increase search engine ranking on the market
at the moment. This is because, anyone who uses any
Internet marketing methods already knows that search engine
optimization is the the key to success. Search engine
marketing works since almost everyone uses search engines
to find what they are looking for on the Net. However, the
reality is that none of these companies that promise search
engine ranking can really guarantee success. Search engines
use complicated algorithms that are simply too difficult
to ever really crack. And if someone did manage to figure
out the precise algorithm, it wouldn’t matter, since the
search engines periodically, update their algorithms to
prevent a breach to their integrity.
It is known that Google takes into account over 100
different variables when creating an algorithm for ranking.
Whilst we may wonder how to master each and every one of
these facets, we can be sure that keyword density is one of
the most important variables and should be the first to
consider to optimize our site. Keywords are the words and
phrases that are entered into search engines so that they
can produce the results that the surfer is looking for. It
is the work of the search engine to find relevant
information based upon these keywords. So if we enter the
keyword ‘bicycle’ into the search engine, we do not want to
look at an article that has this word mentioned only once
throughout. In this case, it is unlikely that the result
would be relevant at all. This is reason for the importance
of keyword density as a variable. Obviously, if the article
mentions the keyword ‘bicycle’ ten times, then it is
a much better match for the keyword search since it is
likely to contain the information that the searcher seeks.
The Keyword density can be expressed as a percentage of the
total number of words found on a particular web page. It
represents the number of times the keyword is mentioned and
can be determined by dividing the number of keyword
occurrences by the total number of words on the page. So if
you had an article with 200 words and 10 of those were the
keyword, then there would be a keyword density of 2%. It is
generally accepted that a keyword density of between 2 and
5 percent is optimum. This may vary between search engines
but it is a good rule to follow. It is also a good idea to
include the keyword within the title as most search engines
consider a keyword title more relevant. However, be careful
with the use of your keyword since the search engines will
penalize you if you overuse it, so its a good idea not to
exceed the 5% density level.
Primary keywords are those exact phrases typed into the
search engine. Tier one keywords are those that are the
same as the primary keyword, but with a slight modification
in grammar. “Bicycle parts” would be a tier one keyword for
“bicycle part”. They should be used only once in the first
or second paragraph. Tier two keywords are words that one
would relate to the primary keyword. For “bicycle part”,
tier two keywords would be things like: seat, handlebars,
spokes, wheels, or anything else that might appear in
an article about bicycles. These do not need any specific
density but should be used naturally throughout the article.
Finally, keyword variations are the final component. For
“bicycle part”, they would be: bicycles, part, parts, and
bicycles. These need to be used throughout the article but
should never exceed 5% in total density.
Of course, the rate of success by following these rules
will vary between the various search engines. But, by using
these tips in your web page development, you will certainly
boost your search engine rankings since you are telling
the search engine that your web page or article is relevant
to the particular keyword your visitor types into the
search engine. You may wish to experiment with keyword
density to find the optimal level for the different search
engines so as to increase your ranking. It is worth spending
time on this aspect of search engine optimization since it
is one of the known variables that does have a direct effect
on your search engine rankings.
Desmond Mantor is the Marketing Manager for
Have Traffic
a company specializing in producing highly targeted website
traffic for commercial websites. Please visit
http://www.havetraffic.com for information about this
revolutionary web site promotion service