The dark side of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing is done to try and improve a company's on-page SEO, adding superfluous words or phrases to a website, subtracting value by presenting web users with content that is out of context, cluttering the website needlessly, sacrificing aesthetics and design in the process. If webmasters are caught keyword stuffing, their website could be moved down in Google's search rankings.
An example that made many news headlines was Rap Genius, a website that offers lyrics and explanations for rap music. TechCrunch wrote, “Google hit back hard today after it learned lyrics site Rap Genius had been using dubious SEO tricks to attain top spots in search results. Now RapGenius.com doesn't appear on the first page of results for a search of Rap Genius”. Keyword stuffing is frowned upon by Google, and engaging in this practice can hurt a website owner.
Phone Numbers
There are websites that will list thousands of phone numbers with the same area code on their webpage. This is done in order to elevate a website's ranking when a person searches for that number or area code. This keyword stuffing will get your website penalized if detected by Google.
Repetition of Keywords
Many web users type in a service plus a location when trying to find assistance on the website. An unnatural sentence such as “My plumbing company in Sydney, is the best plumbing company in Sydney, and other plumbing companies in Sydney cannot compete with my Sydney plumbing company,” is considered keyword stuffing and will be penalized. Contact us if you would to learn how we can help you optimize your site with Google's recommended strategies.