SEO bloat or how keyword stuffing leads to web page death
Posted by Sandra Cosser on 17 Apr 2008 at 02:10 pm | Tagged as: SEO Antics, SEO Strategy
Sometimes, when you read onsite copy, the blatant over-optimisation makes you cringe. The content is stuffed with so many keywords that if they were feathers you’d be able to fill an entire hospital with eiderdowns. Stoney deGeyter from Search Engine Guide has termed this phenomenon, “SEO Bloat”, but whatever you choose to call it, it brings with it certain death to any web page that suffers from it.
DeGeyter says that the bloat grows slowly with a continual stream of small changes that gradually convert a good page into a bad one. This is sloppy SEO practice. All changes, no matter how small, need to be carefully checked to make sure that the quality and desired tone is maintained. DeGeyter recommends that one person be appointed whose sole task is to review page edits.
This is often not practical in smaller SEO companies, where multi-tasking is not only the norm, but a requirement. It’s also a very dull and thankless task that even hardy editors would think twice about accepting. I think that instead of placing one person in a sterile room with no distractions and making them wait for edits made on the fly, there should be measures in place to regulate editing, even by editors themselves. All changes should be first suggested, cleared, and then read by another member of staff, to ensure that text remains clear and concise. If the page is no better for it, it should be deleted.
At MediaVision, we have a quality over quantity philosophy. We choose the most effective keywords relevant to a client’s campaign and endeavour to use them well. We are fortunate to have the services of an editor whose grasp of grammar is flawless, and who has an innate sense for what works and what doesn’t. We also have a production manager with finely honed SEO instincts and a militant approach to keyword research (that’s my obsequious quotient filled for today).
We’re not afraid to try new and different (in fact, new and different are preferred) but if it doesn’t work, it gets culled. We’re not a keyword charity operation and we don’t carry dead weight. It’s that simple.
DeGeyter recommends that a vital bloat prevention method is to monitor site analytics after every change. Conversion rates are particularly important. If your traffic volume remains high but your conversions drop, you know you’ve done something wrong.
As deGeyter says, good optimisation shouldn’t be discernable to the average reader. So pop some Tums and prepare to get rid of some hot air.
I think you’re right about the review process being more difficult for the smaller SEOs, though I’m not sure I recommended placing “one person in a sterile room with no distractions and making them wait for edits made on the fly.”
But I get your point. Great follow up!
Ok, now for the favors. My last name is actually spelled with a small ‘d’ as in: deGeyter. If you could correct that I’d be elated!
I’d also love it if you could link one instance of my full name to my bio page here: http://www.polepositionmarketing.com/about-stoney-degeyter.php
Thanks in advance and again, great followup on my article!
The overuse of keywords but when is it enough? I would not totally agree for if we say we do “optimize” a website that will mean continuous update of content on the page , I’m made to understand that every campaign is closely monitored in every SEO company. Who would implement a campaign without noticing this “bloating?”
What really gets under my skin is when a site has a lot of keywords that seem relevant but then they are totally irrelevant. Keyword research is vitally important to each and every site hoping or wanting to be optimised. Over-optimisation, as mentioned, is a major pain.