For many years, search engine optimization (SEO) relied heavily on keyword density, which is the frequency with which a keyword or keyword phrase appears in written content relative to its word count. Because they thought it had a direct impact on search results, content producers sought to achieve a particular keyword density.
Since then, there have been significant changes. Previously, your material might rank highly on search engine results pages (SERPs) by simply employing keyword words a specific amount of times.
Since 2011, Google has made a number of changes to enhance the caliber and precision of search results, putting more emphasis on user intent and content quality than just SEO keyword density. That being said, keyword density is still important for your SEO campaigns.
Unpacking the Importance of Keyword Density
Here’s what you need to know about the role of keyword density in SEO:
What Is Relationship Marketing?
Words or phrases that people type into search engines to locate information are known as keywords or keyphrases. Keywords serve as markers for search engines, informing them of the content's purpose and whether or not it is relevant to the user's intent. Keywords are also used by search engines to assess if a piece of material is pertinent to a search phrase. However, in the past, keyword density was highly stressed and keywords were used in a much more straightforward manner.
SEO Keyword Density: Too Much of a Good Thing
When people Googled a topic in the early 2000s, they found and read blogs that used keyword words in almost every sentence. Here's an illustration:
"Why not use a reusable water bottle instead of purchasing bottled water? You can use a reusable water bottle repeatedly. You may contribute to environmental protection by using reusable water bottles. Additionally, as long as you have your reusable water bottle with you at all times, it guarantees that you stay hydrated wherever you go.
The SEO keyword density in the paragraph above is really high. The term "reusable water bottle" comes up multiple times and is utilized in an odd way. It is difficult to read, presents the obvious, and provides no useful information.
Keyword Density SEO: Changes to How Search Engines Ranked Content
In the past, when search engines were less advanced, content mills could produce monotonous, badly written articles for websites and have them appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) only by using a keyword in every other sentence. Needless to say, these businesses and their customers did not prioritize readability or user experience.
Keyword Density for SEO: Is It Still Relevant?
Due to the change brought about by Hummingbird, SEO also had to change. Websites could no longer depend only on keyword density optimization for generic content.
Today, cramming your content with keywords is a definite method to get it ranked poorly. Content that puts the user experience first is still rewarded by Google. This implies that well-written, educational articles that truly cater to user needs and search intent have a higher probability of appearing highly in search engine results pages.
Many people may believe that SEO keyword density is no longer a factor to be taken into account when developing content because of Google's crackdown on keyword stuffing and other black-hat tactics. But even though keyword density is no longer as important, content optimization for keywords is still crucial, albeit in a more subtle way.
