Focusing on keyword density for a web writer is much like focusing on wallet thickness for a retailer. Although this narrow criterion may appear to be related to the amount a customer buys, it’s not nearly as important as the selection of merchandise. So to is it misguided for a writer to use keyword density (the frequency of a given word or phrase on a web page) to draw in web traffic, since the only criterion that consistently draws viewers is good, relevant content.
Google-Watching Misses the Mark
Google is the largest and most popular search engine because it most consistently provides meaningful results for its users. The Mountain View, California based company closely guards the exact means by which it produces results to minimize attempts to manipulate the data. The official explanation of Google’s search technology is:
We use more than 200 signals, including our patented PageRank™ algorithm, to examine the entire link structure of the web and determine which pages are most important. We then conduct hypertext-matching analysis to determine which pages are relevant to the specific search being conducted. By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, we're able to put the most relevant and reliable results first. The end result, according to Larry Page, one of the company’s co-founders, is a search engine that “understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want.”
White Hat vs. Black Hat SEO
It’s clear that Google uses complex algorithms to determine what its users are searching for, and these results can be manipulated through careful observation and manipulation, as is illustrated by this black hat SEO blog post. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is generally broken down into “white hat” and “black hat” techniques, based upon whether or not the means used are considered cheating by the online community.
Black Hat SEO includes:
- Packing the page with one or two terms with an eye on a high PageRank™ – usually sacrificing meaningful content
- Supplying a large number of inbound links from “link farms,” pages set up for that purpose.
- Frequent experimentation to discover new loopholes in Google’s system that can be exploited for quick results.
White Hat SEO focuses on:
- Cultivating links that related web sites
- Striking the best balance of keyword density, which changes as Google alters its searching protocols
- Responding to the overt and implied policy changes Google makes
Give Google What It Wants
Good SEO professionals make a handsome living trying to anticipate Google’s every whim. Whether or not an SEO firm is employed, these techniques will increase the PageRank™ of any page:
- Write something that people want to read.
- Ask other sites to link to it – if the quality is good, the number of links will be higher.
- Make sure those links have specific anchor text – instead of “click here,” a good hyperlink may say, “black hat SEO results.”
If possible, provide content for a site that already figures prominently in search results.
Chasing down Google’s current searching protocols is a way to achieve high results. However, giving Google what it wants – high quality content – should not be overlooked.
Terence P Ward - Terence P Ward has a business writing website, but spends a bit too much time writing press releases, blog posts, and thought leadership ...
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