Worst SEO Mistakes - Alt Tag Stuffing
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ALT tags are designed for blind people. Alt tags should describe images, buttons, navigation and other site elements to make browsing easier for those who can't see. Some people stuff their keywords into ALT tags, in hopes of ranking better in search results. This doesn't work. If spotted, you'll be punished.
On top of being ineffective, it's a real hassle for blind people who have to listen to the BS webmasters stuff into these tags to manipulate search engines. Use alt tags for image descriptions, and don't worry about the keywords.
Comment Spam
There are several types of comment spam.
One type uses robots to put in generic BS comments and links back to their owner's site in hopes of getting more valuable inbound links. Google discovered this and doesn't count comment links anymore. Bloggers also use the nofollow tag, so it doesn't matter if there are links in comments.
Another way to spam comments is to leave generic comments like "I did an article about this too, come check it out" in hopes of driving traffic and subscriptions.
Blog comments are designed for discussion, so saying something useful without intent to get something back plays a lot better in the long term. You get respect and eventually the blogger becomes more interested in you. Then you get your link.
Forum Spam
Forum spam involves leaving forum messages disguised as editorials, but are nothing more than ads for a website.
This type of spam looks really nasty and irritates all forum users. Don't do it. If you want to drive visitors from forums, participate in discussions, offer advice and help everyone. You will gain respect and people will visit your site from the signature. This time however, instead of saying "who the hell is that guy?!" they will land on the home page wit the thought of "that guy is good, let's see what he's built here."
Reliance on Meta Tags
Meta tag's days are over. Keyword meta tags do not work. I wouldn't bother spending more than few minutes on keyword meta tags. The description meta tag, on the other hand, is very useful. It is the description that shows in search results, so make sure there are clear calls to action.
Submission to a Bunch of Social Media Sites
You've probably seen those one-vote articles sitting in no-man's-land with headlines like "New marketing methods" and "Super interactive website www.spamsite.com" Those are attempts by marketers to get diggs, reddits and other types of votes. Social media marketing is a craft of its own, and a link to a generic site doesn't do it. You can learn a great deal about social media marketing over at Sphinn.
Next: Long and Dynamic URLs >>
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