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I Think I'm Doing On Page SEO The Wrong Way..

by RedShifted
5 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I've been comparing sites that rank really well (like SEO Moz) to my own local websites, just to compare their on-page SEO vs mine, and I think I'm using a very spammy, outdated method of optimizing my pages.

Say I'm targeting a commercial local keyword.

This is not a keyword I'm targeting but I'll use it as an example:

"insulation contractor nj".

If I was going to make a page for that keyword I would title it something like:

"Insulation Contractor NJ | XXX Company Has The Most Qualified Insulation Contractors in New Jersey"

Then I would have a meta description where I try to plug the keyword again, along with a few other relevant keywords like "insulation installer" and "insulation company" along with the state.

Then, I have this really bad habit of pluging in keywords immediately on the top of the page.

Like you might land on the page, and find a HQ image as the first thing you see (to grab peoples attention), optimized for "insulation contractor nj" and underneath that image I'd plug the same keywords:

Like "New Jerseys Leading Insulation Contractors & Installers, Serving NJ Since 2001" that would be my H1 header.

Then I'd write a question like: Are you looking for high quality insulation contractors & installers in New Jersey?

And I'd proceed to write about the company, using those keywords, and as many relevant keywords as possible.

I might even plug in another smaller image in the body of the main page, and sometimes I admit I WILL keyword stuff.

Like on one of my sites I had 3 keywords in a row listed right above the image in the article "keyword 1 | keyword 2 | keyword 3".

I'd try to plug the exact keywords, each keyword, at least one time per every 100 words.

My question is.... is this a spammy way of doing on page SEO?

Because I've never seen SEO Moz.... or ANY really authoritative sites doing this. But I HAVE seen some popular local sites doing this in my area... and they rank just fine. Sometimes they will just stuff 3-6 of their main keywords somewhere in the middle of their articles.

They'll do something like,

Services we offer:

Keyword 1
Keyword 2
Keyword 3
etc etc etc

Will Google devalue a page that uses this type of on page strategy? Is it spammy?

And my second question is regarding long tail keywords.

Say I wanted to target "insulation contractors monmouth county nj"

I would naturally title that page with that exact phrase.

But I might put some additional keywords and make it like:

"Insulation Contractors & Installers, Monmouth County NJ"

So my question again is... as far as on page SEO goes, is this ok for me to still be doing?

I realize there is a lot more to ranking like domain authority, trust, relevant HQ backlinks etc etc. But as far as on page goes, should I continue doing this?

It only seems natural. But at the same time, Moz doesn't do this.

I know a lot of people hate Moz, but fact is they obviously understand SEO a lot better than I do. From what I can see, it seems that Moz does their on page differently.

They write long informative articles. But instead of using exact keyword phrases, they just use a lot of words related to the phrases their targeting.

So should I focus less on using exact keywords, and more on individual words?
Or does it not matter?

I'm just afraid I'm overoptimizing my pages. And tbo, as long as I've been generating content... I STILL have no idea what "overoptimization" really means. It seems like a very elusive, relative word. Everyone has their own rules and definitions, and it makes it hard to understand when you're crossing the line.

I ask this because I'm in the process of making a new local site, and I really wanna be clear whether I'm doing my on page the wrong or right way.

-Red
#page #seo #wrong
  • Profile picture of the author LloydMS
    Yes, that seems spammy. And unnecessary.

    Putting insulation contractor nj into the title or description is clearing trying to use a specific keyword that is a bit unnatural.

    I'd use things like The Best Insulating Contractor Throughout New Jersey, New Jersey Insulating Companies, etc. Mix it up. You really don't need to use a keyword over and over on a page these days. Just write naturally. Use as many variations as possible. Don't think about optimizing a page for ONE specific keyword. Optimize it for a concept.

    In this case, the concept is obviously insulating contracts in New Jersey. But make a list of all the different ways you can say that and try to work those into your content in a natural way.

    You'll find that not only will you rank for your main keyword, but other variations and longtail keywords as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeannie Crabtree
    I am re-doing a few sites and have thinned down my keywords to a main keyword and secondary keyword usually, mentioned just a few times. H1 or h2 tag, beginning of page, end of page. Then as Lloyd said add in similar words, but don't over do it - twice for a few maybe. When you think you have it right, publish it.

    Get the SEOquake plug in for Firefox. Go to the post/page in question and click on the top bar info from SEOquake were it says density. I would suggest you do not go over 3.5 density if that, for the keyword. Keep it under. A page I was working on today, the density was 5.38 for a keyword, so I am reworking the page.

    Please realize that when you change your content very much, Google will re shuffle your website to see where it fits in. So if you have first page listings, you may go down a bit for a while and then pop up where g has decided you belong. If not on the first page, I would not worry about it that much.

    Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Metapilot
    I definitely agree with LloydMS that it's spammy. It's spammy for the visitor when (and if) they get to your page and it's spammy to Google. Use your keyword/keyphrase once in the title, use it in the page heading, and use it a couple of times in the copy. The rest of the vocabulary in the copy should be so focused on the concept encompassed by the keyword that if you took the keyword (and all its variations) out of the copy, you'd still have a good chance of guessing what that keyword was. That's why a keyword like"insulation contractor nj" can be so hard to optimize well for--you've got the concept of "nj", the concept of "contractor", the concept of "insulation", and the concept of "insulation contractor" to deal with.
    If I was going to deal with that, for copy, I'd be thinking along the lines of what's different about NJ's insulation contractor requirements from those in other states. Or maybe something about how hurricane Sandy caused a run on all the insulation contractors in the state and that untrained/unlicensed companies were coming in from surrounding states and trying to take advantage of the situation--stuff like that. When your copy is about stuff like that, it tends to be more shareable and it tends to contain the kind of vocabulary that that separates it from the "insulation contractor nj" crowd and helps it rank higher.

    Don't use superlatives in your title like "Most Qualified". The world is superlatived out--we don't want to hear about another company taking it upon themselves to say they're better than everyone else. Keep the title under 70 charters including spaces, and use your keyword in a meaningful, informative way.

    As far as over optimization, think about how the copy on a page would sound if you read it aloud to your boss. Is something you would be proud of or is it something that would sound redundant and ridiculous? Once you have your copy (including alt tags and meta descriptions) to the point where your boss or your mom would feel well informed if you read it aloud to them, then it's worth putting on your web page.
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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    Some great advice here.

    I just wrote a 1,200 word article and its one of the best articles I've written in my life. Its passionate, persuasive, organized, a bit controversial, but flows and reads very easily.

    As far as superlatives go, thats a big problem of mine and I'm done with that stuff. I know from a psychology standpoint people are so desensitized to that crap so I kept it all out. I used my knowledge, experience and unique stand point in the industry to separate myself from my competition.

    Honestly, I'm going to do 1 entire site like this.

    No more "forced" writing. I'm only going to write when I have something important and valuable to say. No more writing just for the sake of targeting new keywords and having more content on my sites.

    If I can generate leads with my former shitty style of writing, I can't imagine what I can accomplish if I do all my content this way.

    Thanks a lot guys. =]

    -Red
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  • Profile picture of the author karthikseo
    Hi Red..

    You keeping the keywords spammy in your descriptions too.. now a days,.. SEO(Search Engine Optimization) has changed into SEO(“Subject Experience Optimization,” )..

    So we need to concentrate on topics, subject and concept too.. Basically, SEO stands on not only quality content, but we have to show a concept on content, then your content will love by user and by Google..

    Stop inserting a too many keywords in content and all too. create a content for User read..

    Thanks
    Karthik
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