Keyword density checker

Keyword density is a number search engines stopped caring about long ago, and it is still useful. This keyword density checker counts every word and repeated phrase on a page or in pasted text, shows the share of the copy each one takes up, and, if you give it a target keyword, reports how often the exact phrase appears and whether it sits in the title, the H1, the subheadings, the URL and the first 100 words.

A worked example

Take an 800-word product guide where the phrase "trail running shoes" appears six times. Each occurrence uses three words, so the phrase accounts for 6 × 3 = 18 of the 800 words:

18 ÷ 800 × 100 = 2.25% density

The number alone tells you little. What matters is the context in the tables: if "trail running shoes" is the most frequent phrase, followed by "grip", "cushioning" and "drop", the page is consistently about its topic. If it is the only phrase above one occurrence, the page probably repeats the keyword instead of covering the subject.

Is there an ideal keyword density?

No. Google has said for years that it does not look for a target keyword density, and its spam policies list keyword stuffing, filling a page with keywords to manipulate rankings, as a violation. Google says the same about length: it has no preferred word count (creating helpful content). Any tool that gives you a percentage to hit is selling a myth.

What the numbers are good for

• Consistency. The top terms should match the topic you intend. If the most frequent words are about something else, the page is sending mixed signals to readers and to search engines.
• Over-optimization. One term far ahead of every related term usually reads as repetitive. Replace some instances with pronouns, synonyms or more specific wording.
• Entity and subtopic coverage. The 2- and 3-word phrase tables show which concepts the page actually discusses. Compare them with what a searcher would expect to learn; gaps are often the related entities a complete answer needs.
• Overlap between pages. Two pages with nearly the same top phrases may compete for the same searches. See keyword cannibalization.
• Placement. Our view: stating the topic in the title tag, the H1 and the opening lines helps readers confirm they are in the right place. The placement checklist shows where the exact phrase is missing.

Reading the results

The summary row gives total words, unique words and content words, which is the total minus function words. A low share of unique words in a long text often points to repetition. The target keyword card shows occurrences, density and the position of the first match; a first match hundreds of words in usually means the introduction does not say what the page is about. The three tables rank single words, two-word phrases and three-word phrases, with your keyword highlighted, and the CSV download holds all three for a spreadsheet or a before-and-after comparison.

How the checker counts

In URL mode we fetch the page once, without running JavaScript, and read the visible text of the body, including navigation and footer text. Block elements such as paragraphs, list items and headings are treated as boundaries, so phrases are never stitched together across them. In text mode we use exactly what you paste. Both modes analyze up to 50,000 characters.

• Words are lowercased and split on spaces and punctuation; hyphenated words count as separate words.
• The single-word table excludes common English function words, numbers and words under three letters.
• Phrases may not start or end with a function word and must appear at least twice.
• Density is occurrences × words in the term ÷ total words × 100.
• Keyword matching is exact-phrase only; plurals and synonyms are counted separately.

Counting words is a narrow check. The meta tag checker reviews the title and description that frame the copy, and the SEO audit guide shows where content review fits in a full audit.