POP SEO Tip #8: How to Prevent Keyword Stuffing
Google and other search engines are always updating their algorithms, and they are increasingly shifting toward privileging “quality content”. Because of this, it’s getting harder and harder to know how best to include keywords on any given website.
Believing that the more keywords the better, there are many business websites that are currently being penalized by search engines for “keyword stuffing”. By following this guide, you should be able to examine your business’ website to see if it could be considered a keyword-stuffed one by search engines.
Avoid Unnatural Repetition
If in reading over your content, you notice that the same keyword or phrase is popping up over and over again, take steps to rid this from your content. If you notice it, the people who are on your website reading are also going to notice it. It makes it clear that you simply want to use that keyword over and other, regardless of whether the content requires it.
Instead, take out some instances and add more relevant information. You can talk about things related to the keyword to provide better value in your content. This is something that your audience is sure to appreciate.
Don’t Use Keywords in Anchor Text
Not long ago, this was an SEO best practice. Now, not so much. Instead of anchoring your links to keywords, anchor them on long phrases or naked web addresses. It might seem strange that things have changed so much but it’s the way of SEO. Take out those links in keywords and instead place them on longer bits of text.
It used to be a no-no to have a naked web address but times have changed. Make sure you make the needed alterations to your content to provide the best experience for anyone who decides to read it. You really should focus on creating the best content possible, rather than relying on gimmicks.
Ignore Keyword Density
For whatever reason, many SEO websites and ‘experts’ still recommend that you focus on keyword density (the percentage that your keywords make up the content). Despite what they tell you, or what you might believe, keyword density is a meaningless metric.
So what does that mean? Adding in one keyword per 100 or 200 words isn’t important. It does nothing to improve your SEO. It can even make the content challenging to read since you’d otherwise be focused on weaving in certain phrases rather than sharing information that your audience is interested in.
Focus on Content
Given that keyword density has no effect on your SEO strategy, you should instead focus on making your content the very best it can be. Of course, you should use your keywords, but only to the extent that they fit naturally within your content. Moreover, make sure you are tying your keywords to your headers.
This is honestly the most important tip we can provide. Focus on the content. Give readers and visitors the information they want. This is how you turn them into customers in the end. They don’t want to wade through a dozen keywords. They want an answer to their questions. Be the website that provides that.
Final Thoughts
If you keep these four things in mind as you examine your site’s content and add new content, you should ensure that you do not practice keyword stuffing. As a general rule, though, you can follow the age-old adage: When in doubt, leave it out.
Keywords are useful but not when they create text that is hard to read. Make changes to ensure you’re providing insights and answering questions for the people who visit your site.
