I have this recurring dream where I see my fellow SEO copywriters in the middle of the night with calculators in-hand dividing the number of times their client’s keywords appear in an article by the number of words in that article and multiplying by 100.
If the keyword density is too low, they add the keyword in as an adjective somewhere to bring the percentage up. If the percentage is too high, they take a few keyword mentions out.
It (keyword density) is enough to drive one between 3 and 5 percent crazy.
Here’s a trick – write naturally. Place keywords and their variations where they would naturally occur in an article, including:
- Title
- First paragraph
- One or two times in the body
- Conclusion
Then…my next advice might be a shocker…stay away from the calculator. Seriously. I’ve only ever checked my keyword density a few times in my early days to make sure I was on the right track. But now, I’d rather shoot for 100% quality than 5% density.
And that real kicker – I still get results…for my clients that is.
Search engines aren’t stupid. They can catch on if EVERY article you write has a 5% density. In fact, your readers will probably catch on as well. So don’t be so dense. Unless it’s natural for you.
There’s more where this came from. Jason Pedley is a professional SEO content copywriter whose job revolves around helping his clients kick ass online. Want more? Sign-up to rceive updates via email by completing the form at the top right of this window. Need SEO copy? Contact Jason Pedley right now for a free project quote or consultation.
