Signs That You Are Overdoing SEO Optimization

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Signs That You Are Overdoing SEO Optimization

• With so much talk about the benefits of search
  engine optimization for healthcare websites, we
  often lose sight of the dangers of over-
  optimization. Too many website owners are unaware
  they can overdo SEO. It happens all the time.
• For example, some websites have multiple pages
  about the same topic. Site owners think repeating
  the same keywords and content will help them rank
  better. They think more is better. However, the
  opposite is true. Google will penalize the
  overused content and reduce the offending
  websites ranking. And thats just one of the
  many over-optimization tactics website owners
  use.
• In this article, we share some of the most common
  over-optimization issues we face when we audit
  healthcare websites. We see these issues on
  nearly every healthcare site we audit. Well also
  give you some tips on how to avoid them and
  maintain better Google rankings.
• 10 Ways to Ruin Your Google Ranking
• There are dozens of ways to ruin your Google page
  ranking. As a busy healthcare provider, you might
  find it difficult, if not impossible, to keep up
  with Googles frequent algorithm updates. Just
  understand that Google does everything to
  provide more relevant search results for users.
  Users who could be your future patients.
• For this article, well focus on ten of the most
  common over-optimization errors committed by
  healthcare websites. So, lets dive in
• Keyword Stuffing

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• Read your web content. Does it read like a word
  salad? If so, its over- optimized. Your content
  is stuffed with too many target keywords. Google
  will penalize you for this. You can avoid it by
  using your primary keywords about once in every
  200 words. In other words, spread them out in
  your text.
• Avoid stuffing footers, sidebars, and heading
  tags with keywords. This SEO tactic could earn
  you devastating Google penalties. To avoid it,
  use simple headers and footers. Use keywords in
  your H1 (headline) and H2 (subheading) tags when
  they directly describe the content that follows.
• Anchor Stuffing
• Avoid using too many keyword-rich anchors that
  match internal or external URLs in your text
  links. Use synonyms instead.
• Keyword Cannibalism
• Avoid overlapping or similar pages, topics, and
  content. Experts call this keyword cannibalism.
  Its often indicative of poor SEO strategy and
  bad site architecture. It means the information
  on your website is not well organized.
• Non-relevant Keywords
• Your website should reflect your practice. Each
  page topic must reflect part of what you do.
• A trending keyword, phrase, or event can often
  improve your page rank if it fits your practice.
  Avoid publishing content that targets off- niche
  or irrelevant keywords, which can damage your
  page rank.
• Pointless Long-form Articles

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• Although long-form SEO content like
  1,500-plus-word blogs is excellent for
  establishing authority in your niche, it can also
  be useless and harm your SEO strategy. Your
  content must contain relevant keywords that align
  with your practice. Your content should be
  original, information-rich, accurate, helpful,
  and relevant.
• Wrong Header Tags
• Make sure you have just one H1 tag (main header)
  per web page. Content with multiple H1 tags on a
  single page will hurt your SEO. Use a single H1,
  and follow it with H2s and H3s, as appropriate.
• Bad Linking Strategy
• Avoid excessive use of primary keywords in your
  in-text links. Using internal and external links
  that match another pages name or primary keyword
  can trigger an over-optimization penalty. Avoid
  linking your content to sites with low domain
  authority. This can damage your sites authority,
  which search engines use to determine the
  relevance and quality of your pages.
• Dont use content that only links internally to
  your top-level navigation pages. Deeper internal
  links can strengthen your link profile. For
  example, try linking a top-level service page to
  a secondary page within that section. This will
  give your readers more in-depth information.
• Hidden Text
• Dont place hidden text on your web pages. This
  is spam if youre trying to manipulate search
  algorithms that drive more traffic to your
  website. Hidden text can earn your site a serious
  Google penalty and reduce your page ranking
  results.

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• Duplicate Content with Incorrect Tags
• A search engines goal is to provide relevant
  original content for each user query. If you
  share duplicate copies across multiple domains,
  be sure to tell Google which URL is the original.
  Then Google can crawl it more often than the
  rest. Google calls this canonicalization. Make
  sure you code your canonical tags to avoid Google
  penalties.
• Stuffed Domain Names
• Dont use non-branded, keyword-dense domain
  names. These can also trigger Google penalties if
  youre over-optimized elsewhere. Keep your domain
  names simple, or use your practice brand name.
• Avoid SEO Over-Optimization with Googles Zoo
• Google refines its algorithms continuously.
  Thats why you should also refine your SEO best
  practices by familiarizing yourself with Google
  Zoo. Google Zoo delivers major content-focused
  updates that are part of Googles core algorithm.
• The Google Zoo now includes Panda, Penguin, and
  Hummingbird. These are Googles most significant
  algorithm updates that determine where your site
  ranks. Each animal has a different function. Each
  one identifies and reports over-optimization.
• Google Panda (2011)
• This was a major algorithm update that impacted
  search rankings for almost 12 of U.S. queries.
  Panda was designed to remove thin or low- quality
  content search results and reward sites with
  high-quality, informative, relevant, and original
  content. Panda became part of Googles core
  algorithm in 2016. Today, it continues to aim at
  spam

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creators and content farms. The site eHow, for
example, is a content farm, also known as a
content mill. Most of eHows articles are of low
quality. The people who write them are low paid
and the website contains many ads. Google
Penguin (2012) SEO practitioners responded when
Googles Panda update impacted low- quality
sites. They began using hacker SEO tactics to
prop up their page ranks. Google answered these
shady tactics with Penguin. Penguin targets and
devalues sites containing link spam and
manipulative link- building tactics. This became
a part of Googles core algorithm update in
2016. Google Hummingbird (2013) The Hummingbird
update assesses whether your sites content
satisfies user search intent. It penalizes sites
that do keyword stuffing and post low-quality
content. This update helps Google interpret the
intent of user queries to deliver more helpful
results. By staying up-to-date on Googles
latest algorithm changes and focusing your
content on your potential users search intent,
youll avoid the most common pitfalls of
over-optimization. Learn more about optimizing
your website SEO rankings and enhancing your
online presence. Get a free website analysis from
healthcare marketing agency Practice Builders.
They can help you find solutions that will
improve your SEO and drive new patients to your
practice. To learn more, contact us.