The Correct Keyword Density
So what really is the correct keyword density for a webpage? Many webmasters state that Google prefers a keyword density between 3% and 5%, MSN and Yahoo however, prefer a slightly higher keyword density of approximately 9%. Keyword density contributes an important part towards search engine optimisation, but could this keyword density be potentially different for higher and lower targeted keywords?
Average Keyword Density
The key phrase “web hosting” will return more results than the key phrase “cheap web hosting usa” on all of the major search engines. If you analyse the keyword density of the top 10 results returned by the search engines, the densities would be completely variable for Google, Yahoo and MSN. So another question you may be thinking is how do I optimise my website with the correct keyword density for the big three? It would most likely be best to take an average keyword density for each website on the search engine result pages. An average could then be calculated from the average densities for each individual search engine. You could then optimise the pages on your website with this average density. Your website will then be highly optimised for the big three.
Don’t focus on the Big Picture
Although it would be ideal to optimise your website for the big three, it may not be the best solution for your industry. It may be better to optimise for a single search engine such as MSN rather than focusing on the big picture. Many webmasters have too higher expectations for their website and will usually choose very difficult keywords to gain any ranking on. It is best todo some research on keywords for your industry and the number of results returned by the search engines. Usually, the lower the number of results returned by the search engines, the easier to optimise your website for that particular keyword.
Resources for Keyword Competition Research
WordTracker and Overture provide some very good resources for analysing the competition within a particular industry. They will also help you to choose realistic keywords to optimise your website for. Both websites are definitely worth checking out.
The keyword to this article is that keyword densities may not be the same for all types of industry. Research the keyword densities for yourself, how can the number one ranking on Google for the term “search engine optimisation” be wrong? Follow your competitor’s keyword densities if they are ranking well. What other webmasters state about their keyword density may not actually be true. The search engines are always improving their algorithms to filter out those rogue website. By rule of thumb, under no circumstances use a high keyword density on your website, the search engines will detect this as SPAM and place your website below your competitors in the search engine result pages.
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