If you think repeating the same keywords will help you rank a content piece, you are wrong.
A fundamental part of content marketing, specifically on the writing side, is performing keyword research to target a specific keyword for a blog or webpage and optimizing it for search engine results pages (SERPs).
You can conduct this research using SEO software with keyword research capabilities. These tools show you metrics like keyword volume and ranking difficulty, but they don't always tell you the negative impact of stuffing your content with keywords.
Keyword stuffing occurs when you excessively fill a web page, blog, on-page content, page title, meta tags, or meta description with the same keyword phrases. Search engines see this as an attempt to manipulate a page's search results ranking and can penalize or remove the page from SERPs.
Stuffing keywords or adding the same phrases repeatedly is unlikely to help you rank on search engines. It wasn’t long ago when pumping content full of exact match keywords was beneficial and often led to an uptick in search engine rankings. Then, people started using different variations of the primary keyword in on-page copy to rank faster.
Search engines, with updates over the years, have become smarter. Today, they understand keyword stuffing is spammy and affects user experience.
Not all keyword stuffing is deliberate. Webmasters with little knowledge of SEO may be doing it without even knowing.
So, are you stuffing keywords in your content today? Check out these types and examples to see what kind of keyword stuffing search engines penalize.
Visible or basic keyword stuffing occurs when you unnecessarily repeat target keywords in your content. For example, a web page or blog on product marketing should be cautious of the number of times it uses the term 'product marketing'.
The thought that more keyword density leads to more search engine recognition is outdated and should be taken seriously when writing content.
Do a ctrl+f on any web page and enter the keyword you want to check. It shows how many times you have used it. Take the number of times a keyword appears and divide it by the total number of words in the content piece. Keyword density is the result you get. SEO experts believe around 1 to 2% keyword density is ideal.
This type of stuffing is a bit savvier, but still recognizable by search engines when crawling web pages. Hidden text or invisible stuffing uses the same concepts as regular stuffing, instead, a marketer matches the color of the text to the webpage background, essentially making it invisible to the reader.
Webpage text, regardless of its style, size, or color, is still HyperText Markup Language (HTML) that will be found when search engines index your page. You can’t outsmart bots, aka the search engine crawlers.
Tip: Link spam, also known as spamdexing, may not be an outright example of keyword stuffing, but the thought behind the strategy stays the same – stuff content with as many links as possible. Search engines see this as spam and will penalize it accordingly.
If your SEO strategy uses any of these keyword stuffing techniques to influence search rankings, it’s time to hit the drawing board.
Trying to please the ranking algorithm with keyword stuffing is a bad idea. Keyword-stuffed content is unreadable and negatively affects user experience. Search engines reward high-quality, in-depth content that answers queries and serves search intent. Repeating primary and secondary keywords may boost keyword density, but won’t necessarily improve a page’s ranking. This is because keyword stuffing:
Trying to figure out what to do? Keep reading.
While there’s not an exact amount of keywords you should look to avoid, there are some ways to be conscious of keyword stuffing.
If you want to avoid keyword stuffing, focus on naturally-written text that answers readers’ queries while ensuring readability. Now, let’s look at how to optimize a piece of content for search engines.
Quality content with proper keyword optimization is the best way to solve keyword stuffing issues. Take a look at these steps to optimize content with relevant keywords.
A sense of balance comes from knowing what to hold onto and what to let go of. Finding out whether you've stuffed keywords in your content is the best place to start if you're concerned. Then, maintain keyword density but don’t stuff content with key phrases. That’s the fine line you must walk.
Having a hard time researching keywords? Check out this expert’s guide on conducting keyword research.
Discover the most relevant keywords for search engine optimization.
Devin is a former senior content specialist at G2. Prior to G2, he helped scale early-stage startups out of Chicago's booming tech scene. Outside of work, he enjoys watching his beloved Cubs, playing baseball, and gaming. (he/him/his)
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