When you find the right SEO service provider, they’re going to be someone that can do two things for you. First, they’ll spot your bad online habits. Second, they’ll help you stop doing them, or to correct what you’re doing and be more effective. Many businesses are using poor technique, but they also might not even know what they’re doing. Granted, a number of these techniques were anywhere from acceptable to even successful in the past, this isn’t the case anymore. Using them might actually be detrimental to your SEO efforts, and losing traffic is a very real consequence. Given how the online world is always in a state of change, it’s necessary to stay up to date with what does and doesn’t work.
Keep reading to learn the 5 worst SEO techniques or habits that you need to avoid at all costs:
1) Substandard Content:
Do not post low-caliber content on your website. You might assume that having more content is better, particularly for your blog. However, the actual quality of your content is what truly matters. Your content can’t just be a pile of fluff strewn with keywords, as it needs to be well-written and valuable to the reader. Search engines have filters they have developed over time to sort out any websites full of low-caliber content, especially when keyword-stuffing is involved.
Your website or blog should only feature articles that are intriguing and provide value. Constantly vary the keywords you use, and always be sure they appear as naturally as possible.
Another horrible idea to avoid is duplicate content. Don’t put multiple posts on your website that all focus on the same specific subject. Also, avoid rewriting older posts in an attempt to recycle them as fresh content. Updating or revising them is OK, however, avoid revising and posting as a new URL. This is something else that search engine filters can pick up on, which will hurt your rankings.
2) Not Having A Plan:
In terms of doing Internet marketing, you have to have a plan. No SEO tactic is worth it if you don’t have a strategy in place. If you don’t have a plan, then your efforts are going to be working blind, not matter what your effort level is. Do not start doing SEO without having first established your goals and then developing a cohesive strategy about how you can attain them.
3) Utilizing The Wrong Keywords:
Unfortunately, a significant number of Internet marketers have developed the bad habits of either using too many different keywords or just using the wrong ones entirely. As much as you need to plan in advance, you need to also do sufficient keyword research prior to starting your SEO. There are many different tools you can use to identify the best keywords. Come up with a list and then start testing each of them out. If you’re hoping to form connections with prospects in a certain location, then location keywords are specifically what you want to test and use. Basically, you will want to rank for the specific keywords that are used by your potential market and that have the highest monthly search volume. However, hose keywords with lower search volumes are still beneficial.
4) Pay For Your Links:
Ten years ago, the quantity of your backlinks mattered, perhaps more than anything. The more backlinks you could get, the higher you would rank. That’s not the case anymore. As with content, link calibre matters far more than quantity now. Links are now something you have to earn instead of pay for. Give your readers, visitors, and followers useful content that actually helps them, and they’re much more likely to actively share it with those that they know. Don’t spend money to get your links posted across different websites. If you’re considering doing this, then remember that PPC is more cost-effective.
5) Lots Of Press Releases But Not A Lot Of News:
It’s honestly a bit distressing how many businesses put out press releases for every single thing they can think of. Great, you run a business; that’s a good thing. However, is it really news to anyone else? Millions of different individuals run businesses of their own. Consider the tsunami of press releases that would happen if every business owner or leader put out press releases just trying to get a few links from a local news outlet. It would be more than a waste of time, as it would really be quite spammy. Save your press releases for the times that you actually have news that customers and shareholders would genuinely care about and pay attention to.
Finally, if you’re looking to hire an SEO expert to handle your visibility in the serps, be sure that you’re doing business with someone whose history didn’t involve any of these errors.
Always ask for references so you can verify the background of your potential SEO partner.
