One of the most common theories in automotive search engine marketing is the idea that a high keyword density results in better search engine results. But is it true? Does the highest possible keyword density really result in great rankings?

No. Well, maybe. OK, a little bit. Let’s explore.

First off, what is keyword density?

Keyword density is the percentage of your text that is made up of your keyword. If your page has 100 words and your keyword occurs once, you have a keyword density of one percent. If your keyword occurs ten times, you have a keyword density of ten percent.

Does keyword density give you high search engine rankings?

This is where things get complicated. Keyword density does certainly contribute to your search engine rankings, but not nearly as much as many people think it does.

When the internet was younger, search engine ranking algorithms were far more simple than they are now. It was assumed to be true that if someone enters the phrase “blue widgets” into a search engine, they want their results to show something that is highly focused on blue widgets and only blue widgets. Search engines used to believe that the more times “blue widgets” showed up in your text, the more relevant your page was to what they’re looking for.

Unfortunately, too many people got ahold of that information and started abusing the system. They stuffed pages and pages full of the same search term over and over. They were trying to game the system, and the search engines caught on. They changed the system so it couldn’t be gamed that way anymore.

The key with modern search engines is human relevance. Use your keyword frequently, but not so much that it wouldn’t make sense if read aloud. If it would look ridiculous to a human reader, it looks ridiculous to the search engines. Don’t eliminate your keyword entirely, but use common sense. Sprinkle it through the text, but do so sparingly.

If you build your site for search engines and visitors equally, you’ll have a head start on all the rest.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Search Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.