Times have changed, and the search engine optimization (SEO) practices many business owners and digital marketers have come to know are becoming outdated. Nowadays, website owners are navigating through many ways to climb to the top of search engine result pages.
With Google’s dynamic demands, the industry is constantly shifting, and some of the strategies that used to dominate SEO are slowly getting phased out. Now more than ever, Google is looking out for sites that can offer value to its visitors.
Today, no company would want to slip in their ranking; to keep it that way, a robust and updated SEO strategy is critical.
To help you maintain your website’s current ranking (or push it even higher), one must learn to refrain from doing these three outdated SEO practices.
1. Not Writing for Your Audience
Out of the three obsolete SEO practices, this would be the biggest no-no. Many website owners and marketers have the wrong purpose of creating content. They have become more focused on making the pages rank and reach the top, neglecting the fact that we are writing to cater to their target audience.
If you look up top-ranked pages on Google, you’ll see that their content intends to bring value to the readers. That is what Google is currently looking for: quality content that is solely written for humans to read. If you are a thriving company that seeks to own a spot on Google’s page 1, remember this rule.
2. Keyword Stuffing (And Anything That Resembles It)
Most digital marketers would agree that keyword stuffing has long been a thing of the past. Google would not only disapprove of it but would also penalise anyone who still practices it.
Nowadays, website owners focus on proper and effective keyword usage. It is a strategy where you round up a list of relevant keywords to your target audience and build your entire content strategy around it. This is the most effective approach that would not only help your website but your readers as well.
Always be mindful of your chosen keywords, and make sure they will offer value to your website visitors. All elements of your website should not sound too forceful or too verbose. Only incorporate keywords that are related to your company. Search engine algorithms have become much savvier; they can now quickly evaluate content based on how naturally your content deploys keywords.
3. Engaging in Black Hat SEO
If there are hundreds of ways to climb up to Google search’s top page, there are also many ways to cheat the system. Though it can be virtually impossible to do so, there are still website owners who do it. They would deliberately engage in black hat SEO and perform these corrupt activities.
Here are some of the most common practices: spin articles, create doorway pages, use hidden text and links, cloaking, and many more. For those who engage in these activities, Google continuously updates the system and makes most of these acts nonviable.
Conclusion
Digital marketers know all about the unpredictability of Google’s algorithms, which is why they work hard to navigate the industry to maintain good SEO performance metrics. Some strategies continue to flourish and help a lot of businesses grow, while some could do more harm than good. After all, SEO practices will continue to evolve and develop as the years go by.
Is your business eyeing to reach Google search’s top page? Look no further; New Digital Marketing Agency would gladly help you! We are a digital marketing company that can help you optimise your business through SEO services, social media marketing, and more. Contact us today!
