Keyword stuffing

What is keyword stuffing?

Keyword stuffing is the practice of repeating a keyword or a list of keywords unnaturally often in a text, hoping to rank better. Google lists it explicitly in its spam policies. The text reads poorly as a result and offers visitors little value.

Why is keyword stuffing important?

• Spam risk: Google can rank such pages lower or treat them as spam.
• Readability: visitors leave when a text feels written for a robot.
• No gain: repeating a keyword more often does not make a page more relevant.

Examples of keyword stuffing

• “Our cheap bikes are the best cheap bikes. Buy cheap bikes from the cheap bikes specialist.”
• A long row of keywords at the bottom of a page: “buy bike, bike online, cheap bike, bike Chicago”.
• Keywords in white text on a white background, so that only search engines can see them.

How do you avoid keyword stuffing?

Write for a reader and use the keyword only where it fits naturally, supported by synonyms and related terms. Read your text aloud: if a sentence sounds unnatural, rewrite it. There is no fixed density that works (copywriting).