Don't Over Optimize Your Site
SEO is a best practices game. Understanding how not to over optimize is an important part of the mix.
SEO is a best practices game. Understanding how not to over optimize is an important part of the mix.
A little SEO knowledge can be dangerous. In fact, it can be disastrous for publishers who learn their first few tidbits of information, and then begin to apply it to their sites. The problem it can lead to is known as “over optimization.”
Search engines look at a variety of signals for ranking purposes, as well as spam detection purposes. This includes a site review to determine if it’s over optimized, and can result in the rankings for a site being dropped to a lower position than they may otherwise occupy.
Unnatural behavior of any kind can lead to a site being flagged for over optimization. Here are some examples:
Summary
Take care when you optimize a page. There’s little reward, and possibly even a negative penalty, for doing too much to try and support ranking for a particular key phrase, or set of phrases. Let the content from those pages be a bit more focused on the user and optimizing conversion. You might just find that this is the best SEO tactic.
Also, be careful when providing SEO training to your writers. Many writers with good intentions have turned in articles to me that were crammed with keywords (and those writers were promptly instructed to re-write the articles).
The problem is that the result didn’t look right to the average reader. Let your writers write good stuff, without burdening them with lots of SEO instructions. You just don’t know where they’ll go with it.
Give them the desired title of the article, tell them the topics and sub-topics you would like covered, and let them write. You’ll be better off for it.
Join us for Search Engine Strategies New York from March 22-26, 2010. Approximately 5,000 marketers and search engine optimization professionals attend SES New York each year to network and learn about topics such as PPC management, keyword research, SEO, social media, local, mobile, link building, duplicate content, multiple site issues, video optimization, site optimization, usability and more. SES New York will be packed with 70+ sessions, multiple keynotes, 100+ exhibitors, networking events and parties. Your customers, colleagues and competition will be in attendance — will you?