How often you say it,and whether that's too often.
Keyword density is the share of your content that a given word or phrase makes up. Too low and Google can't tell what the page is about; too high and you trip the stuffing filters. Paste your copy, set a focus keyword, and see the one-, two-, and three word phrases you actually lean on, and whether your target term sits in the safe zone.
Your content
The density
"cold email" density
6.33%
Times used
5×
Total words
79
Unique words
41
In context
Cold email still works in 2026 — if you stop treating it like spam. The best cold email is short, specific, and written for one person. A great cold email opens with a reason you're reaching out, names a problem the reader actually has, and asks for one small thing. Most cold email fails because it's all about the sender. Flip it: make your cold email about them, keep it under 90 words, and end with a single clear question.
Top single words
- cold5× · 6.33%
- email5× · 6.33%
- one2× · 2.53%
- 20261× · 1.27%
- 901× · 1.27%
- actually1× · 1.27%
- asks1× · 1.27%
- because1× · 1.27%
- best1× · 1.27%
- clear1× · 1.27%
Top 2-word phrases
- cold email5× · 6.33%
- for one2× · 2.53%
- with a2× · 2.53%
Top 3-word phrases
—
Your move
Density is the easy part. Ranking is the whole game.
"cold email" appears 5× — 6.33% density across 79 words.
Hitting a keyword ratio won't move you up the page, useful content that matches what people actually search for will. I build content and copy that ranks and converts, not just passes a checker. Send me the page and I'll tell you, free, what's really standing between you and page one.
Plain English
Write for the reader. Then check you didn't forget the keyword.
Keyword density is simply how many times a term appears divided by the total word count, as a percentage. Say 'cold email' twelve times in a 600 word post and its density is 2%. The metric exists because search engines once weighted it heavily, and because writers who chase it tend to wreck their own copy, repeating a phrase until it reads like a robot wrote it.
Modern SEO doesn't reward a magic number. Google reads meaning, synonyms, and context, not a ratio. But density is still a useful mirror: it tells you whether your main keyword shows up at all (a shocking number of pages forget), and it flags when you've over cooked it into keyword stuffing, which can actively hurt you. The healthy range for a focus keyword is roughly 0.5% to 2.5%.
This tool counts every single word (minus filler like 'the' and 'and'), plus the two and three word phrases you repeat most, the ones that reveal what your page is really about. Enter a focus keyword and it scores that term specifically: too low, on target, or stuffed. Use it to confirm relevance, not to hit a quota.
The formula
Density % = (times the keyword appears ÷ total words) × 100
A 600 word article that uses 'keyword density' 9 times has a density of 9 ÷ 600 = 1.5%, comfortably in the natural range. The same 9 mentions in a 200 word page jump to 4.5%, which reads as stuffing and risks looking manipulative. Same phrase, same count, context decides whether it's fine.
What density to aim for
There's no penalty threshold published by Google, but practitioners converge on a comfortable band. Treat these as guard rails, not targets, natural writing usually lands here on its own:
| Focus density | Verdict | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Under 0.5% | Under used | Work it into the title, intro & a subhead |
| 0.5 to 2.5% | Healthy | Natural usage, leave it |
| 2.5 to 3% | Getting high | Swap repeats for synonyms |
| Over 3% | Stuffing | Cut it back, spam risk |
Source: SEO keyword-density best practice · 2025
Your density looks off. Here's the read.
Focus keyword density under 0.5%.
Google may not be sure what the page targets. Work the exact phrase into the title, the first paragraph, one subhead, and naturally through the body.
Focus keyword density over 3%.
You're stuffing. Replace repeats with synonyms and pronouns, or cut them. Read it aloud, if the keyword grates, so will it to a reader.
One unrelated word dominating the list.
A filler word or a brand name is crowding the count. That's usually harmless, but check you're not leaning on a vague word where a specific one would rank better.
Your target phrase isn't in the top phrases at all.
The page is about something other than you think. Either the content has drifted or the keyword genuinely doesn't belong, pick the term the page actually earns.
Thin word count overall.
On a short page every mention spikes the density. Add genuinely useful depth so the keyword can appear naturally without dominating.
How to use density well
01Place, don't pad
Get the keyword into the title, URL, first 100 words, and one subhead. Those placements matter far more than raw frequency in the body.
02Lean on synonyms and variants
Google understands related terms. 'Cold email,' 'outbound email,' 'prospecting emails' all reinforce the topic without repeating one phrase.
03Write the page, then check
Draft for the reader first. Run the density check second, only to confirm the keyword is present and not overdone.
04Watch your two and three word phrases
Long tail phrases you repeat naturally are often the easiest rankings. The phrase lists below show what you're already optimizing for by accident.
05Match search intent over density
Covering the questions a searcher actually has beats any ratio. Density is a sanity check, not the strategy.
06Never stuff alt text or footers
Cramming the keyword into image alt, footers, or hidden text is the oldest stuffing trick and the easiest to get penalized for. Don't.
The vocabulary
- Keyword density
- How often a term appears as a percentage of total words. A relevance signal and a stuffing check.
- Focus keyword
- The primary term you want the page to rank for. Everything else supports it.
- Keyword stuffing
- Overusing a term unnaturally to manipulate rankings. A spam signal Google actively filters.
- n gram
- A phrase of n consecutive words. This tool reports the top 2 word and 3 word n grams in your text.
- Stopword
- A high frequency function word ('the,' 'and,' 'of') excluded from the single word count so it doesn't swamp the list.
Keyword density questions, straight answers
There's no official figure, but most SEOs aim for roughly 0.5% to 2.5% for a focus keyword. The real goal is natural usage: the term should appear in the obvious places (title, intro, a subhead) and read smoothly through the body. If hitting a number forces awkward repetition, the number is wrong.
Keep going
A calculator tells you what. A call tells you what to do about it.
Send me the account behind these numbers. I'll tell you straight where the money's leaking and what I'd fix first — free, and you keep it whether you hire me or not.