Keyword Density Checker for Pages and Text

Keyword density is how often a word or phrase appears compared with the total number of words. It won’t tell you how to rank, but it is a fast way to see what a page is really about — and to catch a draft that leans on one phrase until it reads like spam.

This keyword density checker lists the top one-, two- and three-word phrases of a URL or pasted text, with counts and density. Common stop words are removed in English, French, Spanish and Arabic, and it shows whether your main phrases appear in the title, H1 and meta description.

How to check keyword density

1. Paste a URL or text

   Use a live page to audit what is published, or paste a draft to check it before it goes live.

2. Read the phrase tables

   Compare single words with two- and three-word phrases; the longer phrases usually reveal the real topic.

3. Check placement

   Confirm the main phrase is in the title, H1 and description, then edit the body for natural variety.

How keyword density is calculated

The usual formula is simple:

density = (times the phrase appears ÷ total words) × 100

"trail shoes" appears 8 times in an 800-word article:
8 ÷ 800 × 100 = 1.0%

Tools differ in the details: whether stop words count toward the total, whether a two-word phrase counts as one occurrence or two words, and whether navigation and footer text are included. That is why two checkers can disagree about the same page. Compare numbers within one tool, not across tools.

Removing stop words (“the”, “and”, “de”, “la”, “في”, “من”) matters because otherwise the top of every list is grammar, not topic. Our lists drop common stop words for English, French, Spanish and Arabic, so the meaningful terms rise to the top.

Is there an ideal keyword density?

No. Google has never published a target, and its spam policies name keyword stuffing — repeating words or phrases unnaturally — as a violation. Search systems understand synonyms and related concepts, so a page about trail shoes also benefits from words like “grip”, “drop”, “cushioning” and “waterproof membrane”.

Use density as a diagnostic, not a target:

• Your main topic isn’t among the top phrases. The page may not be clearly about what you think. Review the intro and the headings.
• One phrase towers over everything else, such as the exact keyword in every paragraph. Replace some uses with pronouns and natural variations.
• Brand or boilerplate dominates. Menus, cookie notices and footers can outweigh short content. Add substance to the main text.
• Two of your pages share the same top phrases. They may compete for the same query; merge them or give each a distinct angle.

Placement beats repetition

Where a phrase appears matters more than how often. The checker shows whether your top phrases appear in the three places that state a page’s topic most clearly:

1. The title tag, ideally near the start.
2. The H1, so readers know they have landed in the right place. Check the whole outline with the heading checker.
3. The meta description, where words matching the query are often shown in bold.

After that, use the phrase naturally in the first paragraph and in at least one subheading, and let the rest of the text cover related subtopics:

Stuffed: Our trail shoes are the best trail shoes. Buy trail shoes
         for trail running in our trail shoes store.
Natural: Our trail shoes grip on wet rock, drain fast and come in
         wide fits. Compare drop and cushioning in the table below.

The second version mentions the phrase once and still leaves no doubt about the topic. For long-tail keyword pages, the three-word list is the most useful: it shows whether the specific variation you target actually appears. More background in our keyword density definition.

Tips for using keyword density well

• Look at the two- and three-word lists first; single words are often too generic to tell you much.
• When checking a draft, paste only the main content so menus and footers don’t skew the numbers.
• If your exact keyword shows up in nearly every paragraph, swap a few for synonyms or pronouns and read the text aloud.
• Compare your phrase list with a page that ranks above you to spot subtopics you haven’t covered.
• Never add a keyword just to raise its density; add a sentence that genuinely explains something.

Limits to keep in mind

Keyword density measures word frequency, not relevance, quality or search intent, and it can’t tell you what people search for or how often — use keyword research tools or the queries in Search Console for that. For URLs, we read the server HTML without running JavaScript; if menus and footers carry a lot of text, paste the main content instead for a cleaner count. For drafts, pair this with the readability checker and the word counter.

Last updated Oct 30, 2026 by the Yes SEO team.