3 SEO Practices You’ll Need to Toss Out the Window in 2020
TechsPlace | SEO is constantly evolving, and yet, some people seem to think still that getting a few links and reaching a magical keyword density number will get them on top of search results. But search engines work day and night to make sure that their results cannot be manipulated. This is why they constantly roll out updates to deal with any vulnerabilities. This is also why it’s always important to be aware of recent trends and adjust your strategy accordingly. Here are some SEO practices you should avoid completely in 2020.
Keyword Stuffing
Keyword Stuffing is one of the most pervasive and dangerous myths about SEO. If you meet any SEO “expert” speaking about keyword density, run. There is no perfect keyword density, and Google changed that a long time ago.
Instead, you want to focus on a few relevant and targeted long-tail keywords and build your content around it. You also want your page to match your audience’s search intent. If it doesn’t, it will translate into higher bounce rates, which have been shown to have an effect on search results. So, try to be genuinely helpful to your readers and let the keywords fall in naturally.
Over Optimizing
While under optimizing is an issue, over-optimizing can be one as well. Some website owners are so aggressively wrong with their practices that they end-up destroying their site’s SEO without realizing it.
These are the people who build keyword centric pages that offer no value, just for SEO’s sake. Or those who try to add as many iterations of a single keyword in their title tags. These are all horrible tactics that will ruin your results, and anyone who advises you to use these tactics should be arrested.
If you want to optimize your pages, and you’re not sure how to do so, at least work with a reputable team that will be able to help you. Teams like Bond Media will be able to look both at your site’s SEO and design and see if there is any aspect you can improve. It sometimes takes but a few things for a site to start getting results, and it’ll be a lot less time-consuming and strenuous than spending hours building useless pages that will ultimately get you penalized.
Frantic Link Building
There was a time when high PR links were all the rage, and SEO companies would advertise how much of those they could get as if it was the ultimate measure of good SEO. But things have changed since Google released its infamous Penguin update back in 2013. Still, some people swear by it and still think that the most links you get, the better.
That doesn’t mean that building links is completely irrelevant today, however. Links are still considered top criteria for ranking sites, but the method has changed. You need to focus on high-quality links from relevant sources, not simply based on PR. You also have to limit your links, and make sure that you know where your links are posted to protect your reputation and rankings.
Now that you know what SEO Practices to avoid this year make sure that you speak with someone reputable and will be able to show you how it’s done. Also, make sure that you stay aware of the most recent updates, so you’ll be able to adapt yourself quickly.
This article is contributed by guest author on techsplace.com.
