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Facts and Myths About Keyword Stuffing
Although Google doesn’t publish the inner workings of their algorithm, experimentation and trial and error can expose some basic facts of SEO. For example, we know keyword stuffing (or at least the most commonly accepted definition of the practice) negatively affects rankings. What level of keyword density is and isn’t crossing the line is a bit harder to sus out.
Google has some brief published information on this exact topic. They don’t provide a specific keyword density threshold either. They simply say stuffing keywords in lists, groups or out of context leads to a poor user experience which will negatively impact your site’s rankings.
A specific example they cite are lists of cities in paragraph form. Anyone involved with digital marketing back in the late aughts or early 2010s will likely be familiar with what they’re referring to. There was a time when marketers would include some paragraph at the bottom of the page or in the footer that read something like:
Our law firm represents injury victims in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale … etc.
The awkward repetition of the same keyword is also listed as an explicit example of what not to do, like using the same phrase five times in the span of three short sentences.
What Google doesn’t do is provide a specific ratio of keyword density that will offend their algorithm’s sensibilities.
What is Google’s advice? Create informative content that actually has value for searchers. Provide informed answers to the questions posed by searchers. From a content perspective, it may be beneficial to focus on creating website copy and blogs that sound natural. Don’t refrain from using keywords but avoid writing that sounds awkward (or “spammy”) due to excessive keyword or phrase inclusion.
Quality does matter, but keywords, phrases and volume matter too. Good content can result in one-off wins but still lose you the war. It’s important to find a balanced approach that allows you to check as many boxes as possible in terms of quality, frequency of updates, content length and relevancy.
The good news is the most frequently searched keywords are not the only keywords that matter. As we’ve mentioned in a recent blog post on paid search, 2022 estimates suggest there are between 3.7 and 8.5 billion Google searches a day. Those searchers aren’t all typing in the exact same thing.
An SEO specialist can analyze local and national search volume and find topics and keywords for which you can compete. Your well-funded competitors don’t have all the answers. Chances are good there are keyword gaps you can exploit to gain traction.
Businesses can utilize what are known as “rel canonical” tags (or simply canonical tags) to indicate to Google and other search engines that a page is duplicated from a specific source page. Technically this tells Google that the source page is the primary version you want to appear in search results. For example, a personal injury lawyer would want their primary “car accident injury” page to show up in Google searchers rather than a slightly modified version with keywords for a nearby suburb.
Should your website rely on duplicate content? You’re probably better off creating unique content that’s relevant to searchers whenever possible. However, there will be scenarios where it makes sense to duplicate certain service pages to make location-specific variants.
Every situation is unique, and it will likely be in your best interest to discuss your questions with an SEO specialist .
Google has some brief published information on this exact topic. They don’t provide a specific keyword density threshold either. They simply say stuffing keywords in lists, groups or out of context leads to a poor user experience which will negatively impact your site’s rankings.
A specific example they cite are lists of cities in paragraph form. Anyone involved with digital marketing back in the late aughts or early 2010s will likely be familiar with what they’re referring to. There was a time when marketers would include some paragraph at the bottom of the page or in the footer that read something like:
Our law firm represents injury victims in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale … etc.
The awkward repetition of the same keyword is also listed as an explicit example of what not to do, like using the same phrase five times in the span of three short sentences.
What Google doesn’t do is provide a specific ratio of keyword density that will offend their algorithm’s sensibilities.
What is Google’s advice? Create informative content that actually has value for searchers. Provide informed answers to the questions posed by searchers. From a content perspective, it may be beneficial to focus on creating website copy and blogs that sound natural. Don’t refrain from using keywords but avoid writing that sounds awkward (or “spammy”) due to excessive keyword or phrase inclusion.
Will I Rank as Long as My Content Is Good?
The drawback of our modern approach to SEO best practices has a lot to do with budget and content creation capacity. If your website only has six static pages and you post one blog a month, but your competitor has 80 static pages and posts 10 blogs a month, the quality of your content won’t guarantee a ranking win.Quality does matter, but keywords, phrases and volume matter too. Good content can result in one-off wins but still lose you the war. It’s important to find a balanced approach that allows you to check as many boxes as possible in terms of quality, frequency of updates, content length and relevancy.
Should I Focus on High-Volume Keywords?
The idea of ceding ground to competitors is understandably distasteful to many business owners. Unfortunately, taking the “L” on certain high-volume searches might be the right tactical decision in some circumstances. This can be true for small businesses trying to compete with much larger competitors who have the budget to generate a small book’s worth of content each month.The good news is the most frequently searched keywords are not the only keywords that matter. As we’ve mentioned in a recent blog post on paid search, 2022 estimates suggest there are between 3.7 and 8.5 billion Google searches a day. Those searchers aren’t all typing in the exact same thing.
An SEO specialist can analyze local and national search volume and find topics and keywords for which you can compete. Your well-funded competitors don’t have all the answers. Chances are good there are keyword gaps you can exploit to gain traction.
Is Duplicate Content Always Bad?
Not necessarily, but context matters. Stealing content from a competitor, Wikipedia or some site that isn’t affiliated with your business will likely carry penalties, but recycling content for location pages within your own site may end up being a time- and money-saving SEO solution.Businesses can utilize what are known as “rel canonical” tags (or simply canonical tags) to indicate to Google and other search engines that a page is duplicated from a specific source page. Technically this tells Google that the source page is the primary version you want to appear in search results. For example, a personal injury lawyer would want their primary “car accident injury” page to show up in Google searchers rather than a slightly modified version with keywords for a nearby suburb.
Should your website rely on duplicate content? You’re probably better off creating unique content that’s relevant to searchers whenever possible. However, there will be scenarios where it makes sense to duplicate certain service pages to make location-specific variants.
Every situation is unique, and it will likely be in your best interest to discuss your questions with an SEO specialist .
Get in Touch With the SEO Team at REV77
Like many aspects of digital marketing, effectively using SEO requires experience and knowledge that can only be gained by doing. Google doesn’t publish how-to guides that give away all the ranking secrets of their algorithm. Instead, businesses and their marketers must make decisions informed by what has historically worked and what hasn’t.Our team is ready to help you make informed decisions. Get in touch with us for a free digital marketing audit .
REV77 is back with part 3 of Spotting AI: Repetition and Formatting. To learn more about AI generated content vs human written content, see here!
REV77 is back with part 2 of Spotting AI: intros and the obvious. Learn some tips for deciphering human writing vs AI generated writing.
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