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Learn SEO: Search Engine Spam
By Kimberly Bock | December 27, 2007
As you learn SEO, you learn how to optimize your META tags, your content, your links, your TITLE tags, etc. to appeal to the great thirst that the search engines have for text.
Here’s where you may begin saying to yourself, “Hmmm…maybe if I place my keywords in the META tag, Title, and content about 12,000 times, the search engines will not only think my site is most relevant to the search queries, but I’m sure to take first place in the results pages like a pro! Man, Im like, soooo smart…”
Well, you can stop right there. Many before you have tried to pursue the use of search engine spam and failed my friend. And those that are actively spamming at this moment may be running on borrowed time. It’s time to learn the ins and outs of ‘Spam’.
Definition of search engine spam
“Any attempt to deceive the search engine’s relevancy algorithms”
What isn’t search engine spam?
“Anything that would still be done if search engines did not exist”
Here’s a few examples of search engine spam:
- Invisible text – White text on white background, black text on black background, and so forth.
- Link Spam - Same concept
- Doorway pages – A web page designed to draw in Internet traffic from search engines, and then direct this traffic to another website.
- IP Cloaking- Directly deceives search engine spiders. This is designed to show the spiders different content than what is actually being shown through the users browser. Big no no.
- Keyword stuffing – Excessive repetition of keywords in Meta tags, ALT IMG tags, Comment tags or visible text.
- Link Farming - A collection of indiscriminate, often unrelated, web sites that link to each other to artificially boost link popularity
- Duplicate/Mirror Sites – An attempt to use multiple domains to show identical content.
- Javascript redirect on mouseover – Deceitful little tags designed to take a visitor from a page that was created for the search engines to see to a page made for humans to see.
Penalties for Search Engine Spammers
Despite the possible penalties for spammers, there are still repeat offenders. At what cost?
- Internet Service Providers can shut you down
- Website Hosting Company most likely will refuse to allow your service to continue
- Losing Page rank
- Permanent banning from search engine index
- Hate mail
- loss of customers
- fines
Don’t forget the lawsuits that often come along with it..
Search Engine Spam Lawsuit 2007:
Search Engine Guidelines
you need a better understanding of search engine guidelines, make sure to update yourself of their expectations.
Let’s face it, if you can’t provide quality content, people aren’t going to like what you offer anyway. Not to mention the fact that nobody likes deceit.
In essence…Spam bad.
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Topics: Search |