Keywords are Important but Stuffing is NOT the Answer
Last week, Google released its Penguin update to its existing search algorithm. This update was intended to target those sites which engage in black-hat SEO tactics and spam. A typical black-hat approach is keywords stuffing, so websites using this tactic to garner attention will likely be penalized as a result. So if your page isn’t ranking the way it used to, this is likely why.
Matt Cutts, a Google spokesman said the update “will decrease rankings for sites that we believe are violating Google’s existing quality guidelines. Avoiding keyword stuffing has long been one of these guidelines. The guideline says, “Don’t load pages with irrelevant keywords.” Google provides some additional information on its site about keyword stuffing.,a page about this in its help center where it elaborates a little more. Here is what Google states from that page:
“Keyword stuffing” refers to the practice of loading a webpage with keywords in an attempt to manipulate a site’s ranking in Google’s search results. Filling pages with keywords results in a negative user experience, and can harm your site’s ranking. Focus on creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and in context. To fix this problem, review your site for misused keywords. Typically, these will be lists or paragraphs of keywords, often randomly repeated. Check carefully, because keywords can often be in the form of hidden text, or they can be hidden in title tags or alt attributes.
The update also targets sites that engage in cloaking. Google Webmaster Tools states the following on the topic of cloaking:
Cloaking refers to the practice of presenting different content or URLs to users and search engines. Serving up different results based on user-agent may cause your site to be perceived as deceptive and removed from the Google index.
Some examples of cloaking include:
- Serving a page of HTML text to search engines, while showing a page of images or Flash to users.
- Serving different content to search engines than to users.
You can read more about cloaking here on the Google site. Matt Cutts Google+ page also has some great information about the update.
As a leading NJ SEO Company, the team at the New Jersey SEO Firm strictly adheres to Google guidelines for white-hat SEO. None of our customer sites were adversely affected by this update because we concentrate on quality content and authoritative, high-quality, links.
