SEO

Keyword Density Checker

Measure keyword frequency and density in your text, and understand why density is a diagnostic rather than a target to hit.

Last reviewed by the Radiatus Cloud team

Keyword Density Checker

Analyze keyword frequency and density in your content for SEO optimization.

SEO Best Practices

  • Target keyword density: 1-3% for primary keywords
  • Use natural language - avoid keyword stuffing (>5% is risky)
  • Focus on semantic variations and related terms

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Density is a diagnostic, not a target

Keyword density is the share of total words a term accounts for. It was a genuine ranking factor in the early 2000s and has not been one for a long time: Google's systems evaluate topical relevance through language models, entities and context, not term frequency. There is no optimal percentage, and any tool telling you to hit 2 percent is repeating advice that stopped being true well over a decade ago.

What it is still useful for

Two things. First, catching over-optimisation: a term at 5 or 6 percent reads badly to a human and looks like stuffing, which is a real penalty risk. Second, catching the opposite problem, which is far more common: content that never actually uses the phrase it is meant to rank for. If you are targeting a phrase like cookie banner generator and the page says consent tool throughout, a density of zero explains the absence of rankings.

Cover the topic, not the keyword

Modern relevance comes from covering the concepts a searcher expects, not repeating a string. A page about cookie banners should naturally mention consent, GDPR, opt-in, categories and prior consent, because a page genuinely about the subject would. Those related terms signal depth in a way repetition cannot fake, and they arrive for free when you actually know the subject.

Placement matters more than count

A term in the title, the H1, the opening sentence and a subheading does more than the same term repeated twenty times in body copy. Search engines weight position, and so do readers, who decide within a sentence or two whether the page is about their problem.

Read it aloud

The most reliable stuffing test costs nothing. If a paragraph sounds unnatural when spoken, it will read that way to a person and pattern-match to spam for an algorithm. Write for the reader first and check density afterwards as a sanity check, never as a target to engineer toward.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ideal keyword density?

There isn't one. Density stopped being a ranking factor long ago; relevance is judged through language models, entities and context. Any figure quoted as optimal is repeating advice from the early 2000s.

Is keyword density still worth checking?

As a diagnostic. High density catches over-optimisation that reads badly and risks a penalty. Zero density catches the more common problem: content that never uses the phrase it is meant to rank for.

How do I avoid keyword stuffing?

Read the text aloud. If a passage sounds unnatural spoken, it reads that way to a person and pattern-matches to spam for an algorithm. Write for the reader and check density only afterwards.

Where should the keyword appear?

Title, H1, opening sentence and at least one subheading. Position is weighted more heavily than raw count, and readers decide within a sentence or two whether the page addresses their problem.

Do related terms help?

Yes, considerably more than repetition. Covering the concepts a searcher expects signals genuine depth in a way repeating a string cannot, and they appear naturally when you actually know the subject.

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About This Tool

This tool runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server, ensuring complete privacy. Simply use the interface above to get started — no registration or login required.

Disclaimer: This tool is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Results are for educational and utility purposes.