Examples of keyword stuffing: seven patterns and the fix for each

Keyword stuffing is filling a page with a word or phrase far more often than a person would write it, to try to manipulate rankings. A typical example: "We sell cheap running shoes. Our cheap running shoes are the best cheap running shoes for cheap running shoes buyers." Google's spam policies name the practice, and the fix is always the same: write the sentence a person would say, once, and let the page cover the subject.

What Google says

Google's spam policies, read on 13 October 2026, define keyword stuffing as filling a page with keywords or numbers to manipulate rankings, often in lists or groups that appear unnaturally or out of context. The policy gives three examples: lists of phone numbers without added value, blocks of text that list cities and regions a page is trying to rank for, and repeating the same words or phrases so often that it sounds unnatural. Google's own illustration is a paragraph that repeats "unlimited app store credit" until it reads like noise.

Seven examples, each with a fix

The samples below are written for this page to show the pattern. They are not taken from any real site.

1. The repeated phrase in body copy

Stuffed: "Looking for a plumber in Leeds? Our Leeds plumber team is the best plumber in Leeds. Call a Leeds plumber today for a plumber in Leeds."

Fixed: "We are a plumbing company based in Leeds. We repair boilers, fit bathrooms and fix leaks, and we answer calls seven days a week."

The fix names the city once, adds the services, and gives the reader something to act on.

2. The city and region list

Stuffed: a paragraph at the foot of a page reading "Plumber Leeds, plumber Bradford, plumber Wakefield, plumber York, plumber Harrogate..." for thirty towns.

Fixed: one sentence describing the area you serve, and a separate page for any town where you have real work to show, with a job, a photo and a customer comment.

3. The title and heading pile-up

Stuffed: a title tag of "Cheap Shoes | Buy Shoes Online | Best Shoes | Shoes Sale | Shoes UK".

Fixed: "Running shoes for wide feet, sized and tested". One phrase that describes the page, readable as a sentence. Google's guidance on titles says to give each page a unique, descriptive title.

4. Image alt text as a keyword dump

Stuffed: alt text reading "shoes cheap shoes buy shoes online best shoes discount shoes".

Fixed: "Blue trail running shoe on a muddy path". Alt text exists to describe the image to someone who cannot see it, as the W3C accessibility guidance explains.

5. Hidden text

Stuffed: a block of keywords in white text on a white background, or pushed off the screen with styling. Google lists hidden text and link abuse as its own policy violation.

Fixed: delete it. If the words are worth saying, put them on the page where a reader will see them.

6. The meta keywords field

Stuffed: a keywords tag holding two hundred terms.

Fixed: remove it. Our guide to meta keywords in WordPress shows how to check and remove the tag and what to write in the title and description instead.

7. The anchor text overload

Stuffed: a footer or sidebar of links to ten pages, each using the same exact phrase as its link text.

Fixed: vary the link text to describe each destination, as set out in our guide to SEO anchor text.

The keyword density myth

Many articles recommend a target percentage for how often a phrase should appear. There is no figure in Google's documentation, and a page written to a percentage reads as written to a percentage. Use the phrase where it belongs: in the title, in the first paragraph, in the heading that introduces the topic, and wherever you would naturally say it. Then use the related words a knowledgeable writer would use, such as the names of the parts, the steps, the tools and the common questions. A page that covers the subject fully uses the right words without counting.

How to check your own pages in ten minutes

1. Read it aloud. Any sentence you stumble on or would not say to a customer is a candidate for rewriting.
2. Count the phrase. Search the page for the main phrase. If it appears in nearly every paragraph or twice in a sentence, cut it back.
3. Look at the footer and sidebar. Lists of places, services or products with no copy around them are the most common source.
4. View the source for hidden blocks. Look for text inside elements hidden by styling, and for a long keywords tag.
5. Check titles across the site. A crawl or an audit tool lists duplicate and over-long titles. Our guide to SEO checker tools explains what the free ones report.

Why stuffing loses even before a penalty

Stuffed copy fails the reader first. Nobody trusts a page that repeats itself, and the visitor leaves. It also fails the search engine, because Google's systems look at meaning and helpfulness, and its guidance on helpful, people-first content asks whether a page was made for people or for search. And it fails when it is found: Google's spam policies state that pages in breach can rank lower or be left out of results.

If you inherit a site full of it, rewrite the top pages by traffic first. Replace repeated phrases with specific facts, keep one clear title per page and remove hidden blocks. Then watch the impressions for those pages in Search Console.

Questions about keyword stuffing

How many times can a keyword appear on a page?

As many times as the sentences need it and no more. Write for the reader, then read the page aloud to catch repetition.

Is repeating the keyword in headings stuffing?

Using it in the title and the main heading is normal. Repeating it in every subheading is a sign the page is being written to a formula.

Is a list of cities always stuffing?

A plain sentence naming where you work is fine. A long block of town names with no content is the example Google gives.

Can AI-written text be keyword stuffed?

Yes, when the prompt asks for repetition. Edit the output to read as a person would write it and add the specific facts only you have.

What is the difference between stuffing and good optimisation?

Optimisation helps a reader find and understand the page. Stuffing helps nobody but the person counting.

How an assistant reads a stuffed page

When an assistant answers a question from your page, it has to pull out a clean statement: what you do, where, for whom and at what price. A page that repeats one phrase thirty times gives it nothing to quote, so the assistant moves on to a page that states the facts. You can test this with any page you own. Paste its address into ChatGPT or Gemini and ask for a two sentence summary of what the business offers; if the answer is vague or wrong, the page is the cause. AI Knows Us (aiknowsus.com) runs that kind of question across five assistants for a business and shows which of its pages the answers drew from.