As SEO becomes more dramatic in its evolution to make search more useful, there are still many content developers who haven't learned the lesson of what it means and where it's going. People who try to focus on keyword SEO indulgence are clearly headed toward regret. Search engines do not favor sites that overuse keywords or build light content around popular or valuable keywords.
Content Matters More Than Keyword SEO
The message coming from Google's algorithm updates Panda and Penguin is that the search engine wants to give the highest rank to web pages with relevant content, not sites full of fluff that focus on a single keyword. The more a site appears to house weak content, the more search engines want nothing to do with it. They want to serve their users with links to useful content, not links to sites that only try to game the system with keywords.
A website with extensive deep history and evaluation of a subject built on multiple keywords is more likely to get a higher ranking than a site that spams one keyword and doesn't really offer any valuable information. Even though Google may keep updating its algorithm, the obvious constant through all these changes has been that Google wants to reward sites with content that improves and enlightens the user experience. Too much emphasis on keyword SEO is exactly how sites get bumped down the list or even banned from the index.
Concentrate on Content, Not Rank
When you concentrate on content that is unique, you will naturally have an edge over competitors who are just going for high rankings without earning it. That's why it's ridiculous to spend too much time worrying about keyword SEO in general. Nobody outside of search engines knows the full spectrum of factors that determine rank, which is always changing anyway. What works today may not work a year from now in terms of keyword SEO techniques, but good evergreen content will still matter years from now.
Fighting for the top link in Google is not productive since every user is served different search results anyway, based on their locations and interests. Spending money on chasing keyword SEO can be a mistake when you consider that demand for a keyword may decline over time. That's why it's smart to diversify and create pages for multiple keywords and variations instead of gambling on one specific keyword.
