Key Word Density

1. 81

   2besureposted 13 years ago

   Is there anyway we can incorporate a key word density tool into our hub applications?

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2. 70

   Peter Hogganposted 13 years ago

   In my opinion it’s far better to write for people rather than search engines. Raising keyword density was a technique that worked in the past, but search engines are getting better at recognizing natural language patterns.
   
   Write naturally and let your keywords flow naturally into whatever you are writing. The more you think about keyword density as you write the greater the readability and usability of the piece will be compromised.

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   1. 78

      Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      This is good advice.
      
      The cream floats to the top... albeit slowly. Listen to your conscience. If you even suspect you are pushing SEO "tactics" harder than you are pushing the care and quality of the information you are deeply interested in sharing with others because of the depth of your knowledge and/or your passion on the subject... well, you will understand why you aren't doing very well financially over the course of a given number of hubs. (Assuming your writing is up to snuff and you are taking the time to edit and revise, and arrange hubs aesthetically, basics, blah blah).

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   2. 87

      Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      And WHY is that the best possible advice?
      
      
      Because the world of SEO is in constant flux.  Advice you find on the Internet that once may have been accurate can be not only incorrect now but actually dangerous.
      
      I ran across this just a very few years ago: somebody had stuffed their page with thousands of keywords in invisible text (white text on a white background in the tiniest possible font).  That was once (a long, long time ago) an SEO "trick".  I gasped and told the owner that this would cause exactly the opposite reaction from Google and Bing - unfortunately he didn't believe me because his SEO "expert" told him otherwise!
      
      SEO tactics come and go.  Search engines like Google work hard  to diminish the value of every trick that has ever existed and they are constantly on the watch for new ones.  However, one "trick" has always worked and always will work and it is the one that Peter recommends here - the one that isn't a trick at all, the one that isn't trying to fool anyone. That's the method that will ALWAYS have value, no matter what the search engines do.

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   3. 81

      2besureposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I tend to use my main key word too often.  I have never quite gotten the hang of determining key word density.

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3. 91

   rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

   great advice.
   I click off articles that are clearly written for search engines.
   
   I think about the time I went to a site surrounded by ads, with an 'article' of maybe 200-300 words. The title was something like, Golden tans are good for your skin (which we know they're not), the article was full of keywords and had amazon ads at the close with pool loungers for $300.  This was an ex hubber. To me, it screamed disrespect for the viewer. Some of us actually are educated. And it was clearly written for search engines.

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4. 70

   Peter Hogganposted 13 years ago

   I sometimes use the ~ advanced operator if I think I have used a keyword too often
   
   For example if I was writing about shoes I would use something like this in Google
   
   ~shoes -shoes
   
   If you look at the organic results after this search you will see that some words are in bold
   
   Repeat the search with the first word in bold added to your search string i.e.
   
   ~shoes -shoes -feet
   
   If you keep repeating that process you will create a set of substitute words that are semantically related to shoes or whatever word you feel has been overused. Not all will be usable but it's a good way to find alternatives.

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5. 67

   relacheposted 13 years ago

   I can see that sort of tool being abused to the point of keyword stuffing by way too many users and would prefer that nothing of the sort be added to HubPages.

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6. 96

   Cardisaposted 13 years ago

   My method is building my title around my main key phrase then choosing a few more (no more than 3 or 4) key phrases to incorporate into the body of the article so that the article flows naturally but still have the major key phrases. I sometimes bold my key phrases, but if I don't most people can't tell it's SEO optimized.

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