The SEO world is full of advice on avoiding the major optimisation mistakes. One of the first things newcomers learn is to avoid stuffing content with keywords. Even with a technical subject like SEO, the biggest triggers for the search engines’ spam filters can be swiftly learnt. It’s the little mistakes that often slip through the cracks in the information SEO pros are so keen to communicate.

A very small thing can make a big difference with search engine optimisation. Such is the case with font manipulation. Font manipulation is the small touches made to text to highlight important words with the use of bold font, italics, hypertext, capitals and coloured text. Each of these changes helps to catch the eye of the user, and also informs the search engines that the text is of some interest. The trouble is, font manipulation is so easy to do it’s often over-used.

Emphasising the message

Ever since advertising became an industry, businesses have been making mistakes with emphasising their message. Both online and offline, text with a marketing message frequently features capitals, bold or italics in inappropriate places. The effect is pushy and loud, and often doesn’t have the outcome the advertiser desires.

Take this typical advertising message: ‘Come to Jensons’ GRAND SALE for this weekend only!!!’ First, the mix of capitals and italics makes the sentence look awkward. The use of emphasis for two sections of one sentence also makes the feel of the sentence grasping and desperate. There are ways to pass on the importance of the message without making it too urgent, for example ‘This weekend only: Come to Jensons’ Grand Sale.’

Emphasising the keywords

Using font manipulation to emphasise your keywords is a basic SEO technique. It’s only when every keyword is highlighted that the technique becomes tired. Highlighting too many keywords can also trigger a spam filter. You should highlight the occasional keyword, when it makes sense to do so. Your SEO company can give you a good idea of how much is too much with keyword highlighting, and you can talk to our experts at SEO Consult about font manipulation.

Random emphasis

Believe it or not, some sites use font manipulation in a random pattern in the hopes of catching attention. The trouble with this method is that it often comes off as making no SENSE. Even when keywords are chosen as the words to be highlighted, the combination of methods looks a little silly. The overall effect is sloppy, which diminishes the professional look of the site.

Using a combination of font manipulation can work, but only if there is method to the madness. If you have three keywords for a page, highlighting them in different colours still looks orderly. Italicising the keywords in one section of a page, and putting them in bold in another, can also work. It’s important to note that capitals should always be used with caution, as they make text look like it’s being shouted at your site’s users.

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