Keyword density or No. of Time keyword used

[TheWebMastercom]

Now, I know that there is no set figure to be used here, whichever metric you are using and it will depend on the article and what is natural.

However, lets suppose for a minute that we are taking a keyword in isolation, and I have a 2000 word article using the keyword 17 times and rank no. 3 in Google SERPS.  The no. 1 slot uses the keyword 8 times but only has a 800 word article and only a B grade on the onpage ranker.

Of course, there are off page factors as well, but just wondering what your thoughts are on whether you look at density or total keyword usage.

It is easy to just write without think about keyword density or usage, but occasionally you end up using the keyword about 50 times, and it is then I have to actually think about it.  Other articles I barely use the keyword because the article just writes itself and it works out fine, but these are generally shorter.  With longer articles on my best converting pages, I can't help but think about it more and it ends up a little hit and miss.

[Bob_van_Biezen]

Hi Jonathan,

I totally recognize your situation. Although I don’t really check the keyword amounts of the competition I do write articles and find myself using the keyword a LOT. This while I don’t really think about “using” it while I write the articles.

I these cases I CRL + F and search for the keyword and try to change a few sentences. I normally don’t put more than 5 minutes of work in it and I only change stuff if it’s still understandable for the reader. Unfortunate I don’t have case studies in were this method actually pays off, so would love to see some more about this topic as well!