SEO Blooper #1: Keyword Stuffing
Welcome to Loebig Ink’s blog post series on SEO bloopers. Through our years of optimizing hundreds of varied websites for search engine success, we have come across common errors that more people vying for visibility should know about. Creating and maintaining a website is a dynamic process; it is easy to get lost in the proverbial weeds and forget to look at the whole picture when you are (or think you are) ready for SEO. This series will highlight some common mistakes that we’d love to help you avoid. Here is the first installment.
Keyword Stuffing: Why Overdoing It Will Hurt Your Rankings
In the always-evolving world of SEO, some tactics that used to work wonders can now seriously backfire. Keyword stuffing is a very old school approach and it’s one of the worst offenders. This outdated tactic involves cramming a target keyword or phrase into your content so often that the text feels unnatural and forced. At its worst, it sounds outright ridiculous.
Imagine landing on a webpage that reads like this: “Looking for the best pizza in DC? Our Washington, DC pizza place is the best DC pizzeria for pizza lovers in DC.” How awkward and frustrating! This kind of content makes it clear the writer is angling for Google’s algorithm — not for real people. And it turns out that Google is not a fan of this either. Once upon a time long, long ago it was considered a clever way to boost visibility in search engine results. Keyword stuffing is now a major red flag that will easily tank your visibility.
Today, search engines prioritize content that provides genuine value to readers. Keyword stuffing can lead to penalties, lower rankings, and lost credibility with your audience. If your site looks like it’s trying too hard to manipulate search results, it will likely fall to the bottom of them.
What is SEO best practice for using keywords? First concentrate on creating helpful and engaging content that expresses all you mean to convey. Then move on to thoughtful research to find a strong target keyword for each page you plan to optimize. Next, focus on natural keyword integration. The current general guideline is to aim for a keyword density of around 1–2%, which means you should use your target keyword no more than once or twice per hundred words. Most of all, focus on your content so that it flows well, reads naturally, and provides relevant information. Then make sure your target keyword is present, in the first paragraph if possible, and not too often. This process will set you on the right track.
Read our article on the “Best” SEO Bloopers we’ve encountered and learn more about the SEO services we offer that will help you steer clear of them.
