I have been in the field of SEO for many years now.
During these years, I have seen a lot of algorithm changes and updates.
While there are many effective methods to improve your website’s ranking, there are also certain SEO practices that should be avoided at all costs.
In this article, we will discuss some common SEO techniques that should be avoided for better search engine rankings and to prevent penalties.
These are known as bad practices or common SEO mistakes.
Implementing them can have damaging effects on your website’s visibility.
So, if you want to improve your website’s ranking and reputation, make sure to steer clear of these bad practices.
Keyword Stuffing
One of the oldest and most common bad practices in SEO is keyword stuffing.
It involves overusing keywords in the content, meta tags, and descriptions of a webpage.
The intention behind keyword stuffing is to manipulate search engines into ranking the webpage higher for those specific keywords.
However, search engines have become smarter over time and can easily detect this tactic.
Keyword stuffing can result in penalties from search engines and negatively impact your website’s ranking and credibility.
Recommended keyword density is around 1-2%.
Use Yoast SEO Plugin for a balanced keyword distribution.
I personally prefer this plugin as it helps me avoid keyword stuffing by reminding me of the optimum density while writing.
Cloaking
Cloaking is another black hat SEO technique that you should avoid.
This technique involves presenting different content to search engines and users.
In simpler terms, the webpage shows different content to the search engine crawlers while displaying something else to the users.
Cloaking is often used to show irrelevant or low-quality content for targeted keywords.
Search engines see this as a deceptive tactic and can result in penalties or even banning your website from its index.
Moreover, this is also a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
So, avoid cloaking at all costs.
Paid Links
Link building is an essential aspect of SEO, and buying links is a common practice used by many websites.
While it may seem like an easy way to improve your website’s reputation, search engines are against this tactic.
Google even penalizes websites found buying or selling links.
Instead of paid links, focus on creating high-quality content that naturally attracts backlinks.
This will help improve your website’s authority and ranking in a more sustainable and long-lasting manner.
Link Swapping
Link swapping involves exchanging links with other websites, regardless of the quality or relevance of the content.
This practice was once popular in the SEO community, but search engines now see it as manipulative and unnatural.
Link swapping can result in penalties from search engines, which can significantly impact your website’s ranking.
Instead of link swapping, focus on building relationships with relevant websites and earning natural backlinks through quality content.
Duplicate Content
Duplicate content means having the same content on multiple pages of your website or using someone else’s content without proper attribution.
Search engines favor unique and original content, and duplicate content is a violation of their guidelines.
This not only affects your website’s ranking but also damages your credibility as a source of information.
Focus on creating original and valuable content for your audience instead of duplicating it from other sources.
To avoid this, make sure to regularly check for duplicate content using tools like Copyscape.
Misusing Header Tags
Header tags (H1, H2, H3) are used to structure the content on a webpage and make it easier for readers and search engines to understand.
Using multiple header tags or using them incorrectly can confuse search engine crawlers and negatively affect your website’s ranking.
Make sure to follow the proper header tag hierarchy while creating web pages.
Avoid using header tags for styling and use them only to structure your content.
The H1 tag should only be used for the title of the page, and subsequent headers (H2, H3) should be used to structure the content under it.
But keep them natural and relevant; don’t stuff keywords in them.
Content Spinning
Content spinning is the practice of using software to create multiple variations of a piece of content by replacing words with synonyms.
The intention behind this is to produce more content with less effort and improve search engine visibility.
However, search engines can easily detect spun content.
Not only does this affect your website’s ranking, but it can also harm your reputation as a credible source of information.
Instead of spinning content, focus on creating high-quality and original content that provides value to your audience.
Ignoring Mobile Optimization
Do you know that more than 50% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices?
Search engines consider mobile-friendliness as an important ranking factor.
Ignoring mobile optimization means losing out on a significant portion of potential website visitors.
Google has also moved to “Mobile First Indexing” where it primarily considers the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking.
Not having a responsive and user-friendly design can result in lower search engine rankings and poor user experience.
Make sure to optimize your website for mobile devices to get the 1st-page ranking.
Low-Quality Backlinks
As mentioned earlier, backlinks are an important aspect of SEO.
But, not all backlinks are beneficial for your website.
Having low-quality or spammy backlinks can negatively impact your website’s authority and ranking.
Google considers such links as manipulative and can penalize your website if found guilty.
Regularly check for any suspicious or irrelevant backlinks to your site using tools like Semrush.
Disavow any harmful backlinks to keep your website safe and clean.
Over-Optimizing Anchor Texts
Anchor texts are the words or phrases used to create a hyperlink to another webpage.
While it is essential to use anchor texts for linking, over-optimizing them can make your website look spammy.
Avoid using exact match keywords as anchor texts for every link.
Use varied anchor texts like:
- Brand or business name
- Partial match
- Generic text
- Naked URL
This makes your links look natural and credible.
Also, make sure to use them in relevant and contextually appropriate places.
Automated Link Building
Automated link-building tools or software promise to create hundreds of backlinks in a short period.
Not only do these links have little to no value, but they can also harm your website’s credibility.
Search engines are getting smarter at detecting such tactics and penalizing websites that use automated link-building methods.
Instead, focus on natural and organic ways of building backlinks.
I, for instance, like to use an email outreach strategy to connect with other websites and request backlinks.
This not only helps build relationships but also results in high-quality and relevant backlinks.
Sneaky Redirects
We all come across websites that redirect us to a different page than the one we clicked on.
These redirects are known as sneaky redirects.
They are used to manipulate search engine rankings and deceive visitors.
Make sure all redirects on your website are necessary, relevant, and transparent.
Avoid using them to mislead users or boost your website’s ranking artificially.
Hidden Text/Links
Some website owners try to hide text or links within their content by using the same color as the background.
This is known as hidden text.
This was a common black hat SEO technique used to stuff keywords and manipulate search engine algorithms.
It can cause:
- Google Penalty
- Deindexing from search results
- Lower ranking
As per my experience, search engines can easily detect such tactics and penalize websites that use them.
Make sure all your content is visible to users and avoid using hidden text or links.
Focusing Only on Google
Google may be the most popular search engine, but it is not the only one.
Ignoring other search engines like Bing or Yandex can mean losing out on a significant portion of website visitors.
Here are some statistics on search engine market share:
- Google: 91.55%
- Bing: 3.11%
- Yandex: 1.83%
- Yahoo: 1.21%
- Baidu: 1.02%
- DuckDuckGo: 0.54%
See you are missing out on a potential of 9% of website traffic by ignoring other search engines.
Make sure to optimize and submit your website to other search engines as well.
Bottom Line
These are some of the SEO techniques that should be avoided to ensure long-term success for your website.
I hope this article has provided you with valuable insights on which SEO techniques to avoid.
Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and it takes time to see results.
Stay away from quick fixes or black hat SEO tactics.
Focus on creating quality content, optimizing your website for users, building natural backlinks and following white hat SEO techniques.
Follow Google Search Essentials and keep yourself updated with the latest algorithm changes.
Happy optimizing 😊
