Keyword Density vs. Keyword Stuffing

Updated September 2025

Keyword density is the percentage of times a term appears relative to total word count. Keyword stuffing is the overuse of terms to manipulate rankings. One is a descriptive metric; the other is a spam signal.

Healthy density ranges

Most well‑optimized pages land in the 1–2.5% range for a primary term. That’s not a rule—it’s a pattern. Great content can fall above or below when intent and readability demand it.

How stuffing hurts

• Poor user experience; higher bounce rates.
• Reduced topical breadth; you repeat one term instead of explaining nuances.
• Algorithmic demotion for spammy signals.

Find the line

1. Write a complete draft first.
2. Analyze with the tool and note outliers.
3. Replace a few repeats with synonyms or pronouns, and add supporting concepts.

Example

In a 1,000‑word article with “home coffee grinder” used 35 times (3.5%), the text felt robotic. After reducing to 18 instances (1.8%) and adding terms like burr size, grind consistency, retention, and static, the article read better and covered more ground.

Bottom line

Use density as a guardrail, not a target. If your page reads naturally and answers the task fully, you’re on the right side of the line. Verify with our Word Frequency Counter and iterate.