Enough already... I have read this post or that post that claims this real estate blogger or that one is keyword spamming.  Let me set the record straight, to keyword spam in content is pretty hard- it would make your text almost unreadable.  What is more likely to be caught by engines is keyword spamming in the HTML. This happens when you or your web developer load your link, image, heading or other HTML tags with spammy "alt" "title" or other attributes.  While that was a great way to manipulate search positioning in 1999, it is a sorely outdated, dare I say, embarrassing way to do it today.  This is the most common type of keyword spamming caught by engines today.

So, before we get into the what, when, where, how of it all, let's find out who is keyword spamming:

Use This Tool to Check for Keyword Spamming:  spam detector tool

***FYI: CSS attributes with visibility set to none are very common today as more and more sites are CSS driven, this is not always indicative of spamming and should be ignored like the tools own disclaimer notes.

Read also: Keyword Stuffing by Laurie Manny

Let's break down the types of tags and attributes and what you or your web developer SHOULD place in them.

What are HTML tags and their attributes?

You probably know by now that your website is written with a combination of tools called HTML and CSS.  (You may also have other technologies on your site like DHTML, XHTML, FLASH, PHP, JavaScript, etc.)  But for simplicity we are only going to focus on HTML and CSS.  The HTML is what gives your site the layout and the CSS is what provides the styling of text, images, elements, etc.    Below are the most common HTML tags that can be used for keyword spamming.

Reference: W3C's HTML Attributes Glossary

Heading Tags:

ID or Name: a unique identifier for the element

Title: text to display in the tool tip when you roll over the element

Heading tags can have title attributes, but they are somewhat unnecessary as an H1, H2, H3 should have text inside of it.  I recently ran across a website where the web hack put 3 images in H1 (yes, three H1s with images... I can barely wrap my head around this one).  Then, to compound the issue, they placed both alt text in the image and a title attribute in the H1, all of which were just chock full o' keywords.  And lo and behold, Google caught this website for keyword spamming.  The unfortunate thing is, the real estate blogger is the one that got hurt not the web developer who caused it.

Read also: Only use one H1 tag on each page of your site

Recommendations for attribute use: In the case of heading tags, since they are mostly text, there is no need to use attributes

Image Tags:

Alt: Alternative text used when an image does not display for accessibility

ID or Name: a unique identifier for the element

Title: text to display in the tool tip when you roll over the element

Recommendations for attribute use: Alt and title text s generally used to help index the image in Google images, so while you can include keywords here, only use them if applicable to the image.  Try to be as descriptive of the image as possible, because you DO want that image to be index properly in Google images.  For example, you would devalue the indexed images if you were to tag an image of the Equal Housing Opportunity with "Lake Park Real Estate."

*Image tags are the most common place where webmasters spam in HTML.

Optimizing images is becoming more and more important in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is a critical step that in optimization. This can be a lost opportunity for better rankings but it can also be a place where devious webmasters keyword spam.

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise the use of alternative text for the images on your web site:

    Images: Use the alt attribute to provide descriptive text. In addition, we recommend using a human-readable caption and descriptive text around the image.

Why would they ask us to do that? The answer is simple, really; search engines have the same problem as blind users. They cannot see the images.

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse the use of this attribute, trying to stuff it with keywords, hoping to achieve a certain keyword density, which is not as relevant for rankings now as it once was.  The funny thing is... high keyword density in the "alt" tag can, on some search engines (Google), trigger spam filters, which may result in a penalty for your site's ranking. Even without such a penalty, your site's rankings will not benefit from this tactic.

What is an ALT attribute?

An alt attribute should not be used as a description or a label for an image.  The words used within an image's alt attribute should be its text equivalent and convey the same information or serve the same purpose that the image would.

Some Alt Attribute Guidelines:

    * Always add alt attributes to images. Alt is mandatory for accessibility and for valid XHTML.

    * Remember that it is the function of the image you are trying to convey. For instance; any button images should not include the word "button" in the alt text. They should emphasize the action performed by the button.

    * Alt text should be determined by context. The same image in a different context may need drastically different alt text.

    * Try to flow alt text with the rest of the text because that is how it will be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone listening to your page should hardly be aware that a graphic image is there.

Please keep in mind that using an alt attribute for each image is required to meet the minimum WAI requirements, which are used as the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and the rest of Europe. They are also required to meet "Section 508" accessibility requirements in the US.

Link Tags:

ID or Name: a unique identifier for the element

Title: text to display in the tool tip when you roll over the element

Recommendations for attribute use: While most links on a page will be textually based, you typically do not need to use the title attribute.  However, the title attribute is recommended when you use an image as a link (for example in the case of a button).  This is a good way to provide Google with the intention of the link.  For example, if you have a button that links to your lead generator- you might want to include "Lake Park Florida Home Search" in the title attribute.  See how that works in the keyword and the intention of the link?  You never want to just put "Lake Park Florida Real Estate" in each title for a link or image - that would be what we in the industry call KEYWORD SPAMMING.  Be sure to only work in the keyword when it makes sense, so you would nix the keyword in a link to say an accreditation board, because that simply wouldn't make sense.

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