Keyword Stuffing: When Keyword Density Becomes a Problem

Posted by Christina Crowe in On-page Optimization, SEO on July 21, 2010 | 2 responses

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Keyword density, the percentage of keyword phrases in the web content of an article or website, can increase your position in search engines if you also take advantage of other optimization methods, like meta keywords and backlinking strategies. Though keyword density does have its benefits, it can’t be overused. Overusing keyword density is called keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing isn’t just harmful to your search engine rankings. It is also harmful to your readers.

Photo by NightRPStar (flickr)

Think about it. You’re browsing for information on how to combat bad acne. You visit a website from Google search results and the first sentence you read is “Treat adult acne with adult acne treatments.” The first thing that pops into your mind is, “Huh? This website must be spam.” Or maybe you don’t even stop and think. You just hit the “Back” button on your browser and move on to another website that will meet your needs.

Keyword stuffing is detrimental to your Google SERPs (search engine results pages) as well. Because Google frowns upon keyword stuffing, you risk the chance of getting banned from search engines. This prevents any search engine traffic from accessing your website, so your earning revenue gets a big hit.

Now, some websites do get away with keyword stuffing, but only because Google hasn’t found them yet. Don’t think that you’ll get away with it, because it’s only a matter of time until Google does ban you from the search engine. Many people take part in keyword stuffing because they just don’t know that it’s wrong or could harm them more than help. In fact, keyword density is a form of on-page optimization. According to SEO Made Simple by Michael H. Fleischner, off-page optimization has a bigger effect on Google SERPs than on-page optimization. So you should really be working on obtaining backlinks, a form of off-page optimization, than stuffing your website with keywords.

You want your readers to understand your content, subscribe to your RSS feed and keep coming back for more. After all, no one wants to read the same keyword phrase over and over, even if your article does provide useful information. Keyword stuffing makes your website repetitious and spammy. Would you visit such a website? I would think not.

How to Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Type without the barriers of keyword density. Don’t think about keyword density at all while you’re typing.
Maintain a keyword density of 1-4%.
Make sure the keywords that you use are the main focus and subject of your article.
Read your article out loud and see if it makes sense. If a sentence would make more sense without a particular keyword, don’t use that keyword.
Use a keyword density tool to check for keyword stuffing.