Examples of keyword stuffing
- Repeating the same phrase in almost every sentence: “Our cheap shoes are the best cheap shoes, so buy cheap shoes here.”
- Lists of cities, phone numbers or keywords with no real content around them.
- Hidden text, such as keywords in the same color as the background.
- Keywords crammed into alt text, title tags or URLs.
Why it doesn’t work
Search engines understand language, synonyms and topics, so repeating a phrase doesn’t make a page more relevant. It does make the page harder to read, which puts off visitors and signals low quality.
How to use keywords the right way
- Use the main keyword where it fits naturally: in the title, the H1, the introduction and a few headings.
- Write for the reader, using synonyms and related terms.
- Cover the questions and subtopics the searcher cares about.
- Read the text aloud: if it sounds unnatural, rewrite it.