Keyword Density Checker

Keyword density is a fundamental SEO metric that measures how frequently a keyword or phrase appears in your content relative to the total word count. Our free keyword density checker analyzes your content to provide actionable insights for SEO optimization, helping you strike the perfect balance between keyword usage and natural, readable content. Understanding and optimizing keyword density ensures search engines recognize your content's relevance without triggering over-optimization penalties.

What is Keyword Density?

Keyword density represents the percentage of times a target keyword appears compared to total word count, calculated using the formula: (Number of keyword occurrences ÷ Total words) × 100. For example, if "SEO optimization" appears 5 times in a 500-word article, the keyword density is 1%. This metric helps SEO professionals and content creators understand whether keywords are used appropriately—too little might miss ranking opportunities, while too much risks keyword stuffing penalties from search engines. Modern SEO balances keyword density with semantic relevance, user intent, and content quality.

How to Use This Tool

Using our keyword density checker is straightforward and provides instant insights. Paste your content into the main text area—articles, blog posts, product descriptions, or any text you want to analyze. Optionally, specify target keywords (one per line) to focus analysis on specific terms, or leave empty to analyze all words. Configure analysis settings including minimum word length (default 3 characters) to ignore articles and short words, and toggle stop word exclusion to filter common words like "the," "and," "or" that don't carry SEO value. Click "Analyze Keywords" to process your content instantly. Review comprehensive results showing total word count, unique words, keyword frequencies, density percentages, and distribution visualization through color-coded bars indicating optimal (green), moderate (yellow), or excessive (red) keyword usage.

SEO Best Practices for Keyword Density

Following keyword density best practices ensures optimal SEO performance. Primary keywords should maintain 1-2% density, appearing naturally throughout content including titles, headings, and body text. Secondary keywords benefit from 0.5-1% density, supporting primary keywords without over-optimization. Long-tail keyword phrases can maintain lower 0.1-0.5% density as their specificity provides value even with less frequent use. Distribute keywords naturally across content sections rather than clustering in specific paragraphs—search engines recognize unnatural patterns. Never exceed 3% density for any single keyword to avoid keyword stuffing penalties that harm rather than help rankings. Include semantic variations and synonyms alongside exact-match keywords to demonstrate topical depth and natural writing. Focus on user intent and readability first, then optimize keyword usage—valuable content that engages readers always outperforms over-optimized but poor-quality text.