4 SEO Tactics to Avoid (and What to Try Instead)

When you're planning your site's SEO strategy, it's important to do some careful research. Best practices in the world of search engine optimization are constantly changing and evolving: Tactics that used to send a site soaring in the rankings may now get you penalized by Google. Let's take a look at a few SEO tactics that you should avoid at all costs.

1. Keyword Stuffing: Even though it's well-known that stuffing your content with keywords is a surefire way to lose your ranking, this practice can still be seen on many websites. Rather than focusing on keyword density, try to direct your efforts toward creating fresh, engaging content for your readers. Develop a set of related keywords and natural phrases that you can sprinkle into your content instead of relying on a specific long-tail keyword.

2.  Buying Backlinks: When you're building a backlink profile, bigger isn't always better. Resist the temptation to purchase a quantity of backlinks: This practice is likely to backfire and end up hurting your rankings. The SEO power of backlinks is derived from the validity and authority of the sites that contain the links, and cheaply-purchased backlinks usually come from sketchy sites. Link building should still be an important part of your SEO strategy, but you'll have better luck developing a smaller number of links from high-authority sites. Try reaching out to influential blogs and sites in your niche to ask for a backlink, or consider creating a guest post for one of these authoritative sites.

3.  Duplicate Content: Many websites make the common mistake of having the same content appear on more than one of their web pages. When search engines see duplicate content, they can't determine which copy of the content to index; in most cases, the content never shows up in search results. There's no way to bypass the hard work of writing original content for each and every page on your site, but the SEO benefits of unique content will justify the time and effort.

4.  Neglecting Mobile Site Design: The importance of a good mobile site can't be stressed enough. According to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 61% of consumers who visit a mobile-unfriendly website are likely to head over to a competitor's' site instead. If that statistic doesn't motivate you to create a user-friendly mobile design, there's even a SEO benefit to have a strong mobile site: Google now takes the existence of a mobile version into account when determining the ranking of websites. There's no better time than today to develop a mobile design that will work on a variety of different devices.

As you can see, many SEO strategies that were effective in the early days of search engines are hopelessly outdated today. You need to adapt your strategy to meet the changing requirements of the current search engine landscape. If a method seems too good to be true, it probably is. By avoiding some of these gimmicky tactics, you can focus on a solid SEO strategy that will get your website the results it needs.

Aubrey Moulton is a writer for Freeguestpost and has over six years of blogging experience. She enjoys Netflix marathons and reading.