What is keyword density?
Keyword density is the percentage of a text taken up by one word or phrase. It is calculated by dividing the number of times the keyword appears by the total number of words, then multiplying by 100. If your phrase appears 6 times in a 600-word article, its density is 1%.
Older SEO advice suggested exact percentages. Google has said there is no ideal keyword density, and stuffing a page with a phrase makes it read badly and can look spammy. Today the value of the metric is as a quick check: does the page clearly mention the topic, and is any word repeated so often that it hurts the writing?
How to use the keyword density checker
- Paste your text into the box.
- Optionally type your target keyword or phrase to see how often it appears.
- Leave Ignore common words ticked to hide words like the, and and of.
- Read the tables of one-word, two-word and three-word phrases, sorted by frequency.
- Edit the text to vary repeated words, then check again.
How to read the results
The one-word table shows the single words you rely on. The two- and three-word tables are more useful for SEO, because people search with phrases. If your main topic phrase is missing from the top of the lists, the page may not be clearly about it. If one phrase is far above everything else, check that it still reads naturally.
The density for phrases is the number of times the phrase appears divided by the number of possible phrases of that length in your text. Stop words at the start or end of a phrase are skipped, so you see meaningful keyword groups instead of filler.
Better ways to improve keyword use
- Use your main phrase in the title, in one heading and in the first paragraph, where it fits naturally.
- Add related words and synonyms that a reader would expect to see on a page about the topic.
- Answer the questions people actually ask, rather than repeating the phrase.
- Check the top competing pages to see which subtopics they cover.
- Write for people first and use the checker only to catch repetition.
Limits of keyword density tools
A density number cannot tell you whether a page is useful, trustworthy or well structured, which matter far more to search engines. It also ignores word forms, so run, running and ran count as different words here. Treat the tool as a repetition detector, not as a ranking formula.
Example: checking a short article
Suppose you write a 600-word guide about compressing PDF files. Paste it and type compress pdf as the target phrase. If the phrase appears 6 times, it is used at 1 percent, which is natural for a page of that length. If the top two-word phrases are things like you can and make sure, you are probably missing topic words such as file size, email attachment and image quality. Adding those related terms where they are useful makes the page more complete for readers and for search engines.
Keyword density examples
| Occurrences | Total words | Density |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 300 | 1.0% |
| 6 | 600 | 1.0% |
| 12 | 600 | 2.0% |
| 30 | 1,000 | 3.0% |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good keyword density?
There is no official ideal. Many writers aim for natural use, often around 1 to 2 percent for the main phrase, and avoid forcing it.
How do I calculate keyword density?
Divide the number of times the keyword appears by the total word count and multiply by 100.
Does Google penalize keyword stuffing?
Google's spam policies treat keyword stuffing as a violation, so repeating a phrase unnaturally can hurt a page.
Does it count phrases?
Yes. It shows one-, two- and three-word phrases with counts and densities.
Which words are ignored?
A list of common English words such as the, and, of and to. You can turn this off.
Does it work in other languages?
It splits text into words in most languages, but the stop-word list is English only.
Is my text uploaded?
No. The analysis runs in your browser.