Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi

Message Too Old, No Replies

Keyword Stuffing Anchor Text

         

ErrlyBird

6:02 pm on Oct 26, 2022 (gmt 0)

Top Contributors Of The Month



Is this a thing? Can't seem to find anything about this searching google.

I am trying to optimize a sites categories for keywords. In the category description, the main category leads to sub categories of similar products that together make a whole.

So as an example,

Widget Machine can be sold as the entire machine or you can buy it in parts and assemble one yourself.

So if I have a category called "widget machine" and sub categories for "widget barrel", "widget cord", "widget battery", etc, how would I properly internally link to those sub categories?

In one instance you can write in your description for the "widget machine" category to say,

"If you want to build your own check out our widget machine, cord, barrel, batteries, etc."

Or

"If you want to build your own check out our widget cord, widget barrel, widget batteries, etc. "

Is the latter considered keyword stuffing? It appears that through SEMrush on page SEO checker shows that it is. My boss is under the assumption that google sees them as separate anchor texts and would not consider it keyword stuffing?

So, is this keyword stuffing? Why or why not? Is there any information out there documenting this? Thank you!

[edited by: goodroi at 7:23 pm (utc) on Oct 26, 2022]
[edit reason] widgetized [/edit]

aristotle

10:16 am on Oct 28, 2022 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



In one instance you can write in your description for the "widget machine" category to say,

"If you want to build your own check out our widget machine, cord, barrel, batteries, etc."

Or

"If you want to build your own check out our widget cord, widget barrel, widget batteries, etc. "


How many links does "etc" represent?

Also, do you intend to put all of these links in a sentence separated by commas? It seems to me that a list down the side of the page or an array across the top would be better.

As for your basic question, the main consideration should be whatever works best for visitors. In my opinion this would be the shorter anchor texts without the word "widget", as this would take up less space and also make it easier for a visitor to distinguish between the individual links.

engine

11:12 am on Oct 28, 2022 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



ErrlyBird, keyword stuffing has been around for a long, long time, but it's easily caught by search engines as it was heavily abused.
Originally, keyword stuffing would simply repeat the same keywords over and over again. It was easy to detect, and today is more likely to get a site penalised.

Steer well clear of any technique that suggests keyword stuffing.

If you're looking at a directory structure, stick to specifics without repetition.

On the text, go for natural language, as if you're speaking to someone. For example, you would not repeat the widget name often as it sounds just weird and robotic.

not2easy

11:51 am on Oct 28, 2022 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Years before Google existed, people were filling empty chunks of the page with their keywords for bots. Made invisible by matching text color to background color. It has to be the oldest trick in the book. I accidentally highlighted that once trying to hit the scrollbar and then found it on many sites. It is no less useless if it is visible.

Use anchor text keywords logically to benefit users in your navigation. it is unlikely to add much to the page's value, but if it helps people quickly find what they want, it is a good idea.

ErrlyBird

3:15 pm on Oct 28, 2022 (gmt 0)

Top Contributors Of The Month



Thank you everyone for your answers. This has definitely pushed me into a direction that I feel more comfortable making a decision on. I definitely want to steer clear of keyword stuffing or anything that G will wanna put the hurt on the site for. My main thing was figuring out a good balance between user experience and SEO and just making sure things line up properly. This forum has been a huge help for knowledge and insights and I am definitely grateful for that.

Sgt_Kickaxe

11:11 am on Oct 29, 2022 (gmt 0)



"If you want to build your own check out our widget machine, cord, barrel, batteries, etc."

Or

"If you want to build your own check out our widget cord, widget barrel, widget batteries, etc. "

My opinion:
- Avoid the first option, it creates questions like "build your own what?" and doesn't tell me what I will find if I click. Is the link for "widget barrel" going to show me a sales page? An informational page? an affiliate site selling the product?
- Avoid the second option, it reads like stuffing.

Try "If you want to build your own widget from parts check out our cord, barrel and battery pages.". It answers more questions and sets the user expectation on what they will find if they click those links. My concern is that you don't need to dress category navigation this way and you don't want to repeat this sentence on every paginated version of that sub-category either.

My other concern, with your description of what you are trying to achieve, is that barrel, batteries, cord etc are not sub-categories. They are sub-pages. To be treated as a category Google will want to see the hallmarks of a category(links to more content about the subject, pagination, breadcrumb schema clearly showing it's a category page etc).

Your description sounds like an option on a sales page to select parts so clicking on a parts link from that page and finding an entire category of articles would be confusing. Without seeing your site this is the best advice I can offer, good luck.

Kendo

8:58 pm on Oct 29, 2022 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Anyone here believe as I do, that the more optimisation, the more the page is penalised?

engine

8:08 am on Nov 4, 2022 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Anyone here believe as I do, that the more optimisation, the more the page is penalised?


That would be over optimisation, and yes, it would be a red flag.

Nutterum

9:13 am on Nov 9, 2022 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



If you want to see the best in industry keyword stuffing , that actually works and does not get penalized, just check the big global casino sites. These guys have an entire floor of SEO copy writers (I have seen that floor with my own eyes) that do super optimized 5k word pages for anything and everything casino related and it works miracles, especially for long tail.

ErrlyBird

1:49 pm on Nov 9, 2022 (gmt 0)

Top Contributors Of The Month



If only I can get it to work for my niche ;D I am optimizing category pages mostly so a 5k article probably won't work in my case. I kind of figured out how to make it not so repetitive in my content. Adds a little bit of fluff but it seems to be working alright.

Nutterum

9:50 am on Nov 11, 2022 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Category pages can still harbour 1k texts below the listings. So long as within the HTML the text is high enough and well structured, it should see work well and help with interlinking.

ErrlyBird

3:58 pm on Nov 11, 2022 (gmt 0)

Top Contributors Of The Month



I agree and this is something that has been considered. Recently they decided to go with infinite scroll for our categories so putting the description at the bottom for most pages is not feasible for UX as there are hundreds of listings.

It's amazing just how many ways you can accomplish the same things. I love this job haha.

Whopper

7:25 am on Nov 21, 2022 (gmt 0)

Top Contributors Of The Month



These days, keyword stuffing is considered to be a black hat SEO technique and can result in penalties from Google.
So, in answer to your question, yes, the second example would be considered keyword stuffing.

phranque

8:16 am on Nov 21, 2022 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com], Whopper!

tangor

9:29 am on Nov 21, 2022 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Happy hello to @Whopper! More the merrier!

Whopper

12:23 pm on Nov 21, 2022 (gmt 0)

Top Contributors Of The Month



Thank you, guys!

ErrlyBird

2:38 pm on Nov 21, 2022 (gmt 0)

Top Contributors Of The Month



Just was unsure if it is still treated the same as keyword stuffing if they are internal links.

Kendo

1:44 am on Nov 25, 2022 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



was unsure if it is still treated the same as keyword stuffing if they are internal links.

I have link menus for products which are my keywords and they appear in the top menu bar, side menu bar and the footer.

If that is to be penalised then so be it, because even with those navigational aids, visitors still have trouble finding what they are looking for. Mind you most are using mobiles and it is only PCs that see all indexes.

Sgt_Kickaxe

4:37 am on Nov 26, 2022 (gmt 0)



We're mobile first at this point and getting closer to voice first most likely, though we might detour into VR first. Who knows.

We have AI that can write 1000 pages for you before you write one, so of course some create 1000 sites to compete with your one.

I wouldn't worry about over, or under, optimization as much as with actually connecting with your visitors. AI is making trust more difficult to convey but once you connect, on your site, on social media, in your videos, wherever... you can more easily influence that group of people, but abuse that trust and it's gone forever... so don't.

Where do I turn in my SEO nametag for a shepherd nametag before the next convention?