I have 2 sites selling the same product. On one site I have minimal use of a keyword in the text, with the keyword only appearing in the title. On the other site I have used the keyword heavily in both the title and the text.
Apart from this both sites are well designed and comply with all of the rules as spelled out in the book how to get ahead on google.
The first site with hardly any use of the keyword is appearing first on the list for searches on that keyword, while the second site is 6 or 7th.

Also i noticed yesterday in the google webmaster tools there is an option to report to google on spam websites. One of the things they list as worthy of reporting is the overloading of a page with a single word.

I deduce from both of the above that the conventional advice to get a keyword heavily into the text of a site is in fact bad and hurts instead of helps.

Any thoughts guys?

I read on another forum that Google now looks at over 250 factors. Not sure how true this is but for your test I'm not too sure you could single it down to one factor.

There could be a whole host of other reasons why one site ranks above the other, not least the age and link profile.

I'm don't think the conventional wisdom is to overload your page with keywords. Also adds to a poor user experience.

I tend to use the keywords in the title, headings, and the body and trying to keep it reading naturally.

__________________
Web Design Belfast
LinksPro ASP Directory Script

Search engines hate any artificial attempts to gain higher rankings for your targeted keywords through on-page optimization techniques.

Search engines want only natural websites with natural content to appear on the top pages. If you try to over-stuff your page with your targeted keywords, then your website will actually rank lower as compared to other website with just 1% keyword density for that targeted keyword.

Always be natural in your SEO efforts and you will always gain higher rankings.

__________________
SEO Marketing Services | SEO UK