Over optimization Penalties in Google – Myth or Reality? - Is over optimization an issue with Yahoo! or MSN Search?

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The term over optimization comes up mainly in connection with Google and its purportedly more complex and sophisticated algorithms. In researching this issue, I have seen some skepticism that Google is more advanced than other top search engines. Visit www.google-watch.com for an interesting devil’s advocate viewpoint on Google.

It remains to be seen whether or not Yahoo! or MSN penalize sites for using white hat SEO tactics in excess, a.k.a., “over optimization.” Though the consensus among SEO professionals has been that Yahoo! and MSN are sub-par in terms of search technology, this is changing. For example, the launch of MSN’s new search engine, which came out of beta in January 2005, has spawned speculation that Microsoft is gearing up to dominate the search market. Many webmasters have commented on the “deep crawling” ability of the new MSN bot, noting visits from MSN in the hundreds or thousands. This is significant when considering over optimization because it indicates that MSN may be moving away from strictly page-by-page ranking optimization, which relies heavily on keywords in tags and the appearance of the keyword in the text on a specific page.

Like Google, deep crawling for MSN could mean that it is moving towards a topical-ranking algorithm that factors in the contents of an entire site and the content of the external sites linking to the specific page (e.g., the keyword “neighborhood”). If this is the case, a page that is “overoptimized” without appropriate support from pages within its own domain or its link partners (e.g., off-topic link exchanges), could rank poorly and/or be penalized as an out-of-context page that could be a doorway.

Yahoo!’s Web results favor content-rich sites that are well-optimized and seem to allow for a higher keyword density than Google. It is nevertheless recommended that you optimize for specific keywords with care, and keep your pages thematically relevant when compared with your entire site.

Next: Conclusion: A website that is “overoptimized” is not optimized at all >>
 

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Comments On: Over optimization Penalties in Google – Myth or Reality?

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