How many keywords can I use

what is the rule of thumb

[mcrissman]

In choosing keywords and keyword phrases, I have read (or it seems) nearly everything I can find. But no one really agrees. One authority may say "do not use the same word or phrase more than 3 times," and another person sites "no more than 7 times." A search engine submittal company told me I could use the keyword as much as I wanted. (By the way, I did not believe that.) So what is the magic number on use of the same keyword? Thank you.

[mona]

Hello, mcrissman, and welcome to WebmasterWorld. The reason you can't find a magic number? It's because one doesn't exist. SEO is not an exact science, there are many factors that come into play. Give me a sec and I'll dig up some links that you may find helpful...

[Kufu]

As mona correctly pointed out there is no magic number or density percentage, but to be safe and not risk spamming try to keep the density at around 5%. It's always better to have too few than too many and risked getting penalized or banned for spamming.

[mcrissman]

Thanks much. I appreciate any and all help! And this answer leads to another question:
Can you actually spam in your text?

[Kufu]

Of course you can spam in the text. But as long as you stick to writing good content, and not try to force keywords into the text you should be ok.

[mcrissman]

Thanks much!