Can You Over Optimise Your Website for SEO? (And How to Fix It)
By greenopalconsultancy / December 1, 2021
Yes — you absolutely can over optimise your website for SEO, and it can actually damage your rankings rather than improve them. It’s a common issue, especially for business owners who are trying to “do the right thing” with SEO but end up going a bit too far.
In this article, I’ll explain what over-optimisation looks like, how to spot it, and what you can do to fix it.
What is over-optimisation in SEO?
Over-optimisation happens when you try too hard to target keywords or follow SEO “rules”, to the point where it starts to negatively impact your content and user experience.
This might include:
- Repeating keywords too often
- Creating multiple pages targeting the same keyword
- Overloading titles or URLs with keywords
- Writing content for search engines instead of real people
If you’re unsure what good optimisation should look like, you can follow a structured approach using tools like Yoast — I’ve broken this down in my guide on how to use Yoast SEO plugin in WordPress.
Signs your website may be over-optimised
If your rankings have dropped or your traffic isn’t improving, over-optimisation could be part of the problem.
Some common signs include:
- Multiple pages competing for the same keyword
- Content that feels repetitive or unnatural to read
- URLs packed with keywords
- Pages ranking poorly despite being heavily “optimised”
How to fix over-optimisation (practical steps)
The good news is this is fixable — and often quite quickly once you know what to look for.
- Focus on one keyword per page – Make sure each page has a clear purpose and target keyword.
- Rewrite content for humans first – If your content feels forced, simplify it. Write naturally and clearly.
- Remove unnecessary keyword repetition – You don’t need to mention your keyword in every sentence — natural variation works better.
- Consolidate similar pages – If you have multiple pages targeting the same keyword, consider merging them.
- Use internal links instead of repeating keywords – Link to relevant pages on your site rather than trying to force keywords into the same page repeatedly.
If you want a structured way to review your content, you can follow my SEO content checklist and best practices guide
.
A real example of over-optimisation
This is exactly what Caroline at Anglesey Holiday Accommodation was experiencing.
Caroline runs a holiday accommodation business in Anglesey, North Wales, with her husband Kev. They have worked hard to create a thriving business. Caroline did all the right things, as she attended courses to understand how to optimise her website, and she regularly updated content.
The trouble was she did a little bit too much optimisation, which in turn disadvantaged her rankings, inhibited her traffic from search engines and ultimately held back her bookings driven by search engine traffic.
What went wrong?
Before making recommendations, we must clearly understand how the website is performing.
As a result, I reviewed her website to identify :-
- Technical gaps within the structure of the site
- Keywords the site was currently ranking for
- Which pages had been optimised for which keywords
- Potential keywords
The overall technical performance of Anglesey Holiday Accommodation was good, with the knowledge Caroline had picked up from her courses.
With this information I noticed a number of significant errors :-
- Page speed
- Over optimised URL
- Several pages optimised for the same keyword
The plan of action
The plan was to go through the site in a piecemeal manner, optimising the content of each page one at a time. This was to allow the work to be completed without having to take up too much of Caroline’s focus all at one time.
While I optimised the copy for SEO, I also took into consideration the customer journey, common questions that customers asked and ensured that these questions were answered in the text.
Results
Anglesey Holiday Accommodation now ranks for more relevant keywords that are more likely to convert.
Although Anglesey holiday accommodation has less keywords in the top ten, down by 1% they are ranking for more relevant keywords which has increased their impressions (the number of times the listing is shown) by 100% and the average position has also improved by 15%
Why this matters for your website
Over-optimisation is often unintentional — it usually comes from trying to follow SEO advice too closely without considering how it impacts the overall experience.
By focusing on clarity, relevance, and user intent rather than just keywords, you’re far more likely to see sustainable improvements in your rankings.
Once your content is optimised, it’s also important to track how it performs — something I cover in understanding SEO KPIs
.
Gemma is a great person to deal with. She has listened and understands my business and has been able to identify where I need help with SEO…I have come to realise that I need to rely on professionals in their field to enable me to concentrate more on my business.
Caroline – Owner – Anglesey Holiday Accommodation
If you would like help with your digital marketing, get in touch – gemma@greenopal.co.uk