Top 5 Optimization Tactics to Avoid

May 9, 2004 - 11:58 am 0 by

Excellent new thread over at WebmasterWorld on the topic of the five most important search engine optimization techniques to avoid when optimizing for Google.

1. Don't keyword stuff anchor text repetitively, either inbound or internal. Keep it down to a certain percentage of the total anchor text per page; use variations. Variety is the spice of life!

2. Don't go hyphen-happy in URLs, stuffing directory and file names with keyword phrases.

3. Don't presume to think that what we see the competition doing that's obvious is the thing that's causing their sites to rank well.

4. Don't assume it's one "algo" that's the answer. Extract the sensible academic principles behind each of them out there and apply the solid principles they teach to sensible site and page construction.

5. Try not to think like an SEO. ;)

Number five is my favorite, "Try not to think like an SEO."

Check out the responses here.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google

Google Says AI Mode Rolling Out To Workspace Accounts

Jul 7, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Cloudflare: We Will Get Google To Provide A Way To Block AI Overviews

Jul 7, 2025 - 7:45 am
Google Ads

Google Keyword Planner Update Gives Breakdown By By City, Region & Device/Platform

Jul 7, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Tests Low, Typical, High Price Labels In Search Result Snippets

Jul 7, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

Google Business Profiles Reverification After Suspensions Increasing?

Jul 7, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Maps

Google Ads With Nearby Hotel Placement Units

Jul 7, 2025 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Comment Tags in Source Worthless?