Why Is Over SEO Optimization a Risk to Your Website?

When it comes to good SEO, we all know the drill. Get the right keywords. Place them wisely, and you will get the rankings you want. 

But some of us take it a bit too far. 

While good-optimized websites are great for online visibility, over-optimization can kill your SEO hard work. 

Over-optimized websites are seen as purely SEO-based information that may harm search engine’s audiences. This is why search engines heavily penalize such websites and why many old SEO hacks are not workable anymore. 

That means you still need to follow through on SEO hacks, but with such advanced algorithms, you must be competent.

You might occasionally want to catch up on Google’s SEO guidelines to keep yourself updated and your strategies relevant.   

This article will help you understand over-optimization and how to avoid it without compromising your strategies.

What is Over-Optimization?

Over-optimization places many high-ranking keywords without creating any sense. Visitors find your web pages tough to read, with challenging links that do not serve what they seek.

Some of the most common over-optimization practices can look like this; 

• Excessive paid links- Search engines are only sometimes fond of paid links. Websites must prove their competence against search engines, which must be done organically. While many websites go for paid linking from high authority sites, getting many of them might come across as over-optimization. 
• Keyword stuffing- If one thing can get you to lose your ranking overnight, then that has to be excessive keyword stuffing. Using keywords that have less to zero relevance to your actual content is a death pill for your website. The same may go for using the right keywords. 
• Excessive cloaking- Redirecting to your intent page might sometimes be wrong. But if that goes out for every page, that will reflect poorly on crawlers. 
• Duplicate Content- Search engines are not boastful about showing the same content repeatedly. 
• Over-optimizing website footers- Having a lot of footers on your website can be seen as over-optimized. 
• Excessive keywords on Domain Name- A complex domain name with keywords can overcomplicate things for the crawling bots. 

So, how can one precisely avoid over-optimization? It’s much simpler than you think. Stick to the basics, deliver more value than tactics, and you will be good to go.

Our proven SEO methods place it in the top 3 rankings and keep your audiences engaged.

5 SEO Fixes for an Over-Optimized Website

1- Be wise with your anchors

Using descriptive keywords as anchors can help represent the page you want to optimize. Make sure to incorporate as many relevant keywords that are different from the exact keyword as possible. It is also recommended to use low keyword density when using anchor keywords. 

2- Use the right proportions of keywords

Using keywords is one way to indicate to a search engine that you know about the topic.

However, repetitive use makes your content unreadable. One of the best ways to approach keywords is using long tail keywords.

LSIs are a great way of letting search engines know you have expertise in the subject.

Always make sure you blend secondary keywords, synonyms, and relevant keywords in your content.

Read – What Is Keyword Proximity In SEO? Its Role In SEO & Ranking

3- Build a robust linking system

Internal and external links are essential skeletal structures for your website’s frame.

With the proper structure, your audience can fully understand your website and navigate through it, highlighting a smooth user experience. 

Read – Internal Redirect URLs – Guide to Identifying and Resolving

4- Repurpose your content

While unique content ideas are the key, we all need more. But here is the trick to keep your content engaging.

Reuse your old content with a different purpose. Instead of duplicating anything, ensure each page has a unique viewpoint, even if it addresses the same topic.

For example, push in some FAQs or fact checks to keep the content fresh, unique, and engaging. 

5- Building Quality Links

As promising as bulk linking sounds, it only sometimes serves optimization well.

Building quality links from websites with good DA will ensure you have good authority in search engines. 

Following all of the above protocols will set you right for sound optimization. In case you are still looking for ways to ensure you are using the right tactics. 

Here is a small check sheet of questions to help prevent over-optimization of your website.

• What is the primary purpose of your website? 
• What is your primary motive for user experience? Are you looking for a transactional or an informational audience?
• Do you wish to keep having a recurring visitor?
• How far do you want to rank on Google?
• Do you want abrupt conversions, or do you wish your audience to navigate a little
• How much do you want to push on organic vs paid growth?
• How much are you willing to pay to implement the proper SEO tactics? 

Wrapping it up!

Optimization may sound easy, but you need solid experience-based knowledge to get the desired results.

Therefore, at Searchminers, we have a dedicated team of SEO experts to help you make the proper cut for the strategic optimization of your website. 

Get in touch with the team to remedy your over-optimized website and convert clients for a lifetime!