Optimum SEO Keyword Density - A Real-Life Case Study

So you've built your website, you know what keywords you want to target (i.e. what words your customers are searching for), and you're ready to write your copy. You've been told that you should use your keywords frequently so that you appear in search results for those words. But what does "frequently" mean?

How many times should you use your primary keyword? This case study helps answer that question.

Some background on "Keyword Density"

In order to understand optimum keyword usage, we first need to have some way of measuring keyword frequency. In the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) world, frequency is actually referred to as density. Keyword density is a measure of the number of times your keyword appears on a page expressed as a percentage of the total wordcount of that page. For example, if your page has 100 words, and your keyword phrase appears 5 times, its density is 5%. So when you hear someone say "keyword density", that's normally what they're talking about. (TIP: You can automatically check the keyword density of your page at LiveKeywordAnalysis.com.)

However, there is another, more complex measure of keyword density which takes into account the text components in the HTML of the page (i.e. the meta tags: Title, Keywords, Alt Text, Description, and Comments). When using this measure, you don't just count the words your visitor sees; you also count the words in your meta tags. For example, if you have 100 words on your home page, 10 words in your Title tag, 20 words in your Description tag, 70 words in your Alt tags, and 10 words in your Comments tag, your total wordcount for the page is 100 + 10 + 20 + 70 + 10 = 210. Similarly, when counting keywords, you don't just add up the number of times a visitor will see your keyword, you also count the number of times that keyword appears in your meta tags. For example, if your keyword appears 5 times in the home page copy, 3 times in the Title tag, 5 times in the Description tag, 30 times in your Alt tags, and twice in your Comments tag, your total keyword count is 5 + 3 + 5 + 30 + 2 = 45. So with a total wordcount of 210 and a keyword count of 45, your keyword density is 45/210 x 100 = 21%. It is argued that this measure of keyword density is more relevant as the search engines measure density in this fashion. (TIP: You can automatically check the keyword density of your page using this more complex measure at GoRank.com.)

As you can see, you need to be very aware of which measure you're talking about when you're talking "keyword density". But let me reiterate; mostly when people talk about keyword density, they're talking the simple measure.

What is the optimum keyword density

And now down to business… What keyword density (of either kind) should you be targeting on your website?

There's a lot of debate surrounding this issue because the search engine companies don't disclose the details of their algorithms (as that would allow people to abuse the system). Instead, people working in the SEO world are left to figure it out based on their experience.

A recent article by respected SEO and Blog expert, Wayne Hurlbert, (see Keyword Density: SEO Considerations) suggests that Google sees pages with a keyword density of greater than 2% as spam. It was this article which prompted me to analyze the keyword density of my copywriting website.

CASE STUDY

The Website: This case study analyzes the website for my advertising copywriting and SEO copywriting business, Divine Write – http://www.divinewrite.com. For my primary keyword, my site is now on page 1 of Google.com (out of approximately 900,000 search results).

Number of pages on site: At the time of writing, my website contained a total of 53 pages.

Primary keyword phrase: "copywriter"

Average keyword density: Using the simple measure of keyword density discussed above, the average keyword density of my copywriting website is 1.9%. Using the complex measure it's 4.9%.

Keyword density range: Using the simple measure, my density ranged from 0.4% to 7.6%. Using the complex measure it ranged from 1.6% to 17.5%

Some comments on the figures

• The figures and corresponding ranking detailed in this case study may not be directly relevant to every site. There's a lot I don't know about the algorithms and there are bound to be other factors at play which I don't know about.

• With regard to Wayne Hurlbert's article, it would seem that he is referring to keyword density as calculated using the simple method discussed above.

• The range figures are noteworthy because they suggest that you don't need to be paranoid about having some pages with a very high density and some with a very low density.

Conclusion

A simple keyword density of 1.9% can be enough for a first page ranking in Google.com (assuming you have enough quality backlinks – see SEO for CEOs and How to Top Google by Writing Articles for more information).

Happy SEO writing!

Songwriting Concepts

What makes a great song? It's a big question, and one that has been written about endlessly in an attempt to unravel the "formula" for creating a world dominating smash hit record. Sure, there are some basic rules and if you were to examine a handful of the most successful or popular songs of the last four decades, they do have certain things in common. Intro, verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, middle 8, chorus, chorus etc springs to mind!

We can examine things like structure, melody and production very easily but for a greater understanding of the "smash", we need to look at concepts. Have you ever wondered why some songs seem to "connect" with people and others don't? When asked why people like a song, they will usually say something along the lines of "I like the tune" or "it's got a great beat". Very rarely will the average music consumer tell you they love a song because of the clever way it's been written, or because the music sounds like it was really hard to play. People simply aren't interested in that stuff. They're interested in the elusive combination of a great melody and a lyric that they can relate to, and preferably sing along to.

Of course this isn't true of all genres of music, for the purposes of this piece I'm referring mainly to pop music, as this is the domain of the hit single! Yes there are lots of brilliant, intelligent musicians and songwriters out there whose music never isn't even near the radio and probably never will be. Whilst the music industry is partly responsible for this, it doesn't change the fact that (generally speaking) if you want to have a big song, you have to be able to connect with lots of people. And that means delivering a message that is clear, simple, catchy and easy to relate to.

This means thinking very carefully about what you're song is actually about. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the details of the music itself, such as which chords to use? How the melody should go? How should the snare drum sound?) Sometimes the central concept of the song can often end up as an afterthought.

As a producer and songwriter I get to hear lot of demos from new artists, some of whom are quick to tell me very confidently which of their songs are the singles, or "radio friendly". More often than not, the song they point out is the one they've laboured over the most, or the song with the lyrics about their ex girlfriend / boyfriend. Sometimes this can mean their lyrics that are so personal to them that they're in danger of not meaning anything to anyone else! So it helps a lot if you are able to step back from your work and ask yourself - if I had never heard this song, what would I think about it? Do I know what it's about? More importantly, do I care what it's about?

Let's look at a couple of recent example of the smash hit song. Love him or hate him, James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" was undeniably one of the big pop songs of 2005, launching a multi-million selling worldwide career for the artist. Cynics will point out that there was a major label and some powerful marketing behind him, which is also true, but they were marketing something that was already going to be relatively easy to sell, because of the simplicity of the concept, the music and the lyrics. I don't think it's too unreasonable to suggest that without this song, the level of his success wouldn't been as great, and it certainly wouldn't have happened as quickly.

The sentiment behind Blunt's song is extremely simple. Perhaps this is why people connected with it? It's essentially a "grass is greener" song, where the main character is imagining a relationship with a stranger he's just encountered. It's also very memorable, even from a first listen. You may not know all the words to the verses straight away, but the chorus is instant. There is never a moment where you're not sure what the lyrics are because "you can't hear them properly".

Now imagine the same music, but with cryptic, clever lyrics that only you understand. Does the song still have the same ability to connect with a large audience? Or just to you? ( This can lead us into a whole other area - who are you writing music for, but that's another topic in itself! ) Now try it the other way around ; take the lyrics and sing them with a new melody over some complex chords in a clever time signature - is it still a hit? it's very unlikely!

In 2007, Rihanna's "Umbrella" had a similar impact on the world of pop. The song is built on an infectious beat and very few chords, and again there is a strong concept behind this song. If you look at the lyrics it's more than just another "I love you baby" type thing, but it also has the a very simple main hook, which hits you the first time you get to what I call the "pay off", the "ella - ella - ella - eh - eh - eh" bit, an infuriatingly catchy modern pop moment!

Would the song stand up without this hook / gimmick? Yes I think it would, because the gimmick sounds like an addition to the concept, not the concept itself. In other words "Umbrella" is already strong without it, but as a pop record this hook puts into a whole other league.

What I'm getting at here is the importance of considering exactly what it is you're are saying in your songs. It's not usually enough just to have a great beat or a great riff, try and think of these things are the starting point!

It's also important not to confuse "simple" ideas with "dumb" ideas. Writing complicated pop lyrics is relatively easy compared with writing good simple pop lyrics, and great lyricists will write on several levels providing you with deeper meanings if you want to look for them. This is a skill that is harder than it sounds and can take a long time to develop.

Early Motown records are a good example of this sort of thing, where the writers provided a catchy "surface" meaning that sounded like great pop music, but underneath there was often another motivation (sometimes with social or political overtones) Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye were among those who dabbled with this sort of writing, and were responsible for creating some staple pop hits that were accessible to everyone, but often had a second "layer" of meaning.

So you don't have to "dumb down" you're masterpiece to get your message across, just try disguising it a bit, you'll be adding depth to your work and you'll be in good company!

Of course the most important part in focusing on the concept of your song is having a concept to begin with. What do people want to hear about? Themes of love and loss are the most popular, anecdotes about feeding your cat will not grab people's attention the same way. If you spend a bit of time considering what you're actually saying, and how people will interpret your "message", you should be able give your work a better chance of connecting with your audience.

Instead of spending three hours on the snare drum, spend three hours on making your central idea something people can relate to, as generally people don't listen to songs because of how the drums sound! And you never know, you may even be giving yourself a greater chance at that world dominating chart-topping success in the process.....