Leadgenerering
10. april 2025
What is keyword stuffing?
Keyword stuffing is when you try to get a page to rank for a specific keyword by repeating it far too many times. It is the SEO tactic that worked a little too well in 2010—and which today is countered by all of Google’s updates.
Indhold
Eksempler på stuffing Benyt semantik i stedet Hvorfor semantik Stuffing vs. semantik Straffes stuffing Hvornår “stuffer” man?Examples of keyword stuffing
It is easy to spot—and even easier to break out in hives from. Here are a few caricatured examples:
“You can find cheap men’s shoes here. If you are looking for cheap men’s shoes online, we have the best cheap men’s shoes among all cheap men’s shoes.”
Or the classic:
“SEO agency Copenhagen with SEO agency expertise. We are the SEO agency in Copenhagen you need for SEO agency tasks.”
If you feel like you are getting dumber from reading it—do not worry, Google hates it too.
Write semantic copy instead
Instead of grinding the same keyword in again and again, write like a human. Use synonyms, related concepts, and natural variations in language. This is called semantic SEO—and it works because it helps both the user and Google understand what the page is about.
You do not need to write “cheap men’s shoes” seven times. Write “shoes on sale”, “great prices on men’s shoes”, “men’s shoes that will not break the bank”—you know, the way you would actually say it.
Why does semantic SEO work better?
It is not just something we say. Google has used machine learning and NLP (natural language understanding) since the Hummingbird update back in 2013. It changed the game from “exact keyword” to intent and context.
Then RankBrain came in 2015—and most recently BERT and MUM, which basically make Google better at understanding how words relate to each other rather than just which words are used.
Now we also have Google AI Overviews, which, frankly, do not even look at your keywords if you miss the context. Here, it is semantic depth that determines whether you get shown.
And according to data from GEO analyses (AI Overviews performance tracking), pages with keyword stuffing perform significantly worse—both in impressions and clicks.
Keyword stuffing vs. semantic copy—a quick comparison
| Text type | Example | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword stuffing | “Find the best cheap men’s shoes. Our cheap men’s shoes are the best cheap men’s shoes online. Buy your cheap men’s shoes here.” | Sounds like spam. Google hates it. |
| Semantic copy | “Looking for men’s shoes on sale? We have shoes for men in several styles—without you having to max out your debit card.” | Natural language. User-friendly. Google understands the context. |
Do you get penalized for keyword stuffing? Honestly
Yes, you can be penalized—but not necessarily with a red Google warning light and a fine.
In practice, what happens is that your pages simply do not get shown. Google chooses someone who writes better. Because the algorithm can see that keyword stuffing rarely helps the user—and Google exists to help the user.
So you will not necessarily be deindexed, but you will be passed over. And that is punishment enough, is it not?
SO
Stop writing like a robot. Use your language—and give Google enough semantics to understand what you mean, and give users something they actually want to read. This also means you should consider your readability score and limit the amount of wall-of-text.
When do you “stuff” keyword density?
The short answer: When your text sounds like you wrote it for Google—not for people.
There is no longer a magic percentage for keyword density. Forget everything about “2.5% is the golden number”. That was 2000s SEO. Today, it is about whether your text is natural. If you repeat the same word 10 times on one page and it makes the text feel stiff, forced, or artificial—then you have a problem. Not necessarily because Google penalizes you directly, but because it will show someone who writes better instead.
So you are not “stuffing” because you used your keyword too much in absolute terms—but because you used it in a way that makes the experience worse for the user. And that is what Google cares about.
