Keyword Density: Tips for Business Success

Now that you have selected a set of keywords for your website, what do you do with them? Keywords are words that describe the main topics of information for a website. This means that the text of your website should include these carefully selected keywords.

Keyword Density

Keyword density is a measure that indicates how many times a particular keyword appears in the text of your website, expressed as a percentage. To calculate the keyword density, first count the number of times the keyword appears on a page (you can easily do this by using the "find" feature on a word processing program). Next, divide the keyword count by the total number of words in the text, and multiply by 100 to get the keyword density percentage.

Keyword Tips

*Keyword density should be between 1% and 3%. Anything more might be treated as keyword stuffing, the overuse of a keyword in the text in an effort to rank higher for that keyword on a search engine results page. This practice can backfire big-time, causing the search engine to ignore your website.

*A lower keyword density is best when used in conjunction with other related keywords on the same page. Most search engine spiders have an almost intuitive way of determining the relevance of a topic. Displaying related terms on the same page shows the spider that the keyword topic is relevant. If your keyword is "lovely roses," related terms would be "flowers," "red roses," "aromatic roses," "rose petals," "rose scent," "beautiful bouquets," and so forth.

*Keywords should read naturally in the text. It is generally best to write about a topic and then check the keyword density. If you need a higher keyword count, you can go back and look for synonymous words that can be substituted with the desired keyword.

*If you make the keyword the topic of your content, proper density should come naturally. Never compromise the flow and interest of your content for the sake of keyword insertion.

*Relevance is everything for website content. If the topic is not relevant to your website, it is not worth displaying. Search engines may skip your website if they cannot find a solid theme to help categorize your website. If you sell cleaning products, your text should talk about stains, fabric treatments, cleaning processes, cleaning tips and cleaning products. If a search engine spider visits your website that sells cleaning products and finds information on how to put a deck on your house and news about Paris Hilton's social life, it is not likely to list your website for keywords pertaining to cleaning products. These may be interesting topics, but they are not relevant to your website.

*Interesting content with relevant keywords will attract visitors and inspire return visits. Returning visitors are more likely to purchase a product or service from your website.

The proper use of keywords can increase your search engine ranking, make it easier for potential customers to find your website and increase your sales by encouraging return visits.