Keyword density question.

[Nola504]

For instance, if the keyword I'm targeting on a specific page is "New Orleans", the Keyword is everywhere it's supposed to be, title, meta, content, internal links, etc, ....

So when I check my most relative key words with different tools, it always breaks the word up like:

new - 12 times 2.3%

orleans - 12 times 2.3%

Should I try to fix this? or is this normal? and does google view this as 1 keyword when evaluating my site?

[Nola504]

Thanks for the info!

I'll do my best to focus on phrases and quality of content.

[Jinx14678]

I would agree more with Cody, Readability and User Experience should be the #1 focus - Focusing on using a term a certain amount of times is moot and you begin writing for the keyword as opposed to the content or reader.

If you are an expert in the field and writing an Article about New Orleans, then inherently the term will be there naturally and organically. And no matter the density with the algo updates going the way they are, I personally think that intent will weigh MUCH heavier than any kind of previous "density" rules.

[XNUMERIK]

You should always try and track the density of your target phrase, not individual words.

That being said, I second Cody in that you shouldn't worry to much about the density itself. Try to apply those rules :

• use exact phrase at least twice in the content (more if you have a lot of content)

• use a variation (plural, adverbial form...) of the phrase

• put it in bold once or twice

For more details about on page optimisation, this old post is still a very good one :

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/perfecting-keyword-targeting-on-page-optimization

[WhoWuddaThunk]

Depending on the tool you use, you should be able to see the density of phrases, as well as specific words.  However, keyword density shouldn't be your main focus.  You should consider the overall contextual relevance of your content, as well as the readability.  By focusing purely on density you could find yourself getting over-optimized.