by Maxwell Payne

Created on: February 13, 2009

Spamdexing is a form of search engine optimization (SEO) that is generally seen as an unacceptable form of website promotion. Sites found to be using spamdexing may find themselves removed from search engine results such as Google. Spamdexing is used to bring a large number of visitors to a site by tricking search engines into returning results for search terms that have nothing to do with the site that is using this tactic.

A perfect example of spamdexing at work would be this:

You log online and go to Google to look up the latest news about your favorite band. Your favorite band also happens to be a very popular band often in the media. That means keywords and links to sites mentioning that band will rank high in search results.

Sites that practice spamdexing and happen to be using your favorite (and popular) band's name if done effectively, will pop up in the Google search results. When you click on that result you may be taken to a page that has nothing to do with your favorite band.

How websites utilize spamdexing:

Keyword stuffing - One of the main ways a site does spamdexing is by filling the website with as many carefully placed keywords as possible. These keywords may focus on a popular topic or website to ensure maximum results in search engines. The keywords may appear throughout the website, may be hidden from view through the use of background blending, and may cover a range of popular keywords.

Keyword stuffing was more prevalent in the 1990s before search engines utilized more advanced algorithm for ranking and returning search results. Back then, the number of times a keyword appeared on a website determined how high the site would rank when search results for that keyword were returned.

Metatag stuffing was also a big tactic used in spamdexing in the early to late 90s before search engines became more advanced.

Link spam - As search engines such as Google became better prepared to handle spam and false search results, spamdexing evolved. Part of many search engine's ranking systems today rely on the number of high quality and bigger sites that link to the site being ranked. The more quality and relevant sites that link to the site being ranked, the higher the site will rank overall and in relevant search results.

Those using spamdexing, started creating large networks of connected sites. Also they began spamming bigger well known sites with links to their website. This was accomplished through spamming comments pages, spam blogs, fake links, and more.

Common types of websites that use this deceitful practice are affiliate marketing sites, porn sites, pyramid scheme sites, sites existing solely to place Google Adsense ads on, and more. However anyone with a website may choose to engage in spamdexing, so if you search for your favorite band or a popular topic don't be surprised if you end up at a site filled with ads or one promising you'll get rich quick. Fortunately search engines are getting better at weeding out and eliminating sites that use this tactic from search results.

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