Change is the only constant thing in this world– and just like that, the best practices in SEO evolve over time. If you are using outdated SEO practices, it’s time to reconsider changing your SEO approach.
Have you ever wonder why your website is not generating any traffic? Or, your website may have traffic but it is leading the wrong audience and it is not converting? Well, there’s clearly something wrong with that. Maybe you are still using the old SEO practices?
Even though those SEO practices were effective before, it has no value today.
The best SEO practices evolve over time– Google and other search engines, update their ranking methods and algorithms.
Always remember: SEO is a practice that never stays constant.
Whether you are a marketing professional or a newbie in digital marketing, you can stay on top of the game if you know what works and what’s outdated.
Here are 9 reasons why you should revamp your SEO approach. Identify the practices that no longer work.
- Dated Content Marketing Practices
- Dated Title Tag Practices
- Paid Link Building for Higher Rankings
- Irrelevant Press Releases
- Dependence on Automation
- Publishing Thin Content
- Depend on Guest Blogging for Link Building
- Relies on ‘Trophy’ or Generic Phrases to Gain Quality Traffic
- Disregarding Mobile Experience
Dated Content Marketing Practices
Stop considering keyword density as a crucial element in content marketing. Keyword density has been debunked. It was a practice in which Google used strings of metadata to rank websites.
Today, Google uses artificial intelligence through RankBrain. RankBrain helps Google understand the webpage’s content.
If you continue to use the practice, keyword stuffing will only make your webpage look spammy. You might trigger the Panda algorithm if you continue to stuff keywords unnaturally and receive a violation hit on your website ranking.
Thus, instead of worrying more about your keywords, focus more on your content. Create relevant content that contains natural keywords throughout the content’s body.
Dated Title Tag Practices
In addition to the first reason, stuffing keywords in title tags is no longer a successful method. It might even be counterproductive.
Experts have observed that webpages rank higher for keywords that neither appear in the title or on the page.
Instead of worrying about the keyword placement in the title, think about the snippet that will describe the page and encourage the users to click on it.
Paid Link Building for Higher Rankings
There’s a point in time when having an exact match anchor text links from high PR URLs to your page will guarantee a top rank. However, it does not work as it used to. Link building has become a crucial SEO success after the release of the Penguin algorithm.
You need to acquire high-quality and relevant links rather than getting everything even if it is irrelevant. Execute link building properly to avoid wasting time.
Irrelevant Press Releases
The press release is one of the few SEO practices that’s been used and abused. Before, webmasters and digital marketers create irrelevant press releases for the sake of getting an exact match anchor text link.
Google devalued these links and press release firms decided to add a ‘nofollow’ tag on their links.
If you want to issue a press release, it has to be made genuinely for newsworthy content and events. Do not issue a press release for the sake of content.
Dependence on Automation
Long before, webmasters and digital marketers were fond of using auto-generated or spun content. They use natural language generation programs (NLG) which generate content based on the input data.
Now, Google wants to deliver users with high-quality search results and a better user experience. There is no room for mediocre and spammy content in the SERP. If you automatically generate, copy, or spin content Google will automatically hit you with a spam penalty.
Thus, nothing beats the original content written by humans.
Publishing Thin Content
Gone are the days of writing a keyword-enriched 300 to 500-word article to rank ahead with competitive websites. As of today, there are millions of active websites and you have to compete with them.
If you want to achieve the maximum search visibility on search engines, create long-form content. Experts in digital marketing have noticed that blog posts over 2,000 words ranked higher than shorter blog posts.
Do a quick search of something random and you will observe most blogs are likely long-forms.
Depend on Guest Blogging for Link Building
Other than press releases, guest blogging is the most abused SEO technique.
Google has given a public warning against the guest blogging practice. However, online marketing ‘strategists’ took every possible opportunity to write content– whether the quality or the relevance is great or not.
There are several websites that offer guest posting. That’s why large companies or authority websites started to add ‘nofollow’ tags to external links.
If you will use guest blogging, ensure that you will do it on relevant websites. Choose sites that are recognized as trusted. Skip on guest blogging on high-volume but low-quality websites.
Relies on ‘Trophy’ or Generic Popular Phrases to Gain Quality Traffic
Most marketers believe that higher ranks for a trophy or head phrase translate into a high volume of quality traffic to your website. However, this is a major misconception.
Although web pages with a higher ranking in Google are easily found by users, there’s no guarantee that it will receive more click-throughs or conversions.
It is a rule of thumb for digital marketers to use long-tail keywords than trophy phrases. Trophy phrases drive traffic but long-tail gains more conversion.
Moreover, you should strategize your keyword use. It should be naturally contextualized in your content. Create webpages that describe your product or services precisely in d
Disregarding Mobile Experience
Most users do their searches on their mobile devices. More than 60% of the searches on Google are on mobile. Thus, Google has become committed to mobile-first index websites.
If you want to rank higher, your website should be optimized. Ensure that it is responsive across all platforms.
The current algorithm factors in at least some UX elements. The UX elements distract pop-up advertisements. If you do not consider your users, you will have a lower chance of maximizing online visibility.
Final Thoughts
Search engine optimization is a unique practice. It is constantly changing, but it is the only area wherein all digital marketers are doing the same thing. Yet, over time, they yield different results– insane, right? Same practices, different results.
The algorithm and fluidity of SEO make it unique.
