Spam is a word that strikes terror into the hearts of honest site owners everywhere. Many site owners have found, to their dismay, that spamming is possible even when your intent is honourable. Inadvertent spam, to coin a term, is possible with many search engine optimisation techniques, and the danger increases when you are attempting SEO on your own.

The development of a new SEO technique usually opens up new avenues for spam mistakes. Keyword density is a prime example. Once the SEO community realised that a certain number of keywords per page was optimal for the search engines, keyword stuffing became a danger. Whenever a new SEO avenue is opened up, disreputable companies take advantage of it, meaning that reputable companies have a finer line to walk between optimisation and dishonest manipulation.

The new SEO paths opened up through the social media are no different. Spam in these areas has more of an effect on your relationship with users than with the search engines, but both are important to your site. Search engine reaction to this kind of off-page spam may also increase in the future, and you can talk to our experts at SEO Consult about how off-page spam affects your site’s ranking. Either way, avoiding social media spam is desirable for the average site.

How is social media spam possible?

Blog comment spam has been around for a while, and most businesses are smart enough to avoid it. Blog comment spam began with the obvious spam comments, which featured a blatant advertisement that had no relation to the blog post it was commenting on.

Spam in social media has become increasingly sophisticated as social media itself has developed. The perception of what counts as spam has also become more subtle. Today any business posting comments that obviously push the aims of the business risks being seen as a spammer. As with many aspects of SEO, the basic guideline is quality.

Spam and Wikipedia

Wikipedia is now one of the main focus points for social media spam due to its vulnerability. The popularity of the site means that garnering a mention is a highly desirable thing for most businesses. The community nature of the site means that it is vulnerable to misuse.

A Wikipedia page can be a valuable addition to any site’s search engine optimisation plan, but needs to be approached with a respect for Wikipedia’s aims. Wikipedia pages are meant to be only on subjects of general interest. That said, many businesses can find an angle which would make their page genuine subject of interest.

What are the consequences?

At present, the consequences for a false Wikipedia page or other social media spam aren’t very dire, but they can have far-reaching effects. An overly-marketing Wikipedia page, for example, can easily lose your business user respect. Today’s internet users are very well educated on marketing techniques and are therefore highly sensitive to false motives. Finding a real reason for a Wikipedia page and engaging in social media on a real level can be well worth the time spent.

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