Don’t Stuff Keywords In Your Content Bird

Hey, Thanksgiving’s right around the corner, so here’s my take on how to stuff a turkey…
OK, just kidding. 😊

This post is about stuffing, however– only it’s keyword stuffing.

Keyword stuffing’s a no-no. It’s a somewhat dated SEO technique for manipulating search engines, especially the big guy: Google.

Basic idea: you stuff your post with all the words people might use to find what your selling.

Here’s a funny example:

Are you looking for cheap running shoes? If you’re looking for cheap running shoes, look no further. Our cheap running shoes website is the best place to order your new cheap running shoes. Feel free to check out our selection of cheap running shoes from our cheap running shoes selection below.

Ten or fifteen years ago, you could get away with doing that– and lots of people did. Not anymore.

Because Google got wise. Their search algorithm now recognizes that kind of thing for what it is: spam. A cheap trick to drive people to a site to make a sale.

Nowadays Google penalizes keyword stuffing. Instead of being more likely to pop up in search results, you’re a lot less likely.

Bottom line: if you sell a product or service, focus on writing good helpful content that people will actually want to read.

Keywords are still important because you want your content to be found.

WordPress allows me to categorize my posts, and I always choose these three categories: design, illustration, humor.

I can also choose suitable tags (for this post I’ll be choosing “SEO” and “blogging,” among others).

Keywords are only bad if you stuff them into your post in an unnatural way.

Focus on writing good helpful content and you’ll be using keywords in a natural way that fits the context– and that will score points with Google’s search engine.

There’s a lot more to search engine optimization (SEO) than keywords, and again, SEO is important because you want your content to be found.

There’s an ongoing debate among marketers and content creators: when you write a post, which is more important: content strategy or SEO strategy?

I contributed to a Databox article on the subject which sums it up this way:

It’s like the chicken and the egg debate. You can’t have “great content” if your site isn’t SEO optimized, but SEO isn’t possible without a solid (content) foundation.

If you sell a product or service and you’re trying to drive more traffic to your site, I recommend this Quicksprout post: 23 SEO Mistakes To Avoid in 2020.

It’s helpful because it also talks about what you should do to improve your SEO strategy.

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About Mark: I’m an illustrator specializing in humor, editorial, branding, social media, and content marketing. My images are different, like your brand needs to be.

You can view my portfolio, and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Questions? Send me an email.

Follow @mrstrongarm