How Keyword Stuffing Negatively Impacted Our Google Search Results

Because Google constantly updates the “rules of SEO,” most Phoenix SEO companies place the majority of their focus on implementing the latest and greatest SEO tactics. However, it is important for an SEO company to remember the basic SEO strategies that are the foundation of a solid SEO campaign.

This includes SEO tasks like writing strong content, acquiring high-quality links and targeting the right keywords within your website content. It also includes paying attention to keyword density and not over-optimizing for your focus keyword.


Below, we take you through a real-life example of how keyword stuffing negatively impacted one client's Google search results.
 

SEO Case Study

At BANG! Web Site Design, we have learned from experience how important it is to avoid overusing our target keyword phrases. One of our SEO clients recently saw a massive drop in keyword rankings because of a higher than normal keyword density on the page, especially where the keyword phrase was used in headlines.

In the following graph, you can see that the keywords “plastic letters” and “marquee signs” both of which had made significant increases since we started the SEO campaign, saw a large decrease in their Google search rankings since the Google algorithm update in late September / early October.
 
After looking into this massive drop in keyword rankings, we noticed that the content pages for both of these keywords fell victim to keyword stuffing.

For the Marquee Signs content page, the focus keyword “marquee signs” was used 14 times. This is way too many times for a content page that is only 993 words long.

For the Dimensional Plastic Letters content page, the keyword “plastic letters” was used 7 times. Again, this is way too many times for a content page that is less than 1,000 words long.

More importantly, and we feel the largest factor was repetition of they keyword phrase in multiple H2 headings on the page.
 

What Does Google Say About Keyword Density in SEO?

Since we have concerns about our client’s Google search results, we decided to look and see what Google says about overusing keywords.

Google defines keyword stuffing as “the practice of loading a webpage with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate a site’s rankings in Google search results.”

One example they give is “repeating the same words or phrases so often that it sounds unnatural.”

While Google declines to give an ideal keyword density percentage, most SEO experts agree that the ideal usage for a focus keyword is less than 2%. This number is down from years ago when 3 or 4% was considered "normal".

However, we have witnessed firsthand how Google will penalize you for overusing the target keyword in your headings. We believe that is something you should keep in mind when attempting to write your website content.
 

Our Solution to the Problem

After identifying keyword stuffing as the problem, we have come up with a system for achieving proper keyword optimization. We plan to do several things for both of these content pages (and every content page we write moving forward).
 

1. Write compelling content that builds trust with the audience.
    
2. Focus on keyword usage after writing the content.
    
3. Add variations to the focus keyword to avoid overuse.
    
4. Use semantic keywords to support the target keyword.
    
5. Check keyword density before publishing.
    

By following this five-step process, we feel confident we can avoid making a similar mistake in the future. Not only will this benefit the client mentioned above, but it will benefit the Phoenix SEO clients that we currently service.

We'll update this post in a few weeks after we've modified the pages in question and given Google time to re-index and rank the pages.

Update #1 - 10/17/21 - On our own homepage, we were guilty of overusing our primary keyword phrase in multiple headlines on the page. Three days after removing this duplication, we saw rankings for several keyword phrases rise from a couple of positions to over 30 positions in Google's search results.
 

Create a Successful Keyword Strategy With Our Phoenix Web Design Company

Are you too busy focusing on your business to worry about keyword density or keyword stuffing? Are you an SEO beginner and need help optimizing your onsite and offsite SEO? If you answered yes to either question, please contact our Phoenix web design company. We will help you create a successful keyword strategy, ensure your content is optimized for SEO, and handle every other aspect of your SEO campaign. This includes local SEO which is super important for small business owners.

Contact us today at 602-427-5626 or schedule an initial consultation here. We look forward to answering your questions and providing you with more information about our digital marketing services. Please check out our About Us page for more information about our company. You can also review our website design portfolio for an in-depth look into our best website designs.