Keyword Density . . .

And, selling your stuff.

Make no mistake about it. If you have an online presence you are selling something.  It may be through an ecommerce site; maybe you are selling a service or even your company’s reputation. Either way keyword density is important. First you might even ask what is keyword density?  The definition is as follows: Keyword density (SEO) (%) is the percentage of times a keyword or key phrase appears on a web page in comparison with the total number of words on the page.

Keyword density percentages have long been a topic of SEO discussion. Historically the general rule of thumb is somewhere between 2.5% and 9%. However, times and algorithm’s change. Today Google and other search engines consider a little more than density. First, they want it to appear as though it was written by a human being, not a machine just pounding Keywords, and Keyword Phrases into a page or paragraph. Next you must think a little more like a spider or the “artificial intelligence” that is trying to understand the meaning. Today the words you surround you keywords with are beginning to matter. Think of this example: you want HOT DOG to be your keyword. What does that mean? Is it a really good skier, is it something you cook on a grill, or is it your pet that has been out in the sun to long?

If you want the meaning to be a hot dog to eat. It needs to be surrounded by words like bun, mustard, ketchup, BBQ, grilling, picnic, etc. Now you can see how the surrounding words and meaning are also important.

If the Search Engines are considering the beginning to understand the surrounding text. The keyword density’s important can be far less. I believe it should be closer to 2% and many of my couleagues would argue it may even be closer to 1%

Conclusion:

Either way it is abundantly clear that search engines artificial intelligence is getting smarter. So as professionals we must chose an appropriate keyword for our topic. Then be clear as to the meaning and reasons for writing content.