Keywords have for a long time been the golden ring regarding SEO and website placement on the search engines. Nowadays, the question arises whether or not the emphasis on keywords and keyword density is necessary or a detriment.
In the old days, when webmasters found out the more keywords that were put on a website, the higher it ranked, led to an industry and haphazard practice that involved webmasters and marketers to engage in what is called as “keyword stuffing”. It worked for quite a long time until the search engines like Google finally developed ways to combat the practice. Google’s software arsenal like Panda, Penguin, and RankBrain have gotten smarter and not only know when keywords are strategically placed to gain unethical advantage, but these software can detect other issues thus making keyword stuffing a sure step to harsh penalization.
Over the past several years, SEO pros and marketers have been intensely studying what they need to do with keywords to get the big rankings. Of most importance, is whether or not there is an optimum keyword density. This has taken much experimentation as well with keyword research which is still essential. SEO has moved from a practice to a science and there are restrictions as well as new frontiers. SEO engineers are working feverishly to find some solution and capitalize on it. It’s going to be tough because as soon as they discover something and put it into practice, Google will be hot on their heels figuring a way to stop it if it can and has been used to unfair advantage.
At present what seems to be working best is expansion and diversity. This means creating interesting and engaging content that spans the breadth of the website and social media. Content like pics and videos should be properly tagged with your keywords in it in a relevant way, not just to show face.
For example, if your keyword is “candy apples” there are some things you can do to get the best results by incorporating it into your copy and content the right and ethical and advantageous way. First of all your tags should have the keywords in them, but in a relevant way. The wrong way would be to tag a picture with “Kids enjoying themselves, candy apples”. It’s not good grammar and Google will see that. Instead you would write, “These kids are enjoying their candy apples”, simple correct grammar and relevant. If there is another picture on your site showing something not relevant but you apply your keywords, the search engine software will discover this and give you the boot. So if your company sells more than one product than “candy apples” yet you attach that keyword to other content that isn’t able to integrate then you’ll be discovered and punished.
So the best bet looks like doing three things, using keyword research, structuring your site with an ethical and necessity to your keyword base, and creating lengthier and more engaging content with your keywords incorporated. This will allow Google to see your site is important to others and shows you provide value to their surfing experience.