Sam Tilston of vitabits.co.uk observed that, for the uninitiated, "[search engine optimisation (SEO)] is fraught with danger" and advertisers need to be wary of overdoing things.

 

Practices should, Mr Tilston remarked, "be in the best interests of the website end user".

 

He went on to say that overstuffing can be hazardous to website brands and reputations but could also incur penalties from Google - "which will drop their rankings".

 

Referring to the BBC's decision to begin implementing SEO techniques in headlines, extending them and including more keywords, Mr Tilston commented that the broadcasting services' website is already an example of best practice and that its use of SEO will be part of a desire to remain ahead of the digital curve.

 

Companies may also like to look at the BBC's use of internal linking within articles as, Mr Tilson said, it is a highly effective method of SEO.

 

The BBC plans to create headlines in two formats - one for the front page and another for the story itself and search engine results.

 

Longer titles will be up to 55 characters - including spaces - and aims to incorporate keywords that users might be expected to input.