The 10 worst SEO techniques

Throughout this website, we attempt to teach you the best practices for search engine optimisation. Once you have selected your niche, following the SEO basics of on-page optimisation, writing relevant content and getting quality links from external sites will soon get you to the top of Google. However, a large part of SEO is understanding the basics of how it works - and a large part of understanding how things work is understanding what doesn’t work and why. So in this article, we will look at the top 10 things to avoid when building your website, as well as providing an explanation of why.

Ten SEO practices to avoid

1. Keyword Stuffing

The key to building a successful website which ranks well is to spend time choosing your keywords before starting to write your content. Once you have your target keywords in mind, you should write useful, relevant content which is geared around your main content. By making your content relevant to the keywords you are targeting, Google will rank it highly. However, if you attempt to fool Google either by using irrelevant keywords in your title tag, image tags or other places they don’t belong, or if you “spam” the content by continually re-using the same keywords, your site will be penalised or even banned.

2. Don’t fall for “guaranteed Google rankings”

Many so-called SEO experts prey on vulerable and naive new affiliate marketers by promising them “guaranteed first page rankings”. There is no such thing as a guaranteed spot at the top of Google. These companies give out a bit of information which makes it look like they know what they’re doing, but they don’t have the results to back it up. An SEO company that know what they’re doing will NEVER guarantee listings, because Google has banned this. Don’t fall for it. Content is the key for achieving high rankings.

3. Duplicate Content

Google rewards sites which add useful content to the information arena. Therefore, you should avoid copying content from other sites, as Google will figure this out and penalise you. You should always write your own, unique content although if it is necessary to copy content for some purposes, you should reference it by providing a link back to the original article. Where possible though, write your own content.

4. Meta Descriptions

As far as SEO goes, your meta descriptions are not important, so don’t waste time trying to optimise this as it is time much better spent creating new content. However, your meta description is what will be seen in the search results, so it is worth trying to write it in a way that entices users to click through to your site, perhaps by giving an offer or special bonus.

5. Hidden text

One black hat SEO technique which no longer works is the art of hidden text. For example, lets imagine you have a white background on your site. You could include your keywords all over the page in white text - so that your user would not see them but the search engines will. This technique no longer works and will get your site banned from the search engines.

6. Be careful who you link to

Every link to your site improves your trust score with Google as they see it as a vote of confidence for your site. By the same token, if your site links to dodgy sites such as porn, gambling or spam sites, you become associated with them and your trust score will go down. Only link to quality sites which are relevant to your niche.

7. Consider your links carefully

On a related note, don’t just link to anyone who says they will give you a link back. A link from a new, shallow site with little or no useful content is worth virtually nothing to your site. You want to avoid having too many links on your page, so you should only accept link exchanges with sites who provide useful content and are going to add value to your site.

8. Write for humans, not search engines

When trying to optimise your site for your chosen keywords, it is tempting to overuse those keywords. The result is content which reads horribly and will instantly turn off human users. Instead, you should focus on writing naturally, using synomnys and related phrases for your keywords. By writing for humans, you will find you produce nice, natural content which is not only useful but is actually better keyword optimised than if you had tried to include your keywords as many times as possible.

9. Don’t pay for search engine submission

Companies who charge you a fee to submit your site to the search engines are ripping you off as this is no longer necessary. While it used to be a requirement that you had to manually submit your site to the search engines, the improvement in technology and the use of spiders means if your site is out there, they will find you. Concentrate on building links and Google will find you.

10. Don’t forget the SEO basics

Many of the most important SEO tricks are actually among the most simple. However, these techniques are often ignored or forgotten by webmasters, giving you a great opportunity to gain an advantage. Be careful not to ignore your page title or alt tags.