does the cursor trick get you banned?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by UrbanMonk, Mar 15, 2007.

  1. #1
    I read about this cursor trick in an SEO book, does anyone know if Google will frown upon it?

    What it is:
    Let's say my keyword is "cars"... in my internal content, I hyperlink all instances of the word "cars". The bad thing is, it now looks like a link, and if I have a paragraph full of linked "cars", it looks crap. So I change the HTML/CSS so the colours are the same, and it doesn't underline. But as the cursor goes over it, it still becomes a little finger. So I use the CSS "pointer: text;" and now it looks just like normal text but it's a link.

    Is that bad for the search engines? Does anyone know?
     
    UrbanMonk, Mar 15, 2007 IP
  2. Glen

    Glen Peon

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    #2
    Its pointless doing it as you are going to receive no benefit. Take more interest in how it affects your users rather than the search engines. They are no.1 afterall
     
    Glen, Mar 15, 2007 IP
  3. banless

    banless Peon

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    #3
    Why would want to place a link to the keyword cars more than once on any page? This only makes sense if you are linking to a different site for each car link, otherwise there is no benifit what so ever.
     
    banless, Mar 15, 2007 IP
  4. mad4

    mad4 Peon

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    #4
    Sounds like a stupid idea to me. I think you should stop reading that SEO book before you mess up your site big time.
     
    mad4, Mar 16, 2007 IP
  5. UrbanMonk

    UrbanMonk Peon

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    #5
    Thanks guys, lucky I checked with you first!
     
    UrbanMonk, Mar 16, 2007 IP
  6. KC TAN

    KC TAN Well-Known Member

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    #6
    Maybe you want to share the title of that SEO book ;)
     
    KC TAN, Mar 16, 2007 IP
  7. UrbanMonk

    UrbanMonk Peon

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    #7
    It's the free one from Divine Write, at www.divinewrite.com.au (i think). He's ranked top3 in his field (seo copywriter) in Google, sometimes no.1
     
    UrbanMonk, Mar 16, 2007 IP
  8. bacanze

    bacanze Peon

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    #8
    I have read that one, its okay I guess if your starting out...
     
    bacanze, Mar 16, 2007 IP
  9. MarcRoman

    MarcRoman Peon

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    #9
    Now on the other side, I think having your keywords in your internal links is still fairly important, you just should do it naturally. I typically use the link within the text body. I wouldn't bother doing the whole changing colors so it looks better to the user but still giving the search engines what they need.

    I know from a personal standpoint I typically highlight the paragraph on the page so I know where I am reading if my mind wanders. Happens when you get old and forgetful. Having a ton of links in the paragraph that I highlighted would probably not be very attractive from a user perspective.
     
    MarcRoman, Mar 16, 2007 IP