Keyword density and meta tags

[McTaggart]

Hi, I've just checked the number of keywords appearing on my website's pages.

On some of them the keyword density was way too high (7-10%) if you included the meta tags, but all under 3.5% if I didn't include the keywords and description meta tags.

So my question is - when looking at number of keywords used per page, do I have to worry about what's in those meta tags? Do the keywords in there count towards keyword density / number of keywords per page?

Thanks, Luke

[Matt-Williamson]

No problem Luke - it is hard to judge whether your pages are keyword stuffed without some examples such as what are you page titles, headings and even an example of content (paragraph or two)? Do you think they look natural or do you think that you have included your keyword too many times - more than is really necessary? Even with an in your face approach you can reduce keyword stuffing I think..

[McTaggart]

Google sure are, so I'm keeping watch Just this afternoon a supplier I do business with has been de-indexed (gulp). Thanks for that outline - very useful framework there.

[McTaggart]

Hi Matt - thanks for the answer there - some very good points indeed.

I'm working with Pizzas and some of the pages can look a little stuffed - it's quite basic in-your-face marketing and pizza is mentioned a lot (as are some other words) because of the way we communicate (which works, but then Googlebot might not understand and mistake it for keyword stuffing, that's the concern I guess).

That's a very interesting point on not using meta tags because of the competition. We're in a very competitive market so I sure think that applies to us.

[kpeacy]

Honestly Luke, don't worry about keyword density and the number of times a keyword (or how many keywords) you are targeting/using per page. In my opinion I typically only target 1 main keyword and a couple variations of the keywords. Dont get hung up on using it a certain % of time. Make sure your content is written well, informative, and helps increase conversions. Google is really starting to crack the whip.

My rule of thumb is this:

Title: Leading Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, WA | Dr. John Smith Plastic Surgery

Meta Description: Dr. John Smith specialize is an awesome plasitc sugeon who can help you acheive your aesthetic goals.

Keyword Tags -DO NOT USE

H1: Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Wa

H2: How much does Plastic Surgery Cost?

Body of Content add location maybe once and write good 100% unique content.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

[Matt-Williamson]

Hi Luke

I wouldn't particularly worry about the actual keyword density of the page but more about whether your keyword optimized text actually looks natural and not stuffed with a set keyword. In regards to meta data this doesn't have an direct value in relation to your search engine ranking. I personally don't use meta tags as this tells my competition exactly what keywords I am going after. As far as meta description goes this is important because it influences what text is displayed against your page in the search engine results. Good meta descriptions can help influence whether people click through to your site from the SERPs. Hope this helps.

Keyword density is so old hat - if I were you I would stop measuring your pages by keyword density and make sure that you right decent content that contains your keyword. Also placing your keywords in important elements such as the title tags, H1 header, etc. In direct answer to your question if you insist on measuring keyword density meta data won't count as it is not a ranking factor - the days of meta crawlers are long gone!