If you are still running on SEO time dating back to the early 2000’s you could be doing more harm than good for yourself. There are many search marketing firms in the industry that enjoy praying on those which have not educated themselves on what it really takes to properly conduct SEO for your company website. Old SEO methods can be tough to break because the mindset typically wants to see more when it comes to anything online. The idea of conducting less and generating potentially more power tends to go against the grain of how humans think. Yes 10 news links are most likely worth more than 500 directories. Is it so hard to believe?

The digital landscape has evolved and things are changing which is why your approach to building your online brand needs to also change if you want to succeed well into the future.

Here are some old SEO methods you should try to break immediately if you are still thinking this way:

Thinking more is better

Years ago SEO was all about quantity, things have changed quite a bit. If you have been following the algorithm changes you will know that things are not about quantity any longer. A prime example is the recent Panda update that affected things like mass articles and punished those who approached content marketing with quantity in mind. The search engines want to see a quality approach with everything a website does to create visibility for itself. It is about having a laser targeted approach to build your brand online.

500 keywords in your meta data

Not that long ago I came across a client who had their SEO conducted by an “expert” prior to me who jammed almost 600 keywords into the meta data of the home page, just a horrendous approach to search engine optimization that should have never be done. Google has repeatedly said that they do not put much weight on the keyword section of your meta data so putting that much emphasis on this area is not really going to help you much. It can however affect you negatively if you jam that many keywords into it.

Most directories are crap

There are literally thousands of directories out there but only a handful out of those thousands actually have any link value. Some are just there for the links and others can actually help you brand your business online. Some of the better directories can actually rank for your company name which is great for when someone does a search for your company name in the search space.

Thinking social media has no connection to SEO

Over the years social media and SEO have begun to hold their hands pretty tightly. One great example is the recent Facebook/Bing partnership where social media updates are now appearing in search results. If SEO is about visibility in search than how is that not a direct overlap with search engine optimization?

Going cookie cutter

Purchasing search engine packages are better than just standing still but in today’s online space it requires an approach that is really customized to your business. The landscape has evolved into something very powerful and robust which requires your approach to be robust as well. Here are some nice stats on how other small to medium sized businesses are approaching the online space this year just so you have a good idea on what other like-minded businesses are planning.

Treating your website like a “website”

It doesn’t matter what you are selling online. Whether it is just content or diamond rings you have more than just a website on your hands. People do not engage with “websites” any longer, they now engage with brands and businesses that are really spreading their wings online. The days of just building a business online from having a page ranking are over. Someone might bump into your page online which is great but they might wait to make that purchase and if they see something from you else where it might just sway them to move into your direction.

I will only succeed with Google rankings

There is much more going on online than just search results. Your audience is growing wider and larger and you have to be visible in many other locations if at all possible. It is one thing to not have the resource to accomplish it but if you have the mindset that there is nothing else but Google search results you might be shooting yourself in the foot.