A free keyword density checker online
Keyword density is the percentage of times a word or phrase appears in your content compared with the total number of words. It's one of the quickest ways to sanity-check an article before you publish: is your main topic clear, or have you repeated the same phrase so often that the text reads like spam?
This keyword density checker online analyses your text in a second. Paste an article, a draft or a full page of HTML and you get the word count, the density of your focus keyword, and ranked tables of the most common one, two, three and four word phrases. It flags possible keyword stuffing, checks whether your keyword appears in the opening paragraph and the headings, and lets you download the results as a CSV.
It's free, needs no account, and everything runs in your browser, so unpublished drafts and client work never leave your computer.
How to use the keyword density checker
- Paste your contentDrop in plain text, a Word or Google Docs copy-paste, a Markdown draft, or the full HTML of a page. HTML tags, scripts and styles are stripped automatically, and headings, the title and image alt text are analysed separately.
- Add your focus keywordType the phrase you're targeting. You'll get its exact count, its density, a verdict, and a placement checklist.
- Read the tablesSwitch between single words and two, three and four word phrases to see what search engines will read as your main themes.
- Edit and re-checkRewrite any section where the same phrase repeats too often, then run the check again. Aim for text that reads naturally out loud.
How keyword density is calculated
The formula is simple:
Keyword density = (number of times the keyword appears ÷ total words) × 100
If a keyword appears 12 times in a 1,200-word article, the density is 1%. For multi-word phrases, this tool counts how many times the exact phrase occurs and divides by the total word count, which is how most SEO tools report it. Some tools multiply by the number of words in the phrase, which produces a higher figure, so don't be surprised if two checkers disagree slightly. What matters is that you compare like with like and watch the trend rather than chasing a precise number.
What is a good keyword density?
There is no official target. Google's own guidance is that there's no ideal keyword density and that repeating a keyword doesn't improve rankings. In practice, most SEO professionals write naturally and end up somewhere between 0.5% and 2.5% for the focus keyword, which is the range this tool treats as healthy.
| Density | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | The keyword doesn't appear at all | Add it to the title, the opening paragraph and at least one heading |
| Under 0.5% | The topic may not be clear enough | Work the phrase in naturally where it fits |
| 0.5% – 2.5% | A natural, healthy range | Leave it alone and focus on quality |
| 2.5% – 3.5% | Getting repetitive | Replace some uses with synonyms or pronouns |
| Over 3.5% | Likely keyword stuffing | Rewrite; read it aloud and cut what sounds forced |
Length matters too. In a 300-word product description, three uses is already 1%. In a 2,500-word guide you have room for twenty mentions at the same density. Always judge the percentage together with the raw count.
Is keyword density still a ranking factor?
Not in the way it was in 2005. Early search engines really did count keywords, which is why people stuffed pages with repeated phrases and invisible text. Modern search engines understand language: they recognise synonyms, related terms and the intent behind a query, so an article about "running shoes" ranks for "best trainers for jogging" without ever using that exact phrase.
So why check density at all? Three reasons. First, it's a quick way to catch accidental stuffing, which can genuinely hurt you. Second, it shows what your content is actually about, which sometimes differs from what you intended. Third, if your focus keyword appears zero times, that's a signal you haven't made your topic explicit enough for readers or search engines.
Use it as a diagnostic, not a target. Write for the reader first, then check the numbers to make sure nothing looks odd.
What the phrase tables tell you
Single-word counts are useful, but the two, three and four word tables are where the insight is. These n-grams show the phrases that actually carry meaning, and they often match how people search.
- Check the top phrases match your topic. If an article about email marketing is dominated by "click here" and "read more", the content is thinner than it should be.
- Look for unintentional repetition. Phrases like "in order to" or "it is important to" appearing ten times signal wordy writing.
- Spot missing variations. If you only ever use one exact phrase, add natural variations and related terms so the content covers the topic properly.
- Compare with competitors. Paste a top-ranking competitor's article and compare their phrase mix with yours to see which subtopics you've missed.
Hiding common words such as "the", "and" and "of" makes these tables far more useful. They're still counted in the total word count, exactly as they should be for the density formula.
Where to place your keyword
Placement matters more than raw frequency. The checklist in the tool covers the spots that count:
- Title tag and H1: include the keyword naturally, ideally near the beginning.
- First 100 words: confirm the topic early for readers and crawlers.
- At least one subheading: H2 or H3 headings break up the page and reinforce the theme.
- Meta description: not a ranking factor, but matching terms get bolded in search results. Our meta description generator can help.
- Image alt text: describe the image honestly; include the keyword only where it genuinely fits.
- URL slug: short and readable, with the keyword in it.
- Closing paragraph: a natural place to restate the topic.
How to avoid keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing is repeating words or phrases so often that the text becomes unnatural, or adding blocks of keywords, phone number lists or hidden text purely for search engines. Google names it as a spam policy violation, and it can lead to lower rankings or manual action.
If the checker flags a high density, try these fixes:
- Replace some uses with pronouns: "it", "this tool", "the app".
- Use synonyms and related phrases: "keyword density tool", "density calculator", "SEO checker".
- Cut whole sentences that repeat a point you've already made. Shorter is usually better.
- Add genuinely new sections. More useful content lowers density without deleting anything.
- Read the page out loud. If a sentence sounds like it was written for a robot, rewrite it.
Keyword density vs. modern SEO metrics
Density is only one signal among many, and it helps to know where it sits alongside the newer ideas you'll read about.
| Concept | What it measures | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword density | How often one phrase appears as a share of all words | A quick check against stuffing and against forgetting the topic entirely |
| Keyword frequency | The raw number of uses | More useful than density on short pages such as product descriptions |
| Keyword prominence | Where the phrase appears: title, first paragraph, headings | Usually worth more than repeating the phrase again in the middle |
| Topical coverage | Whether the page answers the related questions readers have | Add sections that competitors cover and you don't |
| Search intent match | Whether the format fits what searchers want | A comparison query needs a comparison page, not a sales pitch |
A page can hit a perfect 1.5% density and still rank badly because it never answers the question. The reverse is also true: thorough, well-structured content often ranks well with a density nobody ever calculated.
A simple workflow for writers
Here's how many content teams fit this check into their process without letting numbers take over the writing:
- Draft first, check later. Write the article for a reader who needs the answer. Don't look at the percentage until you've finished.
- Run one check on the finished draft. Look at the focus keyword, the placement checklist and the two and three word phrase tables.
- Fix only what's clearly wrong. A missing keyword in the opening, a phrase used eleven times, a heading that never mentions the topic.
- Re-check once. Confirm the numbers moved, then publish. Repeated tweaking usually makes writing worse, not better.
- Revisit after three months. When you refresh an old post, run the check again to see whether edits have drifted the focus somewhere else.
Who uses a keyword density checker?
Bloggers and content writers
Run a final check before publishing to make sure the focus keyword is present but not overdone, and that the phrase tables reflect the intended topic.
SEO professionals and agencies
Audit client pages, compare drafts against top-ranking competitors, and document findings by exporting the tables to CSV for a report.
Editors and proofreaders
Spot repetitive phrasing and filler expressions that weaken otherwise good writing.
Students and researchers
Use it as a word frequency counter for essays, transcripts and text analysis projects.
Accuracy, privacy and limits
Words are counted by splitting on spaces and punctuation, with apostrophes and hyphens kept inside words so "don't" and "state-of-the-art" stay intact. Accented characters and non-Latin scripts are supported, so the counter works for most languages, though the common-word list is English only. Matching ignores capitalisation, so "SEO" and "seo" count together.
The tool reads text and HTML you paste or upload. Browsers block reading another website's pages directly, so there's no URL field; open your page, press Ctrl+U to see the source, and paste it in. Everything is processed in your browser, nothing is uploaded, and there's no limit on how many checks you run.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good keyword density?
Most SEO professionals aim for roughly 0.5% to 2.5% for a focus keyword. There is no official number, and writing naturally matters more than hitting an exact percentage.
How is keyword density calculated?
Divide the number of times the keyword appears by the total number of words in the text, then multiply by 100. For example, 8 uses in a 1,000-word article is 0.8%.
Is keyword density still a ranking factor?
Google has said there is no ideal keyword density and that repeating a keyword does not improve rankings. The value of checking it is to spot keyword stuffing and to confirm your main topic is clear.
What counts as keyword stuffing?
Repeating a keyword so often that the text reads unnaturally, or adding lists of keywords and hidden text. Google treats this as spam. A density above about 3% is worth reviewing.
Can I check a live URL?
Browsers block reading other websites directly, so this tool works with text or HTML you paste or upload. Open your page, press Ctrl+U to view the source, then copy it into the box.
Does it count stop words?
Stop words such as the, and and of are included in the total word count but can be hidden from the phrase tables with one click, which is how most SEO tools present the data.
Is my content uploaded anywhere?
No. The analysis runs entirely in your browser, so unpublished drafts and client content stay on your device.
Does it work for languages other than English?
Yes, counting works for any language that separates words with spaces, including accented characters. The stop word list is English only.
Check your content now
A thirty-second check can save an article from sounding repetitive or being flagged as spam. Go back to the keyword density checker online, paste your draft, and see exactly what your content is about.