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SEO is the native language of content, but there are still really bad SEO practices to avoid.
SEO used to be a wilderness of bad habits, sleazy SEO firms, and unorganized chaos. Enter Google algorithms (Panda, Hummingbird, etc.) and order is finally happening. Not all habits (and SEO spammers) are broken so easily though. One of the challenges facing content creators is lingering bad habits from before SEO reform.
If you want to avoid Google’s blacklist, build a strong audience, and stay on the good side of search engines, here are five face-palming bad SEO practices you need to avoid.
Keyword stuffing
SEO experts used to upload dozens of pages worth of keywords hoping to create a wider funnel for potential site traffic and boost their ranking in Google search results. The end result was readers being directed to sites and content not relevant to their search needs. Google quickly cracked down on keyword stuffing through their algorithm upgrades and now keyword stuffing will quickly corrupt your SEO street cred.
Link stuffing
If it sounds like keyword stuffing, it’s the same concept but with links. Avoid adding links to your content just so you can say you have links. Make sure you’re connecting your content to other great, relevant content without just going crazy on the hyperlinks.
Content spinning
Content creators used to take original blog posts and insert them into content spin generators. The system would rearrange some of the wording, most of the time resulting in still fairly legible content, and the “spun” content would be re-posted as original content. Two posts for the price of one. Not anymore though. Search engines are starting to recognize spun content and lowering SEO rankings to sites posting spun content.
Guest blogging
Listen carefully: guest blogging isn’t bad; guest blogging for SEO purposes is bad. Many bloggers still prioritize guest blogging as a way to build their digital reputation through SEO backlinks and trackbacks. Google’s AuthorRank is helping recognize and downgrade guest bloggers who are spamming one post to multiple blogs. Duplicate postings aren’t beneficial to your SEO ranking and will upset many search engines.
Guest blogging for a relevant audience through an original, high quality guest blog post is still accepted, as it should be. The key is avoiding crummy blog posts copied from one blog to the next.
Hidden Keywords
Some SEO cheats try including invisible text colored the same color as their website’s background. Readers don’t see the words, but search engines still catch the traffic. If there’s one thing search engines, it’s being tricked. Hidden keywords is one of the fastest ways for your site to get punished in the rankings and even banned. Don’t do it!