No doubt, keywords have always been a powerful force in digital marketing, but they should be used properly and carefully. This is because search engines like Google have a smart algorithm that allows them to track any misuse of keywords in your blogs and content, which can lead to “keyword stuffing”.
What is Keyword stuffing?
According to Google’s guidelines, keyword stuffing, in simple terms, is an unhealthy practice of excessively filling a web page with random keywords where the ultimate goal is to manipulate the search engine’s ranking system. Previously, it was easier to manipulate Google’s SERP (search engine results page) and boost a web page’s visibility. However, search engines became smarter with time, and as a result, they started issuing keyword stuffing penalties for misuse. Google has the power to penalize your website by demoting the ranking, or even by simply deleting it from its index.
Keyword stuffing in SEO examples
Keyword stuffing is best avoided altogether. However, clearly, it is still necessary to place your targeted keywords within website content, but be smart about it. Many website owners fail to keep a balance and end up becoming penalized by Google. Let’s take a look at the following keyword stuffing example: Predictably, both readers and Google won’t be satisfied with this type of keyword-stuffed content. Here’s how to identify and avoid some of the biggest red flags…
Types of visible keyword stuffing:
- Unnecessarily repeating words or phrases in the content
- Adding words that are out of context and irrelevant
- Inserting blocks of the same keyword everywhere
- Using keywords that are irrelevant to the topic of the page
What’s more, some websites try to outsmart the system by stuffing keywords where they’re not visible. For example, they camouflage keywords by making them the same color as the website’s background or place keywords within the page’s code so that it’s not visible to the web visitor. Regardless of these tricks, the search engines can detect them. So, how do you avoid keyword stuffing and use your keywords effectively? Here’s a list of five ways how you can avoid keyword stuffing altogether, with more detail below:
- Assign a primary keyword to your website
- Keep up with the keyword density
- Create longer but relevant content
- Use secondary keywords, keywords synonyms, and long-tail keywords
- Add the target keyword to page elements