What Is It In SEO? (And Why It Matters) – How To Learn SEO

This guide explains keyword frequency.

Below, you’ll learn what keyword frequency is and how it applies to search engine optimization (SEO). You will also learn what is a good frequency for SEO and how to calculate it using a formula so as not to under or over-optimize your website for search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

By the end of this page, you’ll understand everything there is to know about keyword phrases and frequency on a web page.

What is Keyword Frequency?

Keyword frequency is the number of times a keyword appears on a web page or within a piece of content. The frequency of a keyword is measured as a proportion or percentage of the overall word count.

Keyword Frequency in SEO

Keyword frequency in SEO refers to the number of times a specific keyword or keyphrase appears on a web page as it relates to on-page search engine optimization. The frequency of keywords for SEO helps determine the relevant queries that the page can rank for in search engine result pages (SERPs).

You can also think of keyword frequency as keyword repetition, which is a partial ranking factor for SEO. If the keyword search frequency for a target term on a web page is too low, the content may have trouble ranking for that term in the SERPs. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing use keyword frequency to help understand what content is about so that algorithms can index and rank the page for relevant search queries.

For example, if you want a web page to rank for the keyword phrase “SEO copywriting,” but you haven’t mentioned that term even once on the page so that users can crawl or search engine spiders can crawl , then Google probably won’t rank it. search engine for that phrase. Without using the specific term “SEO copywriting” on the page, the algorithm doesn’t have as strong an on-page SEO signal to help match content with relevant search queries.

Now, keyword frequency by itself is not a direct ranking factor for modern search engines like Google. And if your keyword repetition is too high, it could send a negative signal to Google’s algorithms that the web page is using a spam technique called “keyword stuffing” that violates webmaster guidelines. Keyword stuffing is the practice of loading a page with a high number of keywords in an attempt to manipulate rankings in the SERPs and can penalize your site.

A better SEO practice to use instead of keyword stuffing is called keyword prominence, where you use targeted keywords in prominent places on the web page to send a strong signal to the search engines about which keywords to rank the page for in SERPS. Must rank. (Example locations for SEO can be found in that linked article.)

John Mueller, senior webmaster trends analyst at Google, confirmed that keyword prominence (and to a lesser extent, keyword search frequency) is a ranking factor for SEO in one of his articles. Weekly SEO Office Hours Sessions, The following quote begins at the 6:43 mark:

“If there’s something you want to tell us your page is about, to make it as visible as possible. So don’t put it at the bottom of your article as just a one-word mention. But instead, put it in your headings.” Use in, use it in your titles, use it in your subtitles, use it in captions for images, all of these things to make it as clear as possible for users and for Google when they see your Going to the page that this page is about.”

Another strategy you can use to reduce the frequency of exact match keywords is to use low keyword proximity to separate keywords within keyphrases. Check out that linked article for more details on that on-page SEO technique.

What is a good keyword frequency?

A good keyword frequency is using a keyword one to two times per 100 words. Following this frequency will keep the keyword density around 1-2% which is considered safe for on-page SEO.

However, keep in mind that there is no fixed percentage for keyword frequency and SEO according to Google’s search ranking algorithm. Some web pages rank higher in the SERPs for their targeted queries with a 1% keyword frequency while others have a 10% or higher keyword density. If you’re using your keyphrases naturally throughout content while optimizing specific areas for on-page SEO for keyword prominence, you should have no problem over- or under-optimizing the web page.

Keyword Frequency Formula

To calculate keyword frequency, divide the number of uses of a keyword on a page by the total number of words on the page and multiply that value by 100 to get the percentage.

example count

The keyword frequency formula is written as KF = (KWa / TW) x 100.

KF = Keyword Frequency
KWa = Keyword Appearance on Page
TW = total words on page

For example, if a keyword appears 10 times on a page that has a total of 1,000 words, the keyword frequency would be 1%.

The formula would be: 1 = (10 / 1,000) x 100

Now that you know what keyword frequency is and how it is calculated for search engine optimization, you may also want to check out these related guides on how many keywords to focus on per page and for SEO for high rankings. How to put keywords in an article. in SERPs.

Keyword Frequency vs. Keyword Density

Keyword frequency and keyword density are two different terms for the same principle. Keyword frequency and keyword density both refer to the number of times a keyword appears on a web page or within a piece of content and is expressed as a percentage or ratio.

Now, some people may refer to keyword search frequency as a whole number to indicate how many times a keyword or keyphrase has been used on a web page, such as 5, 10, 15, or 20. And others may use the term keyword density. Represent the percentage of usage of the phrase on the page, such as 1%, 2%, 5%, or 10%. However, both keyword density and keyword frequency can be used interchangeably.

Keyword Frequency Summary

I hope you enjoy this guide about keyword frequency.

As you found, keyword frequency in SEO refers to the number of times a keyword appears on a web page or within a piece of content. And the frequency of a keyword can be expressed as a whole number, ratio, or percentage of the overall word count. Keyword phrase frequency by itself is not a direct ranking factor for Google; However, it is an important concept to understand for proper on-page search engine optimization.