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Keyword stuffing

by ronc0011
14 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I'm trying to create content for a website using about 3 keyword phrases. The problem I'm having is that the topic is home business and it's almost imposable to write about "home business" without "home business" showing up in the copy several times. Everything I see about keywords warns against keyword stuffing. Am I missing something about the whole keyword concept?
#keyword #stuffing
  • Profile picture of the author alcymart
    You will need some kind of SEO software to tell you how much is too much. I would recommend Traffic Travis which is free for now here:

    http://www.traffictravis.com

    You need to know where you're heading and avoid working blindly. It will help you gauge if you are over stuffing or not and guide you on many other ranking factors. Later, if you want even more precision, you can invest in IBP (Internet Business Promoter). I get top 10 rankings for my keywords with IBP, but there is a price to pay, it isn't free.

    Traffic Travis is not too bad either especially in your case where you need to know if you're on the right track or not in your SEO efforts.

    Let me add that 3 keywords is max you want to optimize for if you want good results, and very delicate task, nearly impossible without investing into a paid SEO software. Simply too many factors when you optimize for multiple keywords. Thie mix must be perfect.
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    • Profile picture of the author ronc0011
      Originally Posted by alcymart View Post

      You will need some kind of SEO software to tell you how much is too much. I would recommend Traffic Travis which is free for now here:

      http://www.traffictravis.com

      You need to know where you're heading and avoid working blindly. It will help you gauge if you are over stuffing or not and guide you on many other ranking factors. Later, if you want even more precision, you can invest in IBP (Internet Business Promoter). I get top 10 rankings for my keywords with IBP, but there is a price to pay, it isn't free.

      Traffic Travis is not too bad either especially in your case where you need to know if you're on the right track or not in your SEO efforts.

      Let me add that 3 keywords is max you want to optimize for if you want good results, and very delicate task, nearly impossible without investing into a paid SEO software. Simply too many factors when you optimize for multiple keywords. Thie mix must be perfect.

      I have Traffic Travis and I see where it will analyze a page. What does IBP do that makes it worth $249 ?
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      • Profile picture of the author alcymart
        Originally Posted by ronc0011 View Post

        I have Traffic Travis and I see where it will analyze a page. What does IBP do that makes it worth $249 ?
        Well, as you know, we get what we pay for. IBP gives more SEO precision. I don't work for them. I earn nothing from recommending it. It just does great SEO when one takes the time to understand it fully.

        Traffic Travis is just a starter kit if I may call it that way. It will tell you if you are stuffing up against 1 million sites, however IBP will tell you if you are stuffing up in comparison with those presently in top 10, because maybe you need to stuff up to get in that top 10, maybe not... I don't like maybe's and I'm sure you neither.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brian Douglas
    Hi,
    I normally use a free online resource, it will give you a breakdown of your page from an seo view point including keyword stuffing. Site CheckUp - Analyze and optimize your website

    Brian
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  • Profile picture of the author noble
    You don't need fancy software... just keep it under 5% and its not stuffing. Close to 2-3% is better.
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    • Profile picture of the author alcymart
      Originally Posted by noble View Post

      You don't need fancy software... just keep it under 5% and its not stuffing. Close to 2-3% is better.
      Sure, you can do that too if you are not going against high competing keywordsbut if you want mass traffic, that coveted #1, 1st page position, you'll need to do better than guess things out, or you'll get eaten alive, but good general suggestion!

      Bernard
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      • Profile picture of the author ronc0011
        I was reading through the IBP website and I see stuff about link building and social bookmark software. Does IBP do all that also or are those extras that you have to pay additionally for?

        I'm just thinking that for $250 it better be pretty impressive software.

        I have Scrapebox for link building, does IBP do anything better or beyond Scrapebox in that regard?

        I see they have a free trial version. I suppose I should get it and take it for a spin.
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  • Profile picture of the author IM Ash
    If keyword stuffing is your concern then I'm sure there are creative ways to get around this in your copy:

    For examlpe instead of saying: "by pursuing a home business" you can say "by pursuing a business from home" or "a home business provides many benefits" can be "establishing a business within the home environment provides many benefits".
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    • Profile picture of the author ronc0011
      Originally Posted by Eleva8 View Post

      If keyword stuffing is your concern then I'm sure there are creative ways to get around this in your copy:

      For examlpe instead of saying: "by pursuing a home business" you can say "by pursuing a business from home" or "a home business provides many benefits" can be "establishing a business within the home environment provides many benefits".
      Well, this is exactly the point. It seems to me that I should be able to talk/speak naturally about the given topic without being penalized on keyword stuffing.

      It's kind of messed up that I would have to resort to using all these contrived variations just to avoid causing Google to choke. When I say "contrived" we need look no further than your own example.

      It's like trying to create a site about "dogs" without actually using the word "dogs", seems pretty stupid really. It's certainly very frustrating.
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      • Profile picture of the author IM Ash
        Originally Posted by ronc0011 View Post

        Well, this is exactly the point. It seems to me that I should be able to talk/speak naturally about the given topic without being penalized on keyword stuffing.

        It's kind of messed up that I would have to resort to using all these contrived variations just to avoid causing Google to choke. When I say "contrived" we need look no further than your own example.

        It's like trying to create a site about "dogs" without actually using the word "dogs", seems pretty stupid really. It's certainly very frustrating.
        Yeah, I see your point! I personally have not yet witnessed anyone who has being "penalized" for keyword stuffing and on the other hand I have articles that rank where the keyword is mentioned 1-2 times.

        I think there is too much emphasis placed on keyword density, and alot of what people do is personal preference and not fact based.

        My belief is that the keyword in the Title Tag, H1 Tag, and anchor text is what holds more weight than how many times the keyword appears in the content.
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        • Profile picture of the author ronc0011
          Originally Posted by Eleva8 View Post

          Yeah, I see your point! I personally have not yet witnessed anyone who has being "penalized" for keyword stuffing and on the other hand I have articles that rank where the keyword is mentioned 1-2 times.

          I think there is too much emphasis placed on keyword density, and alot of what people do is personal preference and not fact based.

          My belief is that the keyword in the Title Tag, H1 Tag, and anchor text is what holds more weight than how many times the keyword appears in the content.
          Yeah it certainly makes more sense with regards to h1 tags and that sort of stuff. As to the actual content/copy obviously if your page is about "home business" then "home business" is likely to occur often in the content. That seems a no brainer
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          • Profile picture of the author ronc0011
            Here's another variation on this whole problem. When researching keyword ideas I will find several variations that have good numbers i.e. not real high but still decent like maybe 1000 searches a day but they all have the root keyword phrase. Like "home business" and then "How to start a home business" so if my keyword is "home business" does that automatically exclude any and all variations that contain that root phrase?
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            • Profile picture of the author IM Ash
              Originally Posted by ronc0011 View Post

              Here's another variation on this whole problem. When researching keyword ideas I will find several variations that have good numbers i.e. not real high but still decent like maybe 1000 searches a day but they all have the root keyword phrase. Like "home business" and then "How to start a home business" so if my keyword is "home business" does that automatically exclude any and all variations that contain that root phrase?
              The long tail keywords like "how to start a home business" is what many marketers will target specifically, because these type of keywords are less competitive.

              If the long tail keywords are not in your content or anchor text backlinks then it will be more difficult to rank for those keywords. So yes, to a certain extent it will exclude those keywords. But that doesn't mean you wouldn't rank at all for the longer tail keywords. If you have the phrase "how to start" and "home business" somewhere in your content then you will in all liklihood rank for the keywords "how to start a home business" but your ranking might be poor.

              It is best to include the longer tail keywords within your content.
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  • Profile picture of the author imsas
    You should try to keep a specific keyword under 5% of the total keywords.. So try to use some alternatives such as "a business from home", "working from home", etc... I use an SEO plugin called SEO Quake which is really useful to measure the keyword density (and other SEO variables)..
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