What really matters in search engine optimisation - avoiding the pitfalls

In April, we promised a 2-part look at search engine optimisation (SEO) and those readers who keep track of these things will have spotted that this is the third part…. I promise that we haven’t forgotten how to add up – but we did find that there was simply too much to say to cram everything into 2 newsletters. We hope you will find this 3rd mailing on avoiding the pitfalls of SEO valuable.

Next month we will take a look at the way e-newsletters help you build a relationship with your customers and how they fit in with your broader marketing and e-marketing strategies.

5 tricks the search engines hate

1. Keyword spamming and stuffing – once you've found the right keywords, you need to weave them into your web pages. While search engines like to see a reasonable number of keywords in your text (referred to as 'keyword density'), they loathe finding keywords repeated incessantly in the text. According to Planet Ocean, this technique does NOT work! Equally importantly, your website visitors will not find keyword-stuffed text easy to read and your valuable marketing messages will be lost or undermined.
2. Don't try to hide things from the search engines – they will spot invisible text (text which is an identical colour to your background colour); single pixel graphics with keyword-stuffed 'alt tags'; keywords secreted into the <input> Hidden Form type tag; or hidden links. They can even spot them when they are included in your CSS (cascading style sheets).
3. Doorway pages, pointer pages and hallway pages – these are essentially pages with little or no substance which are designed to capture search engine traffic. However, if you can create 'information pages' which contain legitimate and valuable content, these will support your SEO strategy and help you to build a positive relationship with your website visitors.
4. Keep on topic – there is no point in optimising for keywords, even if they are ones where you can achieve a great ranking, unless they are directly relevant to your business. Search engines don't like it and nor do visitors!
5. Do not abuse the <!—comment line --> - more technical readers will be familiar with this tag and might have used it to increase keyword density in the past. Planet Ocean states categorically that this technique no longer works.

Finally, be wary of using redirects inappropriately. Search engines understand that websites move and get updated and a 301 redirect shouldn't disrupt your search engine rankings. However, they are suspicious of any type of redirect which might whisk the visitor from a highly (or over) optimised page to the main website.

Those readers with experience of SEO might be wondering how IP Delivery and Mini-Nets fare in the eyes of search engines. Simply put, the answer is that it depends… Both techniques are relatively complex and tend only to be considered by clients with bigger budgets. However, if you would like more information, please give Kate a call on 01608 737653 or email kate.barlow@branchout-internetmarketing.com.

We hope that this brief outline of what not to do in SEO has been useful. Next month we'll consider the benefits of setting up an e-newsletter. In the meantime, if you have any questions about any aspect of your online marketing or would like some independent strategic advice on your e-marketing plans, please call Kate on 01608 737653 or email liz@branchout-internetmarketing.com or kate.barlow@branchout-internetmarketing.com for free, confidential and independent advice.

Kind regards,

Kate Barlow

You may copy or distribute this newsletter as long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author are attached. The author is: Kate Barlow of Branch Out Internet Marketing, The Paddocks, Lower Nill Farm, Hook Norton, OX15 5DG, UK. Contact kate.barlow@branchout-internetmarketing.com or Tel: 01608 737653, Fax: 01608 737653.

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