SEO articles

4 SEO Techniques You Must Stop Doing Today

Recently I found myself getting really irritated as I listened to a potential client telling me about the Search Engine Optimization strategies being proposed by his local "SEO Expert." It seems the expert had some familiarity with SEO, but was greatly missing the mark in many critical areas by using old, out of date tactics or those that had absolutely no merit. So basically our prospect was getting ripped off. You can avoid that problem with your own site by spotting potential problem areas.

Here's a good checklist to determine if your SEO provider is delivering current and effective advice. Read and heed.

Mistaking An Adwords Campaign For SEO

Is this really the number one, most obvious mistake being made by companies all over the US? Yes, it is. Time and time again, unethical SEO providers mislead clients into thinking they are instituting an organic optimization strategy when in fact, all they're doing is purchasing an (often weak and ineffectual) Google Adwords campaign. We love Adwords-and while it uses optimization techniques such as proper keyword selection in the title and body of the ads-it's no substitute for a comprehensive SEO program. The two should go hand in hand, not one replacing the other. It's all too easy for inept SEO providers to run a lucrative Adwords campaign rather than putting in the labor required by an ongoing SEO program. So keep your eyes peeled out for this-it could save you $100's or $1000's per month.

Hiding Text from Everyone Except Search Engine Spiders

Hard to believe, but some webmasters are still using hidden text as a way to load their pages with keywords. Just when you think you've seen the last of it, it pops up again. Oh, you may fool the search engines at first but rest assured they'll discover that you're hiding text from visitors. Your site could even be banned, i.e., not returned in search results. Immediately remove all hidden text and never utilize that strategy again. With good SEO techniques, you just don't need to risk it.

Keyword Spamming Means Loss of Page Ranking

Many uninformed SEO providers may suggest loading your home page and other pages with a large number of keywords. Be careful about this. At some point, the search engines consider this keyword spamming, not to mention that it makes the page harder for your visitor to read. When was it ever a good idea to dump as many keywords as possible on your pages - including goofy, randomly worded paragraphs that often make no sense? For best results, focus on your most relevant keywords and phrases and keep it to two or three per page, at most.

Too Many Links On Your Home Page

This is so simple: An excessive number of links on your home page will bleed Page Rank faster than a cow in a slaughterhouse. Sorry, I know that's somewhat graphic but I needed to get your attention. Every page has X amount of PageRank to distribute to other pages, so the fewer links you have off that page, the more PageRank you can distribute. Things you can do immediately: challenge whether you need to have links to your Privacy, Terms & Conditions, and Shipping pages on every other page (you probably don't need this!). Use only as many internal or external links on your home page as are absolutely necessary. You can improve your home page ranking almost immediately.