3 OBSOLETE SEO METHODS YOU SHOULD FORGET IN 2017

Nothing about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is fixed and the industry is in a constant state of flux. Search engines like Google are always changing their policies, and SEO experts must adapt to these changes, and fast. The reality is that many techniques and hacks that used to work yesterday are all but useless today. Even worse, they might even impact your results negatively. Here are three obsolete SEO methods that you should completely scrap for 2017.

1. High Keyword Density

A few years back, the keyword was king in search engine optimisation circles. The trend was to a certain extent stuff as many keywords into a page as possible. Even the biggest self-professed gurus in the industry were preaching it. And like everyone else, they riddled their web page content with keywords.

But today, this trend is all but dead. Yes, keyword density - which is the number of times a keyword appears in a page - is still important. But stuff keywords into your web page, and you could hurt your rankings. Just because Google is mum on the keyword density issue does not mean that they approve of stuffing. Forget secret formulas and focus on quality of content that will be socially active and relevant to your audience.

2. Using Keywords in the Meta tag

The obsession with keywords was not limited to content alone. For a while, it actually seemed that nothing on a web page was safe from a keyword infestation. It was only a matter of time before using keywords in the meta tag fell victim to the keyword trend, and eventually they did. Stuffing keywords in the keyword meta tag was still a good way to increase your rankings not too long ago. But Google increasingly started to focus on other things than keywords to rank websites. One of the big reasons for this shift, is that a system that was overtly reliant on keywords was too easy to manipulate, fundamentally undermining the quality of search results.  In fact Google hasn’t used the keywords meta tag in web ranking since 2009.

3. Building Too Many Links

The next big thing in SEO after keywords was the excessive use of backlinks. There was a time when quality of backlinks seemed to be irrelevant, and quantity was the thing that mattered. To improve your rankings, all you had to do was build as many backlinks to your site as possible. As a result, spamming the web with irrelevant links remained common practice until Google put an end to it. The whole slew of Penguin updates that was unleashed over the last few years were rolled out to completely eradicate black hat techniques such as link buying, directory submissions, etc. Google has and always will reward those sites with relevant, authoritative back links. This is why it is better to focus on organic link building methods if you want to be successful in the long run. Become an authority in your niche, write useful informative content that attracts like-minded people and encourage them to write about you. This is the best way to earn links that Google will reward appropriately. At the end of the day a link is a vote of confidence in Google’s eyes. Building your link equity now has become even more difficult and time consuming as each link needs to be as pure as possible from containing any traces of “spammy link juice. This is further compounded down the tree of backlinks during your analyse of other sites linking back not just to your target site but also to your target site's backlinks.

Conclusion

SEO has changed greatly over the years, and it continues to change daily. The dynamic nature of SEO means that to remain relevant in the industry today, you have to keep tabs on the latest trends. Avoid using outdated SEO methods such as high keyword density or using keywords in meta keywords. Forget about just building links for the sake of building links, and concentrate more on the quality and relevance of a link. Avoid using duplicate content, especially with other sites.

I hope these tips will help you to overcome the many challenges we face in SEO in 2017.