Is there a difference between the ways different search engines treat keyword density?

The short answer is…probably ‘yes’. Search Engine Optimizers vary in their opinions on this subject, as they do on many other aspects of seo. However, generally there is agreement that Yahoo and MSN may be more (by what degree is not known) tolerant of heavy keyword usage per page than is Google.

At this stage there is no ‘proof for either case, and there will be those with a contrary view to what is expressed above.

Also, we do not believe there is any general, or search engine specific, reliable key word formula, but if you come across one please let us know?

Can the sequencing of keywords be beneficial?

Text has to make sense to be relevant to the reader. All search engines rate relevance, and as far as we know, the proper context of the language may rank as highly as special placement of key words on a page.

The majority of SEO gurus do subscribe to the notion that search engines give a higher ranking to keywords being placed higher on the page. Again, not all agree with this statement.

Dispersing your keywords throughout the text to support a natural writing style is, in the opinion of many, the preferred approach.

Keyword Placement vs. Keyword Density

This question is asked more often than one might think. Obviously ‘placement’ refers to the positioning, or location, on the page, whereas ‘density’ is an obvious reference to the amount of key word usage.

How can keywords impact link anchor text?

A term used to describe the common usage of keywords, link anchor text (lat) has very little effect on keyword density of the sending or receiving page. Keywords in the lat describe the themes and subjects of the receiving page to the search engines. Therefore we can confidently say that the objectives of seo are better served by lat being comprised of the receiving page’s most important keywords, than a heavy use of keywords in on page text.

Mix and match keywords and phrases and employ variations of link anchor text.

Be careful about keyword ’stuffing’ by using exactly the same keywords in all incoming link anchor text. It will appear unnatural to the search engines.

Is there an optimum key word usage factor?

To avoid activating a search engine’s keyword stuffing filter, you may want to keep the keyword density somewhere around four to five percent maximum. Some with a great deal of seo experience suggest that Google’s tolerance may be between 1.5% to 2.5%. For text editing purposes you could reference http:/www.gorank.com/seotools/

A common mistake made by the inexperienced is to ‘stuff’ an on page with key words to the detriment of the message.

Remember, the purpose of any commercial website is to generate business by converting visitors to paying customers. The excessive use of keywords in any on page copy can negatively impact this process. How? By failing to retain the visitor’s retention and they exit the site! Information websites are similarly negatively impacted for the same reason.

You need to strike an effective balance between keyword usage and appealing copy!

• You are online, but are you on target? - by Leo Talbot
• The Google sandbox is about keyword phrases by Adam Sorensen
• How to optimize for MSN by Adam Sorensen

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 13th, 2005 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Content Optimization, Design Tips. 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.