Q and A: What is Keyword Stuffing?

Question

Dear Kalena,

Is keyword stuffing a bunch of the same keywords or is it a bunch of unrelated keywords?

Willie

Hi Willie,

The term “Keyword Stuffing” describes the practice of  repeating a particular phrase (often many times) within the text on a single page.  Typically this would be done with the same or closely related keyword phrases – with the aim  of trying to raise the profile of that particular web page for search queries on that keyword.

Usually a few mentions of a particular keyword phrase (or related phrases) would be acceptable (and normal), but it quickly becomes very obvious to users if a particular phrase is repeated over and over again within the content of a single page.  This type of “unnatural” repetition of keywords can be very annoying from a users perspective and may actually incur search ranking penalties. If a search engine considers the page to be “over optimised” it is unlikely to achieve good rankings.

Whilst mentioning your target keyword a few times within the content of your page is sensible, overdoing it can be detrimental.  In most cases when you are writing content, you should be trying to write it for the benefit of  the user rather than the search engines.

If you are concerned that some of your pages might be “keyword stuffed” an easy test is to simply read them through.  If the pages read well, are informative and feel “natural” then you are probably OK.  If the content is awkward and there are obvious repetitions of particular keywords, I’d suggest that you consider re-writing the page.

A handy online tool that I often use to get a feel for what a page is about is Tag Crowd.  This tool allows you to specify a URL, or paste in text, and it will create a Tag Cloud of the content provided.  If one or two keywords jump out at you from the tag cloud it generates, it is possible that your page may be over-optimised.

Andy Henderson
WebConsulting SEO (Brisbane)

Congrats Search Engine College Graduates

On behalf of staff and tutors at Search Engine College, I’d like to offer congratulations to our latest graduates for 2010.

All students named below have successfully completed a course at Search Engine College and attained official certification status (requiring a passing grade of 70 percent or higher.)

Search Engine Optimization 101

  • Perrie Faulkner
  • Shane Cummiskey
  • Bryna Davidow
  • Bev Asllanaj
  • Ignacio Rojas Martínez
  • Erika Joseph
  • Leann Phoenix
  • Christina Shirley
  • Cameron Ward
  • Dan Hesson
  • Brandon Bergmann
  • Christine Auton


Search Engine Optimization 201

  • Shazad Sarwana
  • Paul Stewart Fabry
  • Yvonne Brandon
  • Bev Asllanaj
  • Leann Phoenix
  • Jeinmy Lluberes
  • Joel Gonzalez
  • Bikouse Matta
  • Ignacio Rojas Martínez
  • Christina Shirley
  • Bryna Davidow
  • Denise DeVaney


Pay Per Click Advertising 101

  • Linda Le
  • Matthew McGee
  • Erika Joseph
  • Leann Phoenix
  • Jeinmy Lluberes
  • Sharda Dewal
  • Jayne Henry
  • Jeremiah Shilhavy


Pay Per Click Advertising 201

  • Cedric Black
  • Stacy Jackson
  • Erika Joseph
  • Leann Phoenix

 


Web Site Usability 101

  • Christina Shirley

 


Article Marketing & Distribution 101

  • Devony Jackson

 


Certified Search Engine Optimizer

  • Jeinmy Lluberes
  • Christina Shirley


Certified Pay Per Click Marketer

  • Erika Joseph

 

Congratulations everyone! Please contact your tutor if you haven’t yet received your hard copy certificate, Status Page or certification seal.

Also, don’t forget to fan of our Facebook page and follow our Twitter profile @secollege for College announcements such as lesson updates, press releases, new courses, events and milestones.

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Like to learn more about our online training courses? Download our free SEO sample lesson.

Q and A: What should I do with domains I don’t have time to develop?

QuestionDear Kalena

I would like your opinion on what to do with a domain I have owned since 1999 or so.

I believe the name is highly brandable and would be quite valuable and conducive to a killer business model in the right hands. It is pricechoice.com (I also have .net, .org, .info and .biz). A few months ago, I began designing a model built around cosmetic supplies, but my progress fizzled when I became too busy with clients while moving forward with other projects.

I would be open to a joint venture, case-study project or selling the domains outright. Your thoughts would be appreciated!

Dino

Dear Dino

Regarding domains – I am probably the worst person to ask! I own quite a few myself – some with half-baked designs, some with outdated content, some with no content ?  They are also the victims of a hectic schedule, I’m too time poor to develop them but not keen to sell them.

I have heard the domain after-market is pretty hot these days. There are lots of domain auction sites but I’ve heard very good things about the following as places to sell developed or undeveloped domains:

The other option is to sign up for AdSense for Domains and put up ad code on your unused domains so you can at least earn a little ad income from them while you decide what to do with them.

Good luck!

Kalena

Join me for SMX Melbourne

smx-melbThe Search Marketing Expo (SMX) Sydney has been growing steadily for three years now and so popular has it become, that the show has expanded to Melbourne this year for the very first time.

The inaugural SMX Melbourne Conference will be held at Hilton on the Park, Melbourne on November 16th and 17th so mark your calendars!

After this year’s successful combination in Sydney, the Expo will again consist of three main events:

eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit (Day 1)

Search Marketing Expo (Day 2)

Search Engine Bootcamp (Both days)

The first day will consist of eMetrics sessions, with topics such as conversion optimization, ROI and how to understand your web site metrics. Day two will dive into more technical content such as SEO, Google rankings and duplicate content issues.

Running concurrently with these sessions on both days will be the Bootcamp presentations, which are less technical and designed for attendees who are just starting to dip their toes into the murky waters of online marketing and social media. Bootcamp topics include link building, content creation, keyword research, usability, analytics, plus how to use Facebook and Twitter for business.

I’ve been invited to present the Twitter session, so if you missed catching me speak about Twitter in Sydney in April, come and see me in Melbourne! I’ve also been invited to be the official conference blogger, so you’ll probably see me tapping away at my laptop or tweeting throughout.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know how highly I rate SMX and how much fun the Conference can be. Why not grab your ticket to SMX Melbourne and I’ll catch you at the networking drinks.

Google’s Tribute to John Lennon

A visit to Google this morning reveals a new Google Doodle – a tribute to John Lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday.

But today’s Doodle, (Google’s nickname for their holiday logos), includes a little extra surprise. When you click on the Doodle itself, a short audio clip from Lennon’s haunting ballad Imagine plays, accompanied by an animation sequence inspired by the music.gg-john-lennon-final

The Doodle itself incorporates the famous self-portrait hand drawn by Lennon from the ‘Bag One Portfolio’, an artistic chronicle of his wedding ceremony to Yoko Ono, their honeymoon and their plea for world peace.

After the animation clip plays, the Doodle morphs into a drawn style and then you are naturally redirected to search results for “John Lennon”.

A fitting tribute and much more inspiring than some of the more recent Doodles being churned out from Mountain View.

Nicely done Google.