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Eliminate These Terrifying SEO Techniques for a Better Chance in Search Results

On a cold, dark night, you stumble upon an old, decrepit mansion covered in cobwebs. Inside, a candle flickers next to the silhouette of a person. As you wipe the frost off the stained-glass window, you catch a glimpse of the figure inside. To your surprise, he’s not casting a spell, but rather, chanting numbers – could it be black magic?

As you lean in to listen, you hear him muttering, “One, two, three, four paid links!” You realize with a shudder that he’s not a sorcerer, but something far more sinister – a marketer using black hat SEO practices.

As we approach 2023, it’s crucial to avoid such spine-chilling tactics if you hope to succeed in search results. To help you steer clear of the abyss, here are 10 petrifying SEO schemes to abandon in the upcoming year.

1. Hiring people that know less about SEO than you:

You’ve entrusted a prestigious agency with your SEO needs, assuming they’re the top experts in the field. A skilled Scary SEO Strategies professional with an impressive title is assigned to your account, but soon it becomes clear that you possess more knowledge than your supposed expert. Upon further investigation, you discover that the person handling your account has only a few years of experience in SEO.

This is an all-too-common occurrence, so it’s crucial to conduct thorough research on the individuals you entrust with your SEO needs before signing any contracts. Failing to do so could result in an unfruitful working relationship.

2. Not getting buy-in from the top:

Your company may claim to be capable of “doing SEO” without actually comprehending what SEO entails. However, when critical site decisions need to be made a few months later, management is nowhere to be found. In order to succeed in SEO, you need unwavering support from the top.

Moreover, Scary SEO Strategies must be considered even when you, the marketer, are not present. Every decision made regarding the website has an impact on SEO. When you have genuine support from your organization, you can address many of the issues outlined in this article.

3. Getting SEO advice and not implementing it:

If you’ve expended significant time and resources on hiring an SEO expert, but disregard their advice, you shouldn’t be surprised by lackluster results.

I recognize that it can be challenging to enact changes, but having buy-in and a clear plan for implementing SEO strategies is a crucial initial step before enlisting the services of an SEO professional.

4. Being sure you have a plan that will stick:

While the saying goes “Man plans, and God laughs,” the same can be said for SEO as change is a constant. With Google making numerous adjustments to search each year, and your competitors making even more, how can you realistically plan for SEO six months from now? You simply can’t anticipate all the changes that may come your way. Therefore, a long-term SEO plan is essentially worthless.

What’s the solution? Instead, focus on running four-week sprints, then re-evaluate what the website needs following each sprint. This approach allows for more flexibility and the ability to pivot based on the most recent updates to search algorithms.

5. Thinking any content is good content:

At the core of almost every Google algorithm update lies a focus on high-quality content. To thrive both presently and in the future, you require helpful content that is expert, authoritative, and trustworthy.

Rather than merely rehashing what others are saying, you must distinguish yourself from the competition. Reworking others’ concepts results in mediocre content that Google does not value or reward.

6. Ignoring the hard changes:

When confronting business silos, competing priorities, and a shortage of resources, it may appear impossible to execute the “hard” changes necessary for improving a website’s SEO. As a result, these changes may be implemented partially or inadequately to achieve some progress.

Nevertheless, these “hard” changes are the ones that can significantly impact your SEO program. If recommendations for such changes are given, it is vital to advocate for getting them accomplished. If necessary, bring in outside expertise to execute them correctly.

7. Not looking at PPC data:

Regrettably, PPC data is frequently disregarded, and there is often a lack of cooperation between SEO and PPC teams.

However, understanding the conversions in PPC can provide valuable insights into the ROI for each keyword.

Furthermore, analyzing negative keywords in PPC, which reveal ambiguous keywords, can assist SEO in identifying problems that necessitate schema implementation.

if particular keywords have a definite meaning and produce excellent conversions, they should be incorporated into your SEO strategy.

8. Thinking all keywords are equal:

Creating keywords that no one is searching for will not generate traffic to your site. Additionally, there are various keyword strategies that differ by industry, and it’s essential to match your content to user intent to improve search performance. Being recognized as an authority on the topic is vital for ranking, and if the content does not rank, it has little value.

9. Not taking any SEO training:

It is essential to have a shared understanding of SEO within your organization to communicate effectively with your SEO team.

Without SEO knowledge, how will Bob in IT implement necessary changes to the website?

Having a baseline understanding of SEO is crucial for in-house teams to keep up with emerging strategies. Providing SEO training to your team is an excellent proactive step towards making informed decisions and maintaining momentum in your SEO efforts.

10. Buying links:

It is surprising that we are still discussing the issue of “paid links” in SEO. Unfortunately, many websites still participate in this practice, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

While the matter of link buying may not always be clear-cut, with different levels of severity, there are still repercussions. For instance, if you pay someone to create an article and post it on another website, it can be considered a paid link, which Google does not take kindly to.

So what is the solution to the problem of paid links? The best approach is to create valuable content that other websites will naturally link to, rather than trying to buy links. You can then promote the content to make it more visible, leading to organic links and boosting your Scary SEO Strategies without resorting to paid tactics.