What is the best keyword density for SEO in 2024?

The best keyword density in 2023 was 0.5% to 1% and we expect this to stay the same in 2024.

This means a keyword appears 3 to 6 times in a 600-word article or 5 to 10 times in a 1,000-word article.

The reason a keyword density of 0.5-1% is best is it prevents unnatural keyword stuffing and helps meet Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines.

Keyword stuffing is when you mention a keyword too many times. Google lists it as a no-no in their spam policies.

Our content writing agency sticks to a 0.5% to 1% density for SEO content with fantastic results:

A 2,000 word article for a software company ranks #2 on Google for ‘best website builders’, raking in over 2,000 clicks per month. It mentions the keyword 10 times.
A 1,500 word article for a charity ranks #1 on Google for ‘cat diseases’. It mentions the keyword 7 times.

Of course, the number of times a keyword is mentioned isn’t the main reason why these articles rank high in Google for competitive keywords. They rank because:

The websites have authority.
The articles have quality backlinks.
The writing and information are the best in the industry.

Keyword frequency plays a relatively minor role in the ranking of pages and posts in Google, but it is still a crucial box to tick for best results.

The key point is that striving for a particular density won’t give you magic SEO results, but it is crucial not to overdo it. Modern search algorithms are sophisticated enough to understand the overall context and relevance of content, rather than relying solely on the frequency of individual keywords.

What is keyword density?

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword appears in a piece of content relative to the number of words on that page.

For example, if ‘sleepsuit’ appeared 18 times in 600 words, the density would be 3% (for what it’s worth, that’s way too high). If it appeared 6 times, the density would be 1%.

Why is keyword density important?

Ask an SEO expert what steps you should take to rank high in the search engines and high-quality content will be first on the list.

Quality content has expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, but that’s no guarantee of ranking in Google for competitive keywords.

Your content also needs to tick a few of Google’s boxes, and achieving the best keyword density in a natural way is one of those boxes.

Mentioning keywords too often, or too infrequently, impacts Google’s perception of your content.

Here’s the bottom line: if you go in too hard with key phrase density, Google will think you’re keyword stuffing. If you go in too soft Google won’t pick up on the keywords you want them to.

Is keyword density a myth?

It is not a myth.

It’s essential to mention keywords in your content, and just as crucial to keep track of how many times you use them. Use too many and your content will be spammy; use too few and Google won’t understand your content as well as it could.

The keyword frequency myth argument is that the number of times a keyword is mentioned is not as important as where keywords are placed in the content.

Truthfully, density and keyword location are both important signals for Google. Where keywords are placed in content is of course important, but so is how many times you mention them.

Keywords should be in:

Your first paragraph.
Your first heading.
At least two sub-headings.

You can then pepper keywords into the rest of your article.

Why does Google care about keyword density?

Quality is one of the steps to a Google-friendly site.

To rank for a specific keyword, your content needs to be both of high quality and relevant.

One of the ways to achieve the latter is by engineering keywords into your content and repeating them.

However, if you repeat them too often you will be keyword stuffing. This can get you penalised by Google.

Google’s spam policies aim to maintain the quality and relevance of search results by targeting behaviours that manipulate its algorithms. Cloaking, keyword stuffing, link spam, and thin affiliate content are examples of tactics that can lead to a page or website being ranked lower or even omitted from Google Search.

At the core of these policies is Google’s commitment to providing users with the most useful and trustworthy information.

Google takes a strong stance against attempts to artificially inflate a website’s authority and relevance, such as the buying or selling of links and keyword stuffing.

Google E-E-A-T

Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is a crucial concept for content creators to understand and incorporate into their content production strategies.

Keyword frequency is a signal for your content’s quality, but it plays a bit part in Google’s overall guidelines.

A rundown:

Experience

The first aspect of E-E-A-T is showcasing first-hand knowledge experience.

For content to be deemed high-quality, it should be based on the creator’s first-hand experiences rather than simply regurgitating information from other sources.

This can be particularly important for reviews, tutorials, and guides, where the audience seeks insights from someone who has personally interacted with the product, service, or topic.

Expertise

Expertise is the second factor, relating to the level of knowledge and skill the content creator possesses in the subject matter.

For content in “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) categories, such as health, finance, or legal advice, expertise is critical, and the content creator may need to demonstrate formal qualifications or certifications.

Even for non-YMYL topics, however, the content creator should strive to showcase their expertise through in-depth knowledge, well-researched information, and a clear understanding of the subject matter.

Authoritativeness

Authoritativeness can be demonstrated through factors such as the number and quality of external links pointing to the content, keyword frequency, and the perceived credibility and trustworthiness of the website.

By building a strong online presence and earning links from reputable sources, content creators can signal to Google that their content is authoritative and deserves high rankings.

Trustworthiness

Google emphasises that trustworthiness is the most critical factor, as even highly experienced and authoritative content can be undermined by a lack of trustworthiness.

Trustworthiness can be demonstrated through accurate and transparent information, secure and user-friendly website design, and a consistently positive user experience.

How to nail E-E-A-T for better rankings

When it comes to content production, incorporating E-E-A-T principles can significantly impact the perceived quality and performance of the content. You should try to:

Incorporate personal experiences and first-hand knowledge into their content rather than relying solely on secondary sources.
Clearly demonstrate their expertise through in-depth research, detailed explanations, and a deep understanding of the topic.
Build a solid online presence and earn links from authoritative and reputable sources to signal their authoritativeness.
Ensure that all information presented is accurate, up-to-date, and transparent and that the overall user experience on the website is positive and trustworthy.

What is the keyword density for ranking #1 on Google?

The magic keyword density for ranking #1 in Google is 0.5-1%, meaning a maximum 20 exact mentions in 2,000-words of text.

However, keyword placement is just as crucial as the numbers – inserting keywords in H1, H2, H3, and H4 tags can further improve rankings.

It’s also vital to deploy other good SEO practices, like linking to authoritative sources, backing up claims with facts, optimising images, and Schema markup.

The truth is that as search engine algorithms have evolved, the significance of keyword frequency as an SEO metric has diminished.

Modern search engines have become adept at understanding the overall context and topical relevance of content rather than relying solely on the frequency of specific keywords. Google’s emphasis on user experience means that artificially stuffing keywords into content can harm a website’s rankings, as it is perceived as an attempt to manipulate the algorithm.

Instead, you should focus on thoroughly covering the topic, including relevant subtopics, and strategically utilising keywords in critical positions like the title, headings, and meta description.

This “topic coverage” approach is more likely to satisfy search intent and provide a better user experience, which is the ultimate goal of search engines.

Summing up

The best keyword density is 0.5% to 1% in 2024.

We base this on having written hundreds of high-ranking web pages.

1% is enough for Google to take notice without appearing spammy.

0.5% may sound low but mentioning a keyword at the top of an article, in the middle, and at the end is natural.

Your keyword will probably be in a heading too. So let’s call it 4 keyword mentions in 600-words and 8-10 in 1,000-words.