Bad SEO Practices You Should Avoid

Bad SEO is at best amusing, at worst business-destroying. I am amused when I get the pitches because there's nothing new under the sun. I get angry when a company engages me for help because they've been financially impacted both in their budget and revenue by shady SEO villains.

So what is bad SEO anyways? I'm going to cover the most common ones you may encounter and why you should avoid them like a visit to someone who's suffering from the flu and you haven't gotten your flu shot.

Bad SEO Is Keyword Density

The most common one I still see to this day are the scammers who email me and tell me my keyword density is too low, and for a price, they can fix that. No, it's not too low, mainly because Google did away with a keyword density requirement a long, long time ago. So don't fall for this, umkay?

There's no such thing as a keyword density requirement for ranking in Google search results. Period.

Keyword density is bad, because it forces you to write, awkward, stilted sentences that don't inspire confidence about your business for prospects. It stifles creativity. Enough said. Use your chosen keyword phrase one time in your page or post, and use variations or synonyms otherwise.

Out Of Context Anchor Text Is Really Bad SEO

I monitor a couple of sites that are spam because I need some teaching aids to illustrate the point. Don't use prescription drug for male sexual dysfunction as anchor text when you're publishing content on any other subject that's not even remotely related. Google is onto this, and you won't rank well.

Think about it...if you're writing a page about FAA requirements to get a private pilot license, and in the middle of a paragraph you create anchor text for a popular prescription drug to help men out, you look stupid, scammy and like a really crappy writer who's desperate.

Keyword Stuffing Titles and Descriptions

I see this with a lot of home improvement product sites that aren't large chains. They'll stuff the crap out of page titles and descriptions with things like "granite countertops," "hardwood floors," and "kitchen cabinets." Repeatability is not going to help you rank well.

Massive, Widespread Guest Blogging

Maybe you think the way to rank is write a nice article and publish it on 50 blog sites. Wrong. This kind of guest posting is get links back to your site is not recognized by Google as a legitimate SEO technique. It's deliberate duplicate content. Pick one good, authoritative, relevent site and bust a gut writing a great content piece that is unique, helpful and informative.

Buying Links Is Bad SEO As Well

I get a lot of junk emails trying to get me to buy a lot of links for a little money. These scammers hit and run - they take your money, slap a bunch of crappy anchor text links on junk sites pointing back to you, then they run like hell. Don't be tempted. Throwing easy money at SEO doesn't work.

Instead of wasting time and money on these shady techniques, concentrate on finding out what information your prospects need about your products and services. Write up unique, useful, valuable content and publish it. Create a website that's easy to navigate. Participate in the appropriate social media platforms for greater distribution of your pages and posts.

There's more than this, but I think you get the idea. If you'd like to take control of your search engine optimization efforts, take an SEO class from Invenio - you'll be glad you did!

Until we meet again, stay safely between the ditches.

All the best to you,

Nancy McDonald

Image courtesy of Flickr