Top 10 SEO Strategies That No Longer Work AND You Should Not Be Doing (Bad Strategy)

The world of SEO is constantly changing, and what worked yesterday may not work today. However, there are still many tactics that are being touted as the best way to improve your search engine rankings, even though they no longer work. In this article, we’ll be discussing the top 10 SEO tactics that no longer work, and what you should be doing instead.

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is the practice of filling your content with as many keywords as possible, in an attempt to rank higher for those keywords. While this may have worked in the past, search engines have become much smarter, and they now penalize sites that engage in this practice. Instead of keyword stuffing, focus on creating high-quality, informative content that will naturally include the keywords you’re targeting.

Exact Match Domains

In the past, having an exact match domain (EMD) was a surefire way to improve your search engine rankings for a particular keyword. For example, if you wanted to rank for “best running shoes,” you could buy the domain bestrunningshoes.com and be virtually guaranteed a spot on the first page of Google. However, search engines have caught on to this tactic, and EMDs are no longer as effective as they once were. Instead of focusing on EMDs, focus on creating a strong brand with a memorable domain name.

Paid Links

Paying for links used to be a popular way to quickly improve your search engine rankings. However, search engines have become much better at detecting paid links, and they now penalize sites that engage in this practice. Instead of paying for links, focus on creating high-quality, shareable content that other sites will naturally link to.

Article Directories

Article directories used to be a popular way to build backlinks and improve your search engine rankings. However, the quality of the content on these sites was often poor, and search engines have caught on to this tactic. Instead of submitting articles to directories, focus on creating high-quality, shareable content that other sites will want to link to.

Exact Match Anchor Text

Exact match anchor text is the practice of using the exact keyword you’re targeting as the anchor text for a link. While this may have worked in the past, search engines have become much better at detecting this tactic, and they now penalize sites that engage in it. Instead of using exact match anchor text, focus on creating high-quality, informative content that will naturally include the keywords you’re targeting.

Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is content that appears on multiple pages or sites. In the past, some SEOs would create multiple versions of the same content and publish it on different sites in an attempt to improve their search engine rankings. However, search engines have caught on to this tactic, and they now penalize sites that engage in it. Instead of creating duplicate content, focus on creating unique, high-quality content that provides value to your audience.

Meta Keyword Tags

Meta keyword tags used to be an important part of on-page SEO. However, search engines have become much better at understanding the content on a page, and they now largely ignore meta keyword tags. Instead of focusing on meta keyword tags, focus on creating high-quality, informative content that will naturally include the keywords you’re targeting.

Exact Match Internal Linking

Exact match internal linking is the practice of using exact match anchor text to link to other pages on your site. While this may have worked in the past, search engines have become much better at detecting this tactic, and they now penalize sites that engage in it. Instead of using exact match internal linking, focus on creating high-quality, informative content that links to other pages on your site in a natural, relevant way.

Link Farms

Link farms are groups of websites that link to each other in an attempt to improve their search engine rankings. In the past, this tactic was used to quickly build backlinks and improve search engine rankings. However, search engines have caught on to this tactic, and they now penalize sites that engage in it. Instead of building links through link farms, focus on creating high-quality, shareable content that other sites will naturally link to.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is the practice of submitting your content to social bookmarking sites, such as Delicious or StumbleUpon, in an attempt to improve your search engine rankings. However, search engines have largely stopped using social bookmarking as a ranking factor, and it’s no longer an effective way to improve your search engine rankings. Instead of focusing on social bookmarking, focus on creating high-quality, shareable content that other sites will naturally link to.

In conclusion, the world of SEO is constantly changing, and what worked in the past may no longer be effective. While there are still many tactics being touted as the best way to improve your search engine rankings, it’s important to be aware of the tactics that no longer work. By focusing on creating high-quality, informative content that provides value to your audience, you can improve your search engine rankings and build a strong online presence.

If you’re struggling to outrank your competition and are unsure why, an SEO audit may be just what you need. Peter Leshaw specializes in conducting comprehensive SEO audits that can uncover bad SEO habits that are preventing your site from ranking higher in search engine results pages.

Don’t let outdated SEO tactics hold your website back from reaching its full potential. Contact us today to schedule an SEO audit and start outranking your competition.

Related Posts: (Good SEO Strategies)