The answer to this question is an emphatic yes! If you are looking for higher ranking of your site and if you are looking to achieve massive numbers of hits to your site, then yes, keyword optimization is very important.

However, inserting keywords any how in your article is not the way to do it. Firstly, it is very important that the title and the content of your article cover the same topic.

For instance, if you read an article where several keywords have been included and you find the article difficult to understand then you will immediately click away and move on the next article.

If a reader does not understand the gist of its content they will more likely than not happen click away. If by including a keyword you make your title difficult to understand then you content will probably be just as confusing to read.

There are a few other things that you need to consider when trying to optimize your articles.

1 - It is important that your article title is reflected in the content of the article. There is no point in talking about being super rich and making mega bucks if the title states you should live on welfare.

2 - It is still important that your title is attention grabbing and enticing. You want the reader to read your title and want to continue to read your content. The readers need to be able to say to themselves, "Ahh. This looks interesting. I want to read it," and then for them to click and read.

Remember, there will be other articles competing for the attention of your reader.

3 - Do not force keywords into your title if they are strange when you read them. If, by adding a keyword to your title, the title will read oddly, then leave it out. You do not have to include keywords in your titles.

4 - Don't stuff your articles with keywords. There are some article directories that will reject your article if it appears that you are just using keywords for the sake of it. It is important that your article reads plainly. Remember, there is a human being reading your article. It is not just search engines who are reading your articles.

5 - Your article and your article title need to read naturally. I have seen so many articles that read poorly because the author has tried to ram the article keywords anywhere in the article simply for article optimization density. Look, if you write your article naturally and it is tightly niched, then the keyword will appear automatically without it being forced.

Keyword optimization is important, as you will achieve higher ranking of your website in the search engine results, and you will also achieve high numbers of hits and traffic to your website.