SEO Blog

It’s hard to believe that keyword stuffing was ever acceptable and that it did in fact help many sites to rank higher in the search engines. Today this is no longer the case. The likes of Google have cottoned on to these sites that used keywords at a density of up to (and often beyond) 20%, adjusting algorithms to ensure that they can no longer fool the system.

Keyword stuffing was, as the name suggests, all about getting as many keywords on a page as possible. This in turn was supposed to result in higher rankings on the major search engines and therefore drive more traffic to a site. Thankfully this practice has now been outmoded and all but eradicated. However, that doesn’t mean that some website owners aren’t still tempted to give it a go.

The main thing to remember with keywords is that they only work in moderation. Including them at the beginning and end of your copy is a good way to get the search engine spider’s attention, but that doesn’t mean it has to be used excessively in between. Any copywriter worth their salt will tell you that keywords are an increasingly low priority; yes, they’re aware of them, but any content should be written with the reader in mind, not just a search engine.

This brings us on to the main issue with keyword stuffing, quality. If one in every 10 words is exactly the same, you’re visitors are going to notice. The copy will become bloated and lack the clarity that it could otherwise achieve. When you become too hung up on getting essential terms and phrases packed in, your content will inevitably suffer. Even if you do successfully fool the search engines (which is extremely unlikely) you won’t be able to do the same to your visitors.

Search engine algorithms are extremely complex and hugely intelligent. If you try to pull the wool over their eyes by indulging in a little keyword stuffing, they won’t be overly pleased. In fact, deliberate or not, you may well find that your site actually takes a significant dip in rankings as a result. You may even be dropped entirely, which would then require you to contact the search engine in question and request a re-review.

As with all black hat techniques though, the risks far outweigh any gains. People will do it accidentally, not realising that it is in fact considered unethical, but they should certainly heed the warning laid out above. Of course there are those, often site owners indulging in other black hat activities like doorway pages, who will flaunt the law deliberately and simply create a new website if it’s ever rumbled.

So for the quality of your site’s copy and for your reputation within the search engines, don’t go trying keyword stuffing.