How Many Keywords Should a Web Page Have?

One important question that comes up when examining SEO issues is:

“How many keywords should a web page have?”

The days have long since passed that a webmaster can insert any number of keywords or hide keywords on a web page to increase web page ranking on a search engine. Search engines like Google recognize such attempts and will quickly ban a site from listing in the search engine at all if it is felt that the webmaster is seeking ways to trick the search engine into delivering higher page rankings. So what is a webmaster to do? How many keywords should a web page have and what is considered too many keywords versus not enough?
Webmasters need to focus on the quality of a web page and not so much on the keyword content. Too many keywords or an abuse of keywords is considered “keyword stuffing,” and a webmaster will be penalized for the effort. Meanwhile, too few keywords appearing on a web page can result in a page not making it onto a search engines first few pages, where web users search for quality content.

What is the recommended amount of keywords for a web page? A web page will benefit if the keyword density of the page falls within the 2 – 3 % range.

How can you determine how many keywords are appropriate for a web page’s content? Let us take a look at some word counts to determine the right amount of keywords for each page:

Word Count 2% Total Keywords 3% Total Keywords

500 10 15

1000 20 30

1200 24 36

Why did the chart stop at 1200 words? In truth, web visitors are seeking fast content and a quick read. It is recommended, for page loading purposes as well as for being able to keep your visitor’s attention, that a web page’s content is kept right around 1200 words. You can always choose to make your pages longer, but it is a better idea to break larger articles down to smaller pages for easier web visitor access.

Now, will the search engine penalize you if you have 1200 words of content and you insert 37 keywords instead of 36? It is not likely; but a search engine will penalize you if you go overboard with your keyword insertion efforts!

Safe Keyword Insertion

What becomes clear about keyword content is that the more content a page has the more keywords one can safely insert into the material. However; more content is not always the solution to getting higher search engine rankings. Keyword quality is just as important as keyword insertion. If, for example, a webmaster writes an article that includes 1000 words of content, and inserts 30 keywords, if all of the words are different and only used a single time, the act of inserting keywords will do little to increase a web page’s ranking on a search engine. On the other hand, if the webmaster is writing content that has 1000 words and he or she chooses ten keywords related to the overall theme of the website and its contents, the web page creator can safely insert the keywords three times each without it seeming like an attempt to trick search engines.

When it comes to keyword insertions, really less is more. Having many different keywords on a single web page is defeating the purpose of using selected words. It is recommended that a web page have a couple of keywords repeated throughout the text than too many keywords inserted throughout. Using fewer keywords makes the page easier to read, and you will be rewarded by loyal, returning web page visitors.

Quality Keyword Usage

If you plan on using phrases to draw the attention of search engines, you should make sure the words are spelled correctly. Misspelled words affect the overall quality of your website, and it is better to rely on a few key phrases than it is to try and get web visitors through misspelled words. While having keywords that actually bring visitors to your site is nice, what is even better is having highly readable, informative pages.

Things to Remember

In conclusion, when it comes time for you to produce keyword content, you need to remember the following:

►Choose quality keywords that are theme related and that work well with what your website is presenting.
►A few good keywords repeated throughout the web page’s content is better than having many related keywords throughout the text.
►Keyword density should never be higher than 2 – 3 percent of the entire article.
►Readability is just as important as attracting web visitors.
►Informative content is more important than content buried in keywords and ridiculous phrases.
►Create web pages with people in mind, not with machines in mind; if you make web pages interesting and rely on a few key phrases or words, you are more likely to increase the number of hits a page receives.
►Consider minimizing the length of pages to around 1200 words; if you want to offer more material make a second page and link it to the first. Shorter pages are easier to read and will not overwhelm the web visitor.

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