A Word On Over Optimization
A few months ago I had switched from the recommended SEO plugin All-In-One to Yoast Seo.
When I first set it up I was super excited because it gives you all kinds of recommendations to fix SEO issues.
One of them is to have a keyword density of .5%. After following this recommendation on one of my posts I jumped instantly from around 12 or 13 to 7!
I was hooked so I went through all of my old posts and applied these recommendations.
However, since I have come to Mexico, I have gained access to some spreadsheets to identify SEO issues.
One of them is over-optimization.
So to test this, I took a post that was ranking at the top of page two for its main keyword.
I removed the keyword so that it is only on the page two times, I even removed it from alt tags as well.
As you can see before I removed the keywords I was ranking around the middle of the second page.
I removed the keywords in the first week of January.
In about a month this page has jumped almost to the middle the first page!
So, long story short, follow the training when they tell you to use the keyword in the title and in the first paragraph, then write naturally after that.
This page also jumped for several other keywords as well during the last month.
Now I just need to find the time to go back through all of my other posts and fix this issue!
Recent Comments
13
Hi. I should have found this post before. I d exactly the same experience. Found Yoast, was super excited, changed everything. Now I’m in the process of taking everything back and improve. That takes a long time. Should have never done in the first place.
Thanks For sharing,
Oscar
I've been using Yoast since before I joined WA over three years ago. But I only use Yoast to tell me when my writing is getting to complicated. I don't touch the SEO part at all. Keyword stuffing just doesn't work.
https://marionblackonline.com/looking-for-answers-not-questions/
Good to know Jeremy. I use yoast too and have been wondering if I should change. But it’s easier to keep and ignore keyword density as you have suggested. Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Valle de Bravo is a really neat little town! Lots of delicious and cheap food. Haven't been to see the butterflies but we hiked to the top of La Peña yesterday, which was pretty cool. Getting lots of exercise from walking up all the hills!
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Your article helped me so very much. I was told the keyword is always in the title and the first sentence in the first paragraph, or the first image not and. Or the last paragraph of the last part of the post/page, again not and. Or the other parts of the blog, not and.
It must be limited. Thanks so much again.
Brian Elliott