Over the past 20 years, the proper use of keywords in content has been the subject of much debate. Some SEO professionals emphasise the importance of keyword density, while others argue that this is an overrated concept.
When writing blog posts and articles, authors must be careful not to cross the line. The questions arise: “What can I do to ensure that my publication reaches the top positions in search engines?” “How can I attract readers?” “How many keywords should I use?” “What is the optimal frequency of using these words?” and “Is there a limit to how acceptable keyword density is?”
For those of you striving to avoid the stress associated with keyword density while gaining an understanding of the fundamental aspects of how these carefully chosen words can enhance the visibility of your blog posts or articles, pay attention. There are four fundamental ideas to make sure that your approach is accurate, opening the door to greater SEO success.
1. Choose one or two central keywords
In an article published on Forbes titled “5 Secrets to Choosing Highly Effective SEO Keywords,” Michael Mothner emphasises the importance of choosing the right keywords when conducting a paid search campaign or PPC and its impact on the organic ranking of the website in search engines. However, Mothner argues that keywords are not just an SEO tool. Instead, they are at the core of the organization’s promotional efforts at the most basic level. If a business cannot quickly identify its keywords, it is unlikely to effectively advertise its services and products to the target audience.
To maximise the optimisation of your site, after determining your keywords for a specific blog or article, brainstorm all synonyms related to them. For example, if you have chosen “productivity” as the main keyword, you can also use words like “efficiency,” “production,” “output,” or “work pace.” This will help increase your visibility in search engines like Google.
Joost de Valk, the founder of Yoast.com, notes that optimising for a single keyword becomes increasingly meaningless due to Google’s ability to recognise synonyms. This helps the article appear more natural and seamless.
2. Ensure you don’t neglect meta tags and descriptions
Before publishing your article, review all metadata – including tags, links, summaries, and slogans – to ensure they align with the main theme of the article.
Experts from Moz.com explain that meta description tags, while not influencing search engine rankings, are crucial for enticing users to click on them from Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). Webmasters can use these brief passages to popularize their content among searchers and clearly inform them whether the page contains the information they need.
3. Aim for a keyword density of 1.5%.
Although it’s challenging to pinpoint the exact keyword density ratio, SEO experts unanimously agree that the ideal range is between 0.5% and 2.5%, with 1.5% being the most optimal.
To meet the 1.5% keyword density requirement, an 850-word article should contain at least 13 mentions of keywords. If an article is shorter and includes 13 or more keywords, it may be considered keyword stuffing, which can lead to penalties such as temporary or permanent access bans from some search engines.
According to Sean Anderson, it’s crucial to write naturally and emphasise key and related phrases, as keyword stuffing can trigger filters. He writes about this in his internet marketing publication on Hobo.
4. Include the keyword in the title
Brett Tabke, CEO and founder of Pubcon Inc., pointed out that achieving high rankings in search results is more challenging if the keyword is not in the page title.
While this might seem obvious, many bloggers still overlook the key element of including relevant keywords in their blog post titles.
It’s not an exact science, but there are some strategies to keep in mind when creating a blog post that is both engaging and optimised for search engines. By using these four methods, you can devise an individual approach that best serves your business.
