Because web readers skim for keywords, you have to know how to increase your keyword density so search engines can pick up your articles.
Unlike writing for print publications, when you write for the web you have to use keywords, as well as keyword phrases so readers can find your content. This is sometimes hard for new web writers because they feel their writing is redundant because they have to repeat keywords, cutting down on the flow of their writing, making their content less creative.
Because readers skim for keywords, you have to know which keywords and keyword phrases to use so search engines can pick up your articles. Here are a few suggestions to make your web writing higher in keyword density so more readers will click on your articles.
Features of Keywords
- Keywords---Your first 90 characters of your content should have at least one relevant key word. Also, be sure you to feature your keyword(s) in the first, as well as the last paragraph. It’s a good idea to have your keyword or keyword phrases appear about five to six times within the first 100 words of your content. What’s more, search engines generally rank your content higher for keywords appearing in the title of your article, as well as in the link texts and close to the start of the body text. In other words, the correct keyword density in the right places can lead to a higher search engine ranking.
- Keyword Phrases---Although most good keyword phrases are between 2-5 words, it’s better to have longer keyword phrases than shorter ones, as it’s safer to cover all bases. When selecting your keyword phrases, put yourself into the shoes of the readers and ask yourself what they would type in as keywords if they were to search for your topic
- Keyword Densiity--- Search engines calculate the number of keywords in a procedure known as “keyword density”. Although you don’t want the keyword density of your text to be too low, you also don’t want it to be too high as you may be accused of “keyword stuffing.” A good keyword density is anywhere between 3%-5%. In other words, 3%-5% of your content is made up of your keywords.
Keyword Density Resources
- Textalyser--- A free website that allows users to post their text into a field which analyzes the keyword density, Textalyser is widely used by web writers. For information go to Textalyser.
- Tag Crowd---If you work better with visuals, then check out Tag Crowd, which uses a visual portrayal of keywords, displaying main keywords in larger fonts at the beginning of the cloud, with lesser keywords in smaller fonts.
Although it may seem foreign at first, after you’ve written your first couple of web articles, it soon becomes automatic before you’re more conscious of keyword density and other tools that help your content become more searchable, resulting in more readers clicking on your content, giving you more page views.
