SEO Limits – Avoid Washing the Boss’s Car

I am lucky enough to be starting my second week working at the one job everyone has applied for in their lives. The one you find and immediately start planning your life around and talking about it like you were already hired because that is the only end you want to imagine. Well, that job is my job now and here I am immersed in a sea of information relating to all things marketing.

Now I face the eternal struggle for balance that every new person in the office faces in the first months and weeks of a new job; what do I do to show that I can do this job well? Am I doing enough? Is it possible to do too much?

As for the first question, let’s hope so, and to the second, absolutely. Showing up a few minutes early, offering to help people out with burdensome projects, making an effort to get to know your co-workers; all of these things will bode well for you in the eyes of your supervisor. But take that too far; packing an afghan and pillow, sleeping a few hours under your desk in lieu of going home, washing the boss’s car on your lunch break; is certainly not going to be a superior way to show everyone that you are the best person for the job. People are likely to label you unstable, even crazy. It is important to be mindful of crossing the threshold where too much of a good thing becomes bad, and creepy

I am happy to say that this lesson is not exclusive to those of us beginning a new career. In the world of search engine optimization it is also important to know that too much of a good thing can become harmful rather than beneficial.

As I have learned very quickly in my new position, website optimization is almost as necessary as your computer. That said, there are limits to how far you go without having search engines think you are creepy. Over-optimization of your website, the SEO equivalent of washing the boss’s car at lunch, is the result of extreme overuse of SEO techniques to the point that search engines penalize your website.

This topic is constantly being debated in online forums, and there are many opinions as to what the SEO limits are, what you should do to avoid over-optimization, and if penalties for over-optimization even exist. There is plenty of information out there, but the most important thing to remember is to find balance. Doing too much can hurt you rather than help you. But, just like I have to figure out what lies between hiding under my desk and sleeping under it, understanding where the line is will get easier with time and understanding.

If you have over-optimized your website and need to know what to do, contact Oneupweb. We’ll be happy to help you put the sponge and soap away, and quit washing the boss’s car on your lunch hour.