You can definitely have "too much of a good thing". Shakespeare coined this phrase in his 1600 play "As You Like It", and the bard was on to something. Vitamins are a prime example. Vitamin E is an important anti-oxidant that contributes to normal immune function. However, take an exessive amount of Vitamin E suppliments (around 130mg daily) and you risk an early death.
Exactly the same principal applies with SEO. Before Google's "Florida" update in 2003, search engine optimisation was pretty simple. Advice up until this time was to stuff as many keywords into your content as possible; the more, the better! However, the Florida update rolled in like a tropical hurricane and changed all that forever.
Now SEO is hard. The rules have changed and you can't just stuff a page full of keywords and expect the search engines to credit you for it. We've all seen these kind of sites and Google's advanced algorithms drop them like a spammy stone.
However, we still routinely see and hear this pre-2003 advice everywhere. Many SEO companies are stuck in a time warp and continue to spam their clients' websites with heavy keyword densities - a recipe for ranking disaster. It's just a matter of time.
So what's the alternative? Mix up your keyphrases in sentences that actually make sense. Look for plurals, synonyms and related phrases and use those interchangably throughout your content. For example, if your page title is "Tropical Aquarium & Fluval Edge | WeAreFish.com" then you should be using "Complete Fluval Edge Range of Tropical Aquariums" as your page heading, and fluval edge fish tank as a hyperlink. This is an example of a related phrase that will get you more credit than simply repeating the same keyword ad nauseum.
In fact, you can use Google's own Wonder Wheel to give you ideas for alternative related phrases. Use related phrases instead of hammering the same old keyword to some arbitrary density throughout your content and Google will thank you for it...
- Author
- David Lambie
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- Date
- Article added 6th July 2009
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