Search engine optimization is changing rapidly, and all SEO professionals should be well aware of that. A top SEO company is now also an Internet marketing company, focused on bringing in not only site traffic, but qualified leads for their clients. Largely, this has to do with changes in how search engines’ ranking algorithms assess websites to come up with their results. Unfortunately, a few old SEO techniques are hanging around — and not taking the time to educate yourself on these outdated methods could hurt your business if you don’t know enough to hire a great SEO service. Here are three techniques you never want to see on your website:
- Keyword Stuffing
You probably remember the days of keyword stuffing, even if you didn’t realize it was being done for SEO purposes. Sites used to be filled with nonsensical text like “If you’re looking for SEO Scottsdale services in Scottsdale, AZ, then look for the best SEO services locally,” but fortunately those days are long behind us. Now it’s all about choosing a few relevant keywords and incorporating them into natural, readable text that actually helps site visitors determine whether your company is a good fit for their needs (and tells the algorithms what your site is all about so that it can be appropriately ranked).
- Spammy Link Building
Links leading to your website, called inbound links, are one way to indicate that your website has authority on a certain topic or within a certain field. But a top SEO company should never recommend buying inbound links. If you hear words like “directory links,” you should head in the other direction, and fast. Instead, your SEO team should be working on getting high-quality placements for links to your site. This can be accomplished by having you write insightful guest blogs for other sites or being interviewed for news stories, for example. Link building is still good, but those links have to come from high-quality sites, not spammy directories.
- Copying Content
The Internet is based around the sharing of information, but old-fashioned rules about plagiarism — both legal and ethical — still apply. It’s shockingly common for an SEO audit to reveal that content has been ripped off from a competitor’s site, and this temptation can increase if you’re using a content marketing strategy that requires the production of numerous blogs and articles. But not only is stealing content illegal, it can also lead to search engines penalizing your site with rank demotions or refusing to show your site in results at all. Content may be king on the Internet, but that content absolutely must be original and unique.
Do you have any advice on choosing a top SEO company that won’t make these kinds of mistakes? Share your thoughts in the comments.