🔑Keyword Analysis Deep Dive

How Hugo extracts keywords using term frequency, analyzes density, checks placement across 5 zones, and evaluates heading-keyword alignment.

Hugo Team·March 14, 2026
keywordskeyword densitykeyword placementtfheading alignmentpremium

Hugo's Keyword Analysis module uses term frequency (TF) extraction to identify the most important keywords on your page, then evaluates how effectively you're using them.[1] This Premium check adds 10% weight to your overall score.

Keyword Extraction

Hugo builds a keyword map by analyzing all visible text on your page. It filters out 300+ common stop words (and, the, is, etc.), web navigation terms, and month abbreviations.[3] Both single words (unigrams) and two-word phrases (bigrams) are extracted and scored.

ℹ️Bigram Boost

Two-word phrases receive a 1.5× frequency boost because multi-word keywords are typically more meaningful and targeted than single words.

Keyword Density

Keyword density measures how often your primary keyword appears relative to total word count.[2] Hugo looks at the top-ranked keyword:

Keyword Density
Too Low
Optimal
Stuffing Risk
< 0.5%0.5–4%> 4%%

Keyword Density (%)

Good
0.5%–4%
Warning
Below 0.5% or above 4%
Under 0.5% suggests the keyword isn't prominent enough. Over 4% may signal keyword stuffing, which search engines penalize.[2] The sweet spot is usually 1%–2%.

Keyword Placement

Where keywords appear matters as much as how often. Hugo checks five critical placement zones:[1]

Keyword Placement Zones
Title TagMost critical — #1 on-page signal
Meta DescriptionBolded in SERPs when matched
H1 HeadingPrimary topic confirmation
Subheadings (H2–H6)Section-level relevance
First ParagraphEarly topical signal
Body ContentGeneral usage
Footer / SidebarMinimal impact
  1. Title Tag — The single most important placement for your primary keyword.[1]
  2. Meta Description — Reinforces relevance and can be bolded in search results.
  3. H1 Heading — Confirms the page's primary topic to search engines.
  4. Subheadings (H2–H6) — Distributes keyword relevance across content sections.
  5. First Paragraph — Early placement signals topical relevance to crawlers.

Placement Score (zones)

Good
4–5 zones
Warning
2–3 zones
Poor
0–1 zones
Having your primary keyword in 4 or more placement zones signals strong topical focus. Missing key zones like the title or H1 is a significant oversight.

Keyword Variety

Unique Word Ratio (% unique)

Good
30%–70%
Warning
Below 30%
This measures vocabulary diversity. Below 30% suggests repetitive content. Above 70% indicates excellent variety, though very high ratios can also mean the content lacks focus.

Heading-Keyword Alignment

Hugo checks whether your top 5 keywords appear in your headings (H1–H6). This alignment signals that your heading structure supports your content's keyword strategy.

Heading Alignment (% aligned)

Good
60%+ of top keywords in headings
Warning
20%–59%
Poor
Below 20%
Low alignment suggests a disconnect between your headings and your actual content topics. Consider restructuring headings to include important keywords naturally.

References

  1. [1]Google Search Central — SEO Starter Guide (Think about the words users would search for) — developers.google.com
  2. [2]Google Search Central — Irrelevant keywords (spam policies) — developers.google.com
  3. [3]Manning, C., Raghavan, P. & Schütze, H. (2008). "Introduction to Information Retrieval." Cambridge University Press, Ch. 2 (Term frequency) — nlp.stanford.edu

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