SEO is definitely one of the most important content marketing tactics. But more often than not we see people adopt the wrong SEO practices than the right ones. These people can be corrected. But people who still practice outmoded tactics are difficult to convince that the practices they use hold no value in the present-day context. If you are one of them, you probably wish to know which outmoded practices we are talking about. Well, we have a list below; just read on.
Table of Contents
1.) Article And Link Directories:
There was a time when link directories were considered a good SEO practice. But it didn’t take long before they lost their value. Search engines realised that they provide no real value to visitors, as a result of which, they began ignoring them. So, today they are no more seen as a great link-building tactic. If you go to the extent of overstuffing your content with them, you could very well get penalised.
Article directories show an even worse picture. Yes, it started off with a bang. And people were actually using these directories to post their content and reach out to audience of their interest. But soon, this tactic began to be misused. People were using content spinning software to create unique content and then used them to earn links. As a result of which, search engines stopped rewarding this practice. Most SEO services in India would ask you to steer clear from these two practices.
2.) Exact-Match Domains:
Exact-match domains were quite a hit at some point of time. Now, what is the meaning of exact-match domain? Exact-match domain means domain name of a website matching its main target keyword. There was a time, when it used to be easy for websites having exact- match domains rank well on search engine results pages. So, a lot of websites came up with domain names that matched their main target keyword. But as soon as search engines sensed this, they adjusted their algorithm, and started ignoring all those sites. Today, websites with exact-match domains rank normally. But they run the risk of losing visitors as such awkward domain names often make visitors feel that the website in question is spammy.
3.) Reciprocal Linking:
Reciprocal linking is also a practice that holds no value today. What is reciprocal linking? Reciprocal linking is the process of adding links of other websites to your content, so that they add your website’s link to theirs. There came a time when people used to stuff their content with unnecessary links, sometimes of websites that don’t, in any manner, relate to their own websites. This was a kind of give and take relationship that indeed worked. But because this practice earned practitioners undue advantage, this may very well be considered a malpractice now. Today, it stands as a dead plant, which some people still love to water.
4.) Random Guest Blogging:
Guest blogging was quite popular earlier; even more popular than now. By guest blogging in some forum, one could publish the link of their website embedded in the content. This was a symbiotic relationship between the publishing website and the website of the author. While the author got exposure, the publishing website got a constant flow of content from the author and other similar contributors, which it needed to be in search engine’s good books. But soon we could see the tactic being misused. So, there were crockery businesses that were writing articles for websites that were about construction, just because they got the permission to do so. Although, such a point in time came when this trend got buried, it can be seen emerging again.
5.) Keyword Stuffing:
Yes, using relevant keywords in your content is important. And this is an SEO practice that a lot of SEO services in India and elsewhere adopt. But did you know there was a time when contents were being stuffed with keywords by the truckload? Yes! There used to be contents that looked like a mesh of keywords.
Unfortunately, when you do this, your copy looks extremely unprofessional and it gives out the feel that it has been written by some drunken toddler. And that is probably the reason why contents extra stuffed with keywords never impressed search engines.
These are certainly some of the most outmoded SEO tactics we know about. Make sure you don’t adopt them while marketing your content.
About the Author:My name is Sofia Lemon and I am a Digital Marketer by profession and Content Writer by passion. I have been writing on Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Marketing & Content Marketing for years. When I don’t have my nose buried in a Digital Marketing, I’m in a creative brainstorm, work on content, or debate whether it’s Trump or Hillary.
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