Earning a top spot in search results is the Holy Grail for almost every marketer. It puts your business in front of potential customers while they’re in the market for your solution.
The SEO industry has made an art and science out of uncovering the secrets to engineering the “perfect” page for Google to find and index. The one thing many marketers don’t realize is that while Google is looking for the perfect result to any search, it’s also looking to exclude those trying to beat the algorithm with over-engineered “perfection.” Every day it’s getting better and better at snuffing out inauthenticity. Yes, Google has what I call a “B.S. Meter.”
Why Is Google Anti-Perfection?
Simply put, Google wants end users to find what they’re actually looking for — the true solution to their problem. See, end users are both the audience and the product for search engines. They need people to continue to use their search engine so they can sell users’ data and attention.
Without supplying the best possible organic experience — including prioritizing pages with the best speed, UX and quality — users will head elsewhere. Your business very well may be the answer to their problem, but unless you can show that authentically, Google’s going to find and crush your manipulation. Let me give you a couple of examples of what sets off the Google B.S. Meter and how to avoid it.
Siren No. 1: Disavowing All Mediocre Backlinks
For those not familiar, backlinking is getting other sites to link back to yours. Google’s algorithm assumedly counts those citations as votes of confidence, thus ranking you higher — but only when the sites linking to you are deemed as quality by Google. If, on the other hand, a “toxic” site cites you, it’ll pull you down with them. Other sites with neither clout nor toxicity can link to you with little impact on your ranking.
We’ve worked with scores of clients who’ve said, “I only want high-quality links.” Like keyword stuffing, it sounds fabulous. But to strive for only perfect links will set off the B.S. Meter. Ask yourself: What site has only high-quality backlinks? There’s something a bit suspect there. Google can sense the engineering, the gaming, the falsity behind a coerced backlink strategy.
It’s best to create a natural linking profile with a broad assortment of links: some high-quality and some mediocre, similar to the panorama of a normal life as opposed to something brilliantly devised. You can use third-party tools like SEMrush, Moz Link Explorer or Ahrefs Backlink Checker to get visibility into your profile.
So, yes, disavow those toxic links that are dragging you down, but don’t discount the value of pursuing and/or accepting mediocre citations and guest blogs. Just keep an eye out that they don’t swing down in the sphere of influence.
Siren No. 2: Stuffing Keywords
It’s a no-brainer that using the keywords on your site is the most basic and critical factor in ranking for those keywords. We as marketers spend ample amounts of time uncovering which words our audience uses in relevant searches and creating content with those words prominently featured in the title, H1 and body copy. We must continue to do this.
The siren is sounded, though, when you get overzealous. The assumed logic is to bombard your content with keywords — if using it once is good, 20 times must be great! But think about it. Does that keyword really have an authentic place 20 times on that page?
Again, Google isn’t wired from the brand’s point of view. It’s wired from the consumer’s viewpoint — that of the person executing the search. It’s looking for keyword stuffing. It’s looking for things that don’t sound natural. And it’s punishing brands that throw every keyword they can imagine in every place they can.
So, yes, you need keywords, but you shouldn’t stuff them. Of course, that’s easier said than done when you’re sitting down to write a piece of content with a list of them staring back at you. My recommendation is that, when you finish writing your draft, cease being yourself for a moment. Imagine instead that you are the intended audience for the piece, and read it. Don’t check for typos or grammatical errors. Instead, ask yourself: Is it telling a story I (as your audience) want to listen to? Is it providing me (as your audience) with value? If the answers truly are yes, Google should agree.
Being Perfectly Imperfect
This all boils down to one key piece of advice: Stop trying to serve Google, and start trying to genuinely serve your target audience. Only then will your strategy and interests be aligned with Google’s without having to force it.
Now get out there and embrace those perfect imperfections!