Search engine optimization is a complex process, and since the exact search ranking algorithms most search engines use are still mysteries, there is a lot of guesswork involved. There are a lot of optimization methods that are known or highly believed to work, and many that may or may not work, depending on who you ask. Then there are methods people use that are counterproductive and can hurt a site’s optimization. Here are a few common examples. Putting lots of text, especially keywords, in images, videos, flash files, and similar media. Search engine crawlers cannot read this text. Choosing a bad site address that is confusing, long, or irrelevant. People and search bots want URLs that makes sense and are easy to remember. Thinking that search engine optimization is a quick and easy way to get lots of page hits, or thinking that it’s a one-time project. Sites need to be continually managed and optimized to get the full effect. Relying on web tricks that attract search engine crawlers rather than creating attractive content to human viewers. Site owners should always be concerned with what they offer people first, and robots second. Resorting to black hat optimization methods which are not only annoying, but often immoral as well. Black hat tricks usually get identified and punished by search engines quickly. Optimizing too much. Sometimes people really go overboard with their modifications, often to the point where it becomes spam. This can actually hurt page ranking. Once a site has been reasonably optimized, owners should turn back to creating more content to draw more people.
Avoid using black hat SEO Technique, like Hidden text IP delivery Cloaking . Paid links Keyword stuffing Automatically generated keyword pages Mispsellings Scraping Ad only pages Blog spam Duplicate content on multiple domains
1)Targeting the wrong keywords. 2)Ignoring the title tag. 3)A flash website without alternative a HTML alternative. 4)Lack of consistency and maintenance. 5)Ignoring URLs. 6)Backlink spamming.
Yes, all the above points are very often mistaken and i personally feel lack of self belief in continuing a business for a long time results all hard work in vain.
Dude i can guarantee that most of the SEO engineers don't know which are black hat and which are not. most of us tell that they know but i can bet that they don't. the average Black hat techniques are known by all by all but the secret ones know only a few
Another mistake is not to stop once you've reached your target. This may seem obvious but many make the mistake of stopping when they get into the top 3 or so but fall shortly after.
There's good article on noble samurai's blog about first link prority which is something that I knew of but had forgotten about. www[dot]noblesamurai.c0m/blog/market-samurai/website-optimization-first-link-priority-2306
I think BLACK HAT is a myth...If using black hat can be ban in google...just wonder why many automated software today exist....and many outsourcing companies using blackhat method in order to promote the rank of their client....
Over optimization of certain keywords and choosing the wrong keyword can also hit the page rank of the site very badly.
Avoid common on-page SEO mistakes such as: Duplicate content URL variants of the same pages Off-site images and content on-site Duplicate title tags Avoid on page spammy SEO tactics such as: Hidden text Hidden links Keyword repetition Doorway pages Mirror pages Cloaking AVOID COMMON OFF-PAGE SEO MISTAKES: Duplicate keywords in link avderts Site-wide links causing link growth spikes Using on-page SEOs to do the work of specialist off-page SEO's Placing random links without keywords near your link adverts AVOID SPAMMY off page SEO TACTICS SUCH AS: Link farms (sites with 100+ outbound links per page) Using irrelevant keywords in your link-ads Garbage links Link churning Hidden inbound links
Thank you for summing it up jhnbrwn! This will come in handy to both newbies and oldies here. =) It's all about churning quality content and getting backlinks from reputable sites. It's hard work but the results make it worthwhile.