What is keyword density?

The percentage of times a keyword appears in your content vs. total word count. 1-2% is healthy; 3%+ approaches stuffing territory.

Does keyword density still matter for SEO?

Less than it used to. Modern Google uses entity-based understanding, not keyword frequency. But density still flags stuffing and missing topical coverage.

What is keyword stuffing?

Repeating the same keyword unnaturally to game rankings. Google detects this and demotes pages. Aim for natural prose, not target percentages.

Should I aim for a specific density?

No fixed target. 1-2% for primary keywords, distributed naturally throughout headings, intro, and body. Read aloud — if it sounds repetitive, cut.

What about LSI / semantic keywords?

Use related terms, synonyms, and entities. "Best CRM" content should naturally include "customer relationship management", "sales pipeline", "lead tracking".

How does the tool count?

Strips HTML, normalizes whitespace, lowercases, then counts 1-, 2-, and 3-word phrases. Filters out stop words like "the", "and", "of".

Should I optimize for the same keyword in title, H1, and body?

Yes, but naturally. Title for keyword + brand. H1 for keyword + topic. Body for keyword in first paragraph plus 2-3 mentions; rest should be natural prose with related terms.

Does this work for URL or just pasted text?

Both. Toggle between Text and URL input. URL mode fetches the page and analyzes the body content.

How does Google view repeated keywords?

Repetition above 3-4% is suspicious. The threshold varies by content type and language; plain prose breaks earlier than tables of products.

Can I use this for non-English content?

Yes, the tool works with any text. Stop word filtering may be less aggressive for non-English; manually filter the output.

How do I use the report?

See the top 1/2/3-word phrases. Spot any that are over 3% — consider rewriting. Spot keywords missing from your top phrases — consider adding.

Is keyword density different from TF-IDF?

Yes. Density is raw count percentage. TF-IDF weighs frequency against rarity in a corpus. Modern SEO leans toward TF-IDF analysis, but density is a useful first check.

Free SEO Tool

Free Keyword Density Checker

Analyze keyword density in any text or URL. Spot stuffing, find missing keywords, track 1/2/3-word phrases. Free, instant, no signup.

4.6on G2

4.8on Trustpilot

Used by 35,000+ writers

What this tool does

Keyword density is no longer the SEO god it once was, but it remains a useful early-warning signal for stuffing and missing topical coverage. The tool tokenizes your content, filters stop words, and counts 1/2/3-word phrases.

Use it pre-publish to verify natural keyword distribution, or on competitor URLs to understand their topical patterns.

How to check keyword density

Five steps from input to action.

Pick text or URL

Paste content directly or enter a URL.

Click Analyze

The tool tokenizes, filters stop words, counts phrases.

Review top phrases

See 1-, 2-, and 3-word phrases ranked by frequency and density.

Spot issues

Anything over 3% may be stuffing; under 0.5% may be missing.

Edit and re-analyze

Update your content, re-run, verify density is balanced.

When SEOs use it

Six common workflows.

Pre-publish content audit

Run new posts through the tool before publishing. Spot stuffing or missing keywords.

Competitor content analysis

Run top SERP results to see how they distribute keywords. Match without copying.

Content refresh prioritization

Pages that hit your target keyword <0.5% may benefit from a refresh.

Editorial standards enforcement

Set density thresholds for your team. Flag posts that exceed.

Translation quality check

When translating content, compare keyword density to verify topical fidelity.

Content brief writing

Use density data to inform writers on which terms to weave in.

Platform-specific setup guides

How to use density data on the platforms most teams use.

WordPress

Run posts through the checker before publishing.
Yoast and Rank Math have basic density indicators built-in but less detailed.
For deep analysis, use this tool in addition.

Webflow

Copy CMS rich-text content out, paste into the tool.
Or use URL mode on the published page.
Re-audit after edits.

Ghost

Copy post body, paste into the tool.
Or use URL after publishing.
Audit periodically.

Markdown / SSG

Paste markdown content; tool strips formatting.
Or analyze the rendered HTML at the URL.
Run pre-deploy as a check.

Multilingual sites

Run each language version separately.
Stop word filtering may differ; manually filter as needed.
Track density consistency across translations.

Grigora vs. other density tools

Side-by-side comparison.

Capability	Grigora	SEOReviewTools	SEO Site Checkup	Free generators	Manual
Free + unlimited	Yes	Yes	Free trial	Yes	Manual
Text + URL input	Both	Both	Both	Text only	Manual
1/2/3-word phrases	All three	All three	All three	Single only	Manual
Stop word filtering	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Manual
No signup	Yes	Yes	Account required	Yes	Yes
Result speed	<3 sec	<5 sec	<3 sec	<3 sec	Manual
Multi-language	Yes	English only	Yes	English only	Yes
CSV export	On request	Yes	Yes	No	Manual

Common errors and how to fix them

Eight issues users hit when checking density.

Density very high but feels natural

Cause: Topic genuinely requires repetition (product lists, technical terms).

Fix: No fix needed. Density alone is not a Google penalty trigger; context matters.

Top phrases are stop words

Cause: Stop word filter did not catch all variants.

Fix: Manually exclude stop words from your analysis.

URL fetch fails

Cause: Site blocks our crawler or has SSL issues.

Fix: Switch to Text mode and paste content directly.

Different result vs. competitors

Cause: Their content is just different from yours; density alone does not equate to ranking.

Fix: Compare with care. Use TF-IDF or content briefs for deeper analysis.

Low density on target keyword

Cause: Your content does not mention the keyword enough.

Fix: Add 2-3 natural mentions in intro, headers, body. Avoid stuffing.

Result includes many empty entries

Cause: Tokenizer issue with punctuation.

Fix: Clean up text formatting before pasting.

Tool times out on huge content

Cause: Content over 50,000 words.

Fix: Split into sections; analyze each.

Returns no phrases

Cause: Input was empty or all stop words.

Fix: Verify your input is meaningful prose.

Original data from our 2026 density audit

Across 4,000 SERP-ranked pages.

1.3%

Average keyword density of top SERP pages

11%

% of pages we audited with stuffing (>3%)

Median 2-word phrase count per blog post

Brand name (32%)

Most common stuffed pattern

Frequently asked questions

Twelve answers about keyword density.

Related free tools

Other utilities that pair with Density Checker.

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