5 SEO Tactics That Can Hurt Your Rankings
Whether you’re an up-and-coming online marketing agency or a business with your own marketing team, SEO practices are as important as ever. While approaches to search engine marketing have changed over the years, a sound SEO strategy is still vital for most, if not all, companies and brands.
When determining your SEO strategy and trying to improve your rankings, knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what you should do. You want to devise a plan that caters to what the algorithms are looking for. You also want to avoid doing anything that could penalize the website.
So, if you want your SEO strategy to be better than ever, it’s vital to avoid the following five SEO practices.
Note For Small Businesses
If you’re a smaller business trying to compete online, don’t get discouraged. Local SEO marketing is quite effective, so you don’t have to compete on a national scale. You just have to find your audience.
While the tips on this list are helpful for nearly any business, it’s also worth partnering with an experienced SEO company. Consider working with a company in your area that understands the local market. For example, a Long Island search engine marketing company can help if you’re in the greater NYC area.
Five SEO Techniques You Should Avoid
Now, let’s look at five specific things that can hurt your SEO rankings. Some things on this list fall under black hat SEO, while others are simply ineffective.
The good news is that many of these techniques are easy to change, and doing so will likely help your business.
1. Keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing is an SEO problem that persists, even though it has been a bad practice for many years. While keyword stuffing worked in the early days of online marketing, the algorithms are much more sophisticated now. Instead, you want to use keyword phrases strategically and sparingly.
2. Clickbait
While some websites and brands still rely on this technique, consumers are becoming less impressed by this approach. While clickbait headlines may get some clicks, they are less likely to lead to conversions.
3. Spam comments
Similar to keyword stuffing, spam comments used to be effective in SEO marketing, but this practice is long out of date. Spam comments involve leaving a bunch of comments on blog posts or social media posts to create backlinks. But today, quality backlinks from trusted sites are much more valuable.
4. Writing for the algorithm
As online marketing has evolved, the algorithm and actual people have become much savvier. Writing to simply appease an algorithm can hurt your rankings. Plus, your audience won’t appreciate content that feels spammy or unnatural.
5. AI-generated content
AI-generated writing is a big topic of conversation right now. While some people argue that AI can write great content that meets SEO best practices, most experts don’t think that AI is sophisticated enough yet.
The problem with many AI programs is that they may not be accurate, they aren’t up-to-date, and they may even plagiarize. Most AI content needs to be edited, and it’s less time-saving than you’d think.
Changing Your Approach To SEO
If you’re currently using any of these SEO techniques right now, you don’t have to fear. You can use this information to make some changes to your SEO strategy. Many of these less-effective SEO methods are easy to fix.
With a few changes, you can make a better website that ranks and is more readable for your audience.
