Search Engine Spam
Are you spamming?
A search engine spammer is generally a person who uses unfair techniques in order
to better their own, or a client's website within the search engine results. The
spammer is generally aware that the content that they are promoting is less relevant
to the end user than the pages that they are competing against.
Common spam techniques include…
Mirror websites
Mirror websites were once a common practice for dominating the top search engine
results. The technique involves hosting multiple websites with the same content
but using different URL's.
Gateway or doorway web pages
A gateway or doorway page is usually a page that is designed to rank highly within
the search results. A doorway page will commonly have very little content but is
instead stuffed with key words and phrases. A doorway page will generally have "click
here to enter" in the middle of it.
Disguising of key words
This usually involves disguising keywords and phrases
by making them the same colour as the background, using a tiny font size or hiding
them within the HTML code, including the no-frame sections, or using alt tags and
no-script sections.
Constant re-registering
People with a limited knowledge of optimisation often believe stories that re-registering
with search engines will improve their rankings. This is not the case. Re-registration
of websites can flag an alert within the search engine, which can ultimately result
in a ban of the website from the listings. Registration is important, however, once
a website has been included, the search engine should take care of reviewing the
content on a regular basis. Some search engines now have facilities in place so
that you can pay for express inclusion
into the search engine database and/or to review the site on a regular basis and
check for updates.
Are you spamming without realising?
Unfortunately, because of the amount of anti-spam techniques that search engines
have in place, you may be spamming without realising. This may not be through any
fault of your own, or your developers. It is very difficult to build a website that
is visually appealing, user friendly and optimised for the search engines.