Excess is not a topic brought up very often in the world of SEO. Usually, SEO professionals are anxious to explain the range of techniques that can be applied to a site. The restrictions that should be placed on a search engine optimisation campaign are very rarely discussed, if ever. Yet there is always a possibility that an SEO campaign can do too much, and it’s something that every site owner needs to be aware of.

Over-the-top SEO can happen fairly easily. Often, it’s the mistake of a non-professional who is anxious to give their site the best possible chance of ranking. In their eagerness, newcomers can end up keyword stuffing or producing value-low content that ends up harming a site’s ranking. There are many areas of search engine optimisation where the margin of error is small. It takes experience and a subtle touch to deal with these areas.

Keyword Stuffing

A little reading will inform any newcomer about the dangers of keyword stuffing. The term is usually used in connection with spammy tactics that will get a site kicked off the index. This is fine, but newcomers may be unaware of the ease with which a keyword-saturated piece of content can become a keyword-stuffed piece of content.

There is no precise calculation for keyword density. SEO pros have been reverse-engineering search engine algorithms for years in order to discover the miracle keyword equation, with debate roaring every time someone publishes one. Despite this, it is generally agreed that one keyword every one or two paragraphs is the keyword density to aim for. Your own eye is the best guide – if the keywords are too obvious, or the content doesn’t make sense, then you have crossed the line between saturated and spammy.

Too Many Links

Internal links are one of a site’s greatest assets, as they act as link juice for other pages. For this reason, a good internal link structure is vital for any SEO plan. There is the distinct possibility, however, of over-utilising internal links and potentially triggering a search engine’s spam filter. Internal links should be used as part of your SEO plan, but only in a way that makes sense to a human user. This means that featuring the same navigation as a header, footer and side bar is out.

Zombie Content

There is some truly appalling content out there on the net. Everyone has encountered it from time to time. This includes computer-generated content, in which keywords stand out like concrete blocks, and badly written SEO content, which is similarly lacking in value. All content should have a point and provide quality information, not just keywords.

Even if it doesn’t get you kicked off the index, over-the-top SEO can alert the search engines to your SEO attempts and result in a lower ranking. Subtle SEO is one of the many good reasons to consult a professional. You can talk to our experts at SEO Consult about your SEO needs.

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