Keyword density reduction starts with a content audit. Use a tool like Screaming Frog or a simple browser find function to count how many times your target keyword appears, then divide by total word count. If you're above 2–3%, you've likely over-optimized. The fix is straightforward: replace exact-match repetitions with natural variations. Instead of repeating "Ottawa web design" eight times in 500 words, use "web design services in Ottawa," "our design team," "this approach," or even just "we" after the first mention. Search engines understand semantic relationships now—LSI keywords and contextual synonyms carry the same ranking signal without the redundancy. Common culprits are title tags, H2s, and the first paragraph where writers stuff keywords out of old-school habit. Rewrite these sections conversationally. If your opening sentence is "Ottawa web design is important because Ottawa web design helps Ottawa businesses," you're not optimizing—you're spamming. One mention in the H1, one natural use in the intro, and then let the content breathe. At Ottawa SEO Inc., we see this most often in pages migrated from 2010-era templates where density was still a ranking factor. It wasn't effective then either, but old CMS templates baked it in. Watch for these patterns: keyword in every subheading, keyword + city in every image alt tag, keyword in the URL and then repeated verbatim in the meta description and first sentence. That's four redundant signals where one or two would suffice. Also check your anchor text for internal links—if every link to your service page says the exact same keyword phrase, diversify half of them to "learn more," "our approach," or related terms. The real test isn't a density number—it's whether a human reader notices the repetition. Read your page aloud. If you cringe at how often the same phrase appears, Google's algorithm likely discounts it too. Modern on-page SEO rewards topical authority and readability over keyword frequency. Once you're below 2% density and the page reads naturally, stop editing and move on to building links or improving content depth.