Search engine optimization tricks and penalties

Search engine optimization tricks will not gain you any benefit, only penalties. Soon after someone discovers a trick that increases their websites position in search engine results the major search engines will change their algorithms to prevent the trick from working. Moreover, search engines are likely to penalize websites that make use of penalties. Major search engines, having identified a website employing tricks, will investigate any websites affiliated to the website using the trick, and often penalize all of the affiliated websites. This is particular true for SEOs, who can find all of the websites they have optimized with tricks to be penalized.

We explain some of the common tricks:

Keyword stuffing

Keyword optimisation is an important task in increasing a web page's position in search engine results. Typically you will include the keyword a number of times on the web page, and in specific places on the web page. Inserting the keywords too often, in a unnatural manner will be identified and often penalized by search engines. See the guide to keyword optimization.

Link exchange schemes

Gaining more backlinks to a website or web page is an important factor in increasing search engine position. In recent years several link exchange schemes have appeared. The schemes allow you to join, for a fee, and then find other websites with which to exchange links. The idea is to make it easier to find link exchange partners. Whilst these might seem like a good idea, and often work initially, search engines know all about these schemes. It is very easy to identify the schemes, and all of those people who take part in them. Search engines can, and often do, penalize those who take part. Gaining more backlinks is not such a difficult task, and you should do it manually.

Outbound links to bad neighborhoods

Search engines identify websites that they consider bad neighborhoods. These are websites that provide no useful service on the internet, but ofter attract and trap people into spending money, or are a general nuisance. Linking from your website to a bad neighborhood will attract you a penalty. Search engines hold a website responsible for the websites it links to. Before linking to a website, check it thoroughly, and only link to it if you feel the website offers a good service or information.

Cross-linking

Cross-linking is the process of adding links on the homepage, or ever web page, of a website to selected other websites. The idea is that the sites that are being linked to will gain benefit from these links, particularly if the links are from a home page. You will regularly see this in the footer of a web page, where there are links to lots of other web pages. Major search engines can and do easily identify this tactic. This is a common tactic employed by SEOs, who have lots of websites to promote. Adding a link to your homepage to a website that is of a related topic to your website is perfectly acceptable. But, try and avoid a cluster of links in the footer. Add the links somewhere useful on the homepage. And only ever link to topic related websites.

Summary

Search engines know more about the internet than anyone else, it is their business to. Search engine tricks never work in the long run. Any short term benefit you may gain by using them will be negated when the benefit is removed, and you may be penalized. If something seems to good to be true, then it probably is. Stick to good honest SEO.