The myth sounds reasonable enough. Pack your target keyword into every heading, paragraph, and meta tag. Aim for that magic 2-3% density number. Repeat your exact-match phrase until it feels awkward.
Here's what companies were doing before: A local bakery targeting "artisan sourdough bread Boston" would force that exact phrase into their page title, H1, first paragraph, image alt text, and scatter it throughout 800 words of content. Their density calculator showed 2.8% and they felt confident.
The reality now: Search engines parse semantic meaning. They understand that "handcrafted sourdough," "traditional bread baking," and "naturally fermented loaves" all relate to your core topic. That same bakery now writes naturally about their process, mentions their Boston location once in context, and lets related terms appear organically.
What changed in the after scenario: Their page answers actual questions. How long does fermentation take? What makes sourdough different? The keyword appears maybe four times across 800 words, but the page ranks better because it demonstrates topical authority through comprehensive coverage.
The analytical truth: Keyword optimization matters, but density is dead. Search algorithms now evaluate whether your content satisfies search intent through topic modeling and entity recognition, not by counting repeated phrases.