How to use it
- Paste the text into Text. The counts start at once.
- Set Shortest word counted to 3 to skip short words, or to 1 to count every word.
- Keep Leave out common words on to skip words such as the, and and of. Turn it off to count them too.
- Read Words counted and the two tables. Use Download as CSV to open a table in a spreadsheet.
How the density is calculated
Each word of the text is counted, and its share of the words counted is its density. The density is the count of the word divided by the words counted, times 100, rounded to two decimals.
A word is counted when it has at least as many letters as the shortest length you set and, with the option on, it is not a common word. Digits and punctuation separate words. An apostrophe between two letters keeps a word together, as in don't.
Density (%) = count of the word ÷ words counted × 100
words counted the words left after the length and common-word rules- A phrase is a run of counted words that stand next to each other in the text. A common word or a too-short word ends the run, so no phrase joins across it.
- A two- or three-word phrase is listed when it occurs at least twice. Its density is worked out on the same words counted.
- Words are lower-cased with the rules of the page language, so in Turkish I becomes ı and İ becomes i.
What the numbers do not show
Keyword density shows only repetition. It does not measure the quality of the text, its relevance to a question, or how a search engine reads the page. The counts are useful to spot repeated words that make a text hard to read.
- Digits are not counted: COVID-19 counts as covid.
- Google has said that it does not have a notion of an optimal keyword density (SEO Office Hours, January 2023).
Worked example: a short text with common words left out
The text is: Sourdough bread takes time. Our sourdough bread is baked each morning, and the bread sells out by noon. Fresh bread matters more than keywords. With common words left out and the shortest word set to 3, 15 words are counted.
Bread appears 4 times: 4 ÷ 15 × 100 = 26.67%. Sourdough appears twice: 2 ÷ 15 × 100 = 13.33%. Each other word appears once: 1 ÷ 15 × 100 = 6.67%. The phrase sourdough bread appears twice, so it is listed with 13.33%.
| Word | Count | Density (%) |
|---|---|---|
| bread | 4 | 26.67 |
| sourdough | 2 | 13.33 |
| baked | 1 | 6.67 |
| fresh | 1 | 6.67 |
| keywords | 1 | 6.67 |
| matters | 1 | 6.67 |
| morning | 1 | 6.67 |
| noon | 1 | 6.67 |
| sells | 1 | 6.67 |
| takes | 1 | 6.67 |
| time | 1 | 6.67 |
Frequently asked questions
What is keyword density?
It is the share of a text that one word or phrase takes up: the number of times it appears, divided by the number of words counted, times 100. A density of 6.67 means that about one word in fifteen is that word.
Is there an ideal keyword density?
No. Google has said that it does not have a notion of an optimal keyword density, so no percentage is a target. Write the page for the people who will read it, in the words they use.
What does Google say about keyword stuffing?
Google's spam policies define keyword stuffing as filling a web page with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate rankings in Google Search results. A word that repeats without a reason is the thing to look for.
Why are phrases listed only when they repeat?
One occurrence is not a repeated phrase. A phrase is listed when it appears at least twice, so the table shows the combinations a reader meets more than once.
Why are numbers left out of the count?
The count uses letters only. Digits and punctuation separate words, so COVID-19 is counted as covid and a year such as 2026 is not counted.
Does the text leave my device?
No. The counts are calculated in your browser. The text is not sent anywhere or stored, and each table can be downloaded as a CSV file.
Sources
- Google Search Central: spam policies for Google web search, keyword stuffing
- Google Search Central: SEO Office Hours, January 2023 (keyword density)
Figures and text last checked on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.