Keyword Density Checker

What is keyword density?

Keyword density is the percentage of words in a text that are a particular keyword or phrase. If a 500-word article uses "emergency plumber" 5 times, that two-word phrase makes up 10 of the 500 words, which is a density of 2%.

Years ago, some websites repeated keywords again and again to trick search engines. Today Google treats that as keyword stuffing, which is listed in its spam policies. Modern SEO is about covering a topic naturally and completely. A keyword density checker is still useful, though, because it shows at a glance:

• whether your main keyword actually appears in the text
• whether you have repeated a word so often that the writing sounds unnatural
• which related phrases you are already using, and which ones are missing

How to use the keyword density checker

1. Paste your article, product description or page text into the box.
2. Optionally enter your focus keyword to get its exact count and density.
3. Choose whether to ignore common words such as "the" and "and" (recommended).
4. Click Check density to see three tables: single words, 2-word phrases and 3-word phrases.

Words above 3% density get a "high" label so you can review them.

What is a good keyword density?

There is no magic number, and Google has never published one. As a rough guide, many SEO writers keep their main keyword around 0.5% to 2% and focus on placing it where it matters most: the title, the H1, the first paragraph and at least one subheading. After that, use synonyms and related terms. If you write "plumber", also mention "pipe repair", "water heater" and "leak", because that is how real experts talk.

Read your text out loud. If a phrase sounds forced, rewrite it. Helpful, natural content beats any density target, as Google explains in its guide to creating helpful content.

Check the overall length with the Word Counter, compare two drafts with the Text Similarity Checker and preview your headline with the SERP Preview Tool. Explore more in our SEO tools.

Where to place your main keyword

Density is less important than placement. Make sure your focus keyword appears in the title tag, the H1 heading, the first 100 words and at least one H2. Check the title and headings of a live page with the Meta Tag Checker and the Heading Checker, then create a short, keyword-rich URL with the Slug Generator.

Keyword density vs. topical coverage

Years ago, SEO guides told people to use a keyword at an exact percentage. That advice is outdated. Modern search engines understand topics, synonyms and related phrases, so a page about "home loans" can rank for "mortgage" without repeating that word ten times.

A better way to use a keyword density checker is to look at the whole list of words and phrases:

• Are your main topic words at the top? If not, the page may be drifting off topic.
• Do you see related terms a reader would expect? A page about "EMI calculator" should also mention interest rate, tenure and principal.
• Is one word far above everything else? That can read as stuffing.

Signs of keyword stuffing

Google's spam policies list keyword stuffing as a practice that can hurt rankings. Watch for these warning signs:

1. The same phrase appears in almost every sentence.
2. Sentences sound unnatural when read aloud.
3. Lists of cities or keywords are pasted at the bottom of the page.
4. The keyword is repeated in alt text, headings and links far beyond what a human would write.

If the checker shows your main keyword well above 3 percent, read the text aloud. If it sounds forced, replace some repeats with synonyms or pronouns.

Using one-, two- and three-word phrases

Single words tell you the general topic. Two-word and three-word phrases are often more useful, because they match how people search, such as "word counter online" or "free seo audit". Look for phrases that appear naturally two or three times in a 1,000-word article. If an important phrase does not appear at all, find a natural place to add it, for example in a subheading.

A simple content optimisation routine

1. Write for the reader first. Do not think about keywords while drafting.
2. Paste the finished text here and look at the top ten words and phrases.
3. Make sure your main keyword appears in the title, the first paragraph, one subheading and the conclusion.
4. Add two or three related terms that are missing.
5. Check the length with the Word Counter and the headline in the SERP Preview.

For pages that are already live, the Website SEO Audit checks the title, headings and word count in one go, and the Duplicate Content Checker helps you spot pages that are too similar to each other.

Last updated: October 25, 2026