 |
 |
 |
|
07.21.09 Creating The Best Keyword Density Over Your On-Page Content  By Patrick HareThe subject of keyword density has been open to debate for a long time. In the early days of search engine optimization, high keyword density was the order of the day, to the extent that you would have the same keyword repeated several thousand times on the page, in small print that matched the background color of the site. Alternatively, you might have several hundred doorway pages that had a single phrase on them, for a 100% keyword density score. On today's search engines, sites like these are almost guaranteed to be penalized for exceeding keyword density levels. Depending on who you ask, the best keyword density could be between 2% and 9% of your on-page content. For people who write their own web content, keyword density can be problematic. Naturally, you don't want to trip any filters in the search engines, but at the same time you shouldn't have to pad your content with fluff and filler. One of our general rules is that you should be able to read your content out loud without sounding repetitive, but in some cases there are a few profitable keyword variations that would all do well on the same page, so the language can get a bit stilted. Generally, we try for a 4% density, but there are numerous outside factors that can move this figure up or down by a few percent. First and foremost, your content should be useful to a real customer, even if it isn't likely to be read. Second, you should make sure that your page's best keywords are being represented in the body text, since your competitors who use SEO techniques are likely to do the same thing, and you want to be on a level playing field. Third, you should make sure you are optimizing enough pages to spread your keywords out efficiently. Normally you should be hitting a maximum of 3-4 keyword phrases per page.
If you have more high volume keywords that fall in the same category, consider creating subtopic and detail pages which examine the various permutations of each word. For example, if you have a page about cat food, it might reference detail pages about dry cat food and moist cat food. Even though you will reference both keywords from a top-level page, using anchor texts to the detail pages will ensure that they will get properly classified for each type. You will then have an advantage in the search engines, since you have a general topic and two subtopics in a hierarchy, and more specific related words on each page. Do you need to how dense your content is? For text that's already on a site, here are two free keyword density tools: http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php http://www.gorank.com/analyze.php The webconfs.com keyword density checker also gives you a keyword cloud which illustrates which words are most prevalent. In addition to showing density, it also lets you see if your content overuses common words or phrases. Another advantage of tools like this one is that you can see what your competitors are doing. Even if you see that someone else has very high density, we do not recommend following suit, since rankings are based on multiple factors, and some sites can get away with behavior that would get your site penalized. Continue reading this article. About the Author: Patrick Hare has been managing online and offline marketing projects since 1999. From 2005 to present, he has been with Scottsdale Arizona’s Web.com Search Agency (formerly Submitawebsite). Patrick provides Search Engine Optimization and Marketing advice to in-house customers and Web.com Jacksonville’s web design group. |
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||
|
-- WebProNewsUK is an iEntry,
Inc. publication -- iEntry, Inc. 2549 Richmond Rd. Lexington KY, 40509 2009 iEntry, Inc. All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy Legal archives | advertising info | news headlines | free newsletters | comments/feedback | submit article |
WebProNewsUK is brought to you by: