I surf the web a lot, but I’m still stunned from time-to-time when someone tries to fool a search engine to get better rankings. Sites do this in different ways: spamming, link baiting, cloaking… there are hundreds of “black hat” search techniques.
In almost all cases the webmaster goes to lengths to hide these techniques. In other instances, they don’t. Or more likely, the person doesn’t know they have tipped-toed into questionable SEO waters.
Which leads us today’s installment of “things not to do when optimizing your site.”
A few weekend searches over the nuances of Soccer rules, brought my wife to this page: (found here: http://www.soccerhelp.com/Soccer_Field_Index.shtml)
If it is not good for the user, then it is not good for the engine.
A close look reveals the problem, specifically the section that says “Dear visitor, ignore these links, they are for the search engines.”
All content is equal.
The rule of thumb is that search engines want to experience a site the exact same way a real, human user would. If content not intended for human eyes, then a search engine doesn’t want to “see” it either. Even if you try to section it off in a fun, tongue-in-cheek way on your site.
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