What is keyword density?

The plain definition

Keyword density is the number of times a word or phrase appears on a page, shown as a share of all the words. If your keyword appears 5 times in a page of 500 words, the density is 1 percent. It is simple to calculate and easy to understand.

An example

You paste your page text into a counter and learn that the page has 400 words and your keyword appears once. That is thin: the topic may not be clear. Another page repeats the same phrase in nearly every sentence, which reads badly. The aim is somewhere in between and natural.

Why it matters for a local business

Search engines do not use a target density, and no percentage is a rule. Use it as a quick sanity check rather than a goal: is the topic clear, and does the page read well aloud? If it reads like a sales script, cut the repeats and add useful detail instead.

Check it for free

See where you stand with the free keyword density checker. If you would rather have it handled, our Local SEO service covers this as part of the monthly work.

Related terms

• Keyword
• TF-IDF
• Title tag

Part of the SEO glossary. New to all this? Start with the beginner’s SEO guide.