As you may know, the online world is a dynamic one. It continues to evolve everyday. Just take a look at Google. Over the past few years, it has released a number of updates to provide users with a better and more efficient way to search information online. If you want to succeed online, therefore, you must keep up with the changes and ensure that your SEO strategies jive with Google’s latest updates.
According to Rand Fishkin of Moz.com*, using tried and tested SEO methods can be tempting. However, it can also be detrimental to the success of your search strategy. If you’re still using the following SEO strategies, it’s time to update your methods to ensure better results.
1. Prioritising keywords before clicks
Targeting multiple keywords on the same page may be an effective strategy some six or seven years ago, but if you’re still using this method, you might be doing your site more harm than good. According to Fishkin, a web page peppered with keywords and their numerous variations may give users the impression that it is spammy or sketchy. Instead of enticing the users to click, it is putting them off, thus, causing you to miss the opportunity to create a conversion.
2. Heavy use of anchor text on internal links
This strategy used to help websites get good rankings. But in the last few years, Google itself has discounted this strategy and many sites that have been using too much anchor text on internal links have been penalised. According to the search giant, they feel that this strategy is “inappropriate, spammy, manipulative, and overdone.”
If you’re still using anchor text on internal links, here’s what you should do to avoid a Google penalty. According to Fishkin, you’re safe if the internal link is in the navigation, footer, sidebar, or inside content. Also, it should be relevant, well-written, and has high usability. Now, if it has low usability, looks sketchy or funny, and is written in a very small font to hide it because it’s really for the search engines, you might find yourself in trouble.
3. Pages for every keyword variant
The main idea behind this strategy is to have a page for every variation of a keyword you’re targeting to maximise the amount of traffic you’ll get for every keyword. This strategy was effective four or five years ago. But with Google launching RankBrain and the Hummingbird update, which generate search results according to user intent, there’s no point in creating web pages for every variation of a single keyword.
*8 Old School SEO Practices That Are No Longer Effective – Whiteboard Friday
