Keyword density checker
Paste your copy to see the words and phrases you use most and their share of the text. Type a target keyword to count it and see every place it appears.
- Times
- 0
- Density
- 0.0%
- Words
- 0
Top words and phrases
Type or paste text to see the words you use most.
A worked example
Our running shoes are light. These running shoes suit flat feet, and the shoes come in wide sizes. Try the running shoes in store or order online.
The text has 27 words. “running shoes” appears 3 times, so its density is 3 ÷ 27 × 100 = 11.1%. The word “shoes” on its own appears more often, because one sentence uses it without “running”.
Read aloud, the repetition is obvious. That is the useful signal: not the percentage, but a phrase you could vary or drop.
Top words, common words skipped
| Word | Times | Share |
|---|---|---|
| shoes | 4 | 14.8% |
| running | 3 | 11.1% |
| come | 1 | 3.7% |
| feet | 1 | 3.7% |
| flat | 1 | 3.7% |
What is keyword density?
The share of the words in a text taken by one word or phrase. This checker uses the plain definition: the number of times the keyword appears, divided by the total number of words, times 100. A phrase that appears 4 times in a 400-word text has a density of 1 percent.
What keyword density is good for SEO?
There is no target number. Google’s guidance warns against keyword stuffing, meaning filling a page with the same words to manipulate rankings, and asks for text written for people. Use density the other way round: to spot a word you repeat so often that it reads badly, or to check that the topic of the page is actually named in it.
Why skip common words?
Words such as the, and, of and to are the most frequent words in almost any English text, so they would fill the top of the list and tell you nothing. With the option on, single common words are left out, and phrases that start or end with one, such as “of the”, are left out too.
How are words matched?
Without regard to capitals, and as whole words only: “count” does not match “counter”. The target keyword can be one word or a phrase; a phrase matches only when its words appear in the same order with nothing between them.
Questions about the keyword density
Does the checker count plural forms as the same word?
No. “counter” and “counters” are counted separately, so you can see which form you use.
Why do two-word phrases need to appear twice?
A phrase that appears once is not a repetition, and a long text has hundreds of them. Showing only phrases that repeat keeps the list useful.
Is there a keyword density that gets a page penalised?
Google does not publish one. What it describes as spam is repeating words or phrases unnaturally, out of context, or in lists, not a percentage.
Can I check a competitor’s page?
Copy its text into the box. The checker does not fetch web pages, so nothing about your check is sent anywhere.
Should I put the keyword in the title and headings?
Name the topic of the page where a reader expects it: in the title, in the main heading and early in the text, in the words people would use to search. Google’s spam policies are about unnatural repetition, not about using the right words in the right places.
How many words and phrases are shown?
The top 15 on this page and the top 10 on the word counter page, sorted by how often they appear.
More counters
- Word counterWords, characters, sentences, readability and every limit at once.
- Character counterCharacters with and without spaces, bytes, and platform limits.
- SEO title lengthTitle and meta description width in pixels, with a results preview.
- Tweet lengthAn X post counted the way X counts: links 23, emoji 2.
- SMS counterGSM-7 or UCS-2, segments, and the characters that cost you.
- Reading timeReading and speaking time at a pace you choose.
Sources and limits
- Spam policies for Google web search
Keyword stuffing is “filling a web page with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate rankings”, including “repeating the same words or phrases so often that it sounds unnatural.”
Google Search Central. Opened on .
Platforms change their limits without notice and some count emoji or links in ways they do not document. Treat every meter as a check before you post; the platform’s own editor has the last word. Nothing you type leaves your browser.