Keyword Density

Hi Guys,

Just a quick question. I have recently optimised a site for a client, and unfortunately it isn't getting the results that it usually gets when we have previously optimised. I am worried we have perhaps over-optimised the site. I used the Keyword Density checker that I found on SEO Chat, and now have it on my Google Toolbar. It came back with all the figures, but how do you know what the level of density should be?? Is there a recommended average or anything?

Appreciate any help.

keyword density won't help you rank well (but if excessive it can hurt).

Read the page to yourself - if it sounds unnaturally laden with your target keywords, it's too much.

If you post your url as domain dot com I'll have a look if you like.

OK. But most of my homepage is titles and links through to the products. Take for example 'ceiling light'. The only use of this word is in the ctaegories of lighting, and in a short (4/5 lined) paragraph further down the page. So why does it not seem to rank well. The site used to be at no.1 on Google for this term and has now dropped to 5, yet we have not increased the use of it vastly, just re-phrased the wording.

Thanks!

In all likelihood, your ranking drop from #1 to #5 for this search term is a result of either your back links dropping in number or value, and/or the other 4 sites now above you gaining back links.

The effect of in-content on-page factors on your rankings pales in comparison with the effect of quality back links.

I bet if you gained a couple of quality links using "ceiling lights" or some such variation in the anchor text, your rankings would start heading back up again.

So you mean like where our link is on the other site, it shoud have the key phrase in?

Yep! eg

Google uses the anchor text as a powerful indicator of the linked page's topic.

It's important to make sure that you vary the anchor text though. Gaining 100 backlinks, all with the same anchor text, is a sure determinator that the links are not "natural".