077 - How You Are Wasting Your Time with SEO - And What to Do Instead

I am sure that you want to make sure that the time you spend working for your SEO is time really well allocated and invested, right?  Just when we think that we are doing everything right, we are unaware that it was spent on some useless things that we think are good for SEO.  But really the bottom line is with Google - what they think is relevant and which is in line with what users actually want.  As you know, Google adjusts to changing user behavior such that the content you write today, needs to be rewritten or refreshed, as in the case of search on virus, pre and post Covid. 

In this episode, Gert highlights three biggest SEO time wasting activities that you can monitor and get rid of in order to ensure that whatever resources you dedicate to SEO are really well invested.

Podcast Highlights: 

00:01 Prologue

00:43 Introduction of the episode

02:07 Time waster #1 - Publishing content every week (Quantity over Quality)

02:35 Why does Google not need fresh content every week? (...Why is it important to make sure that articles are relevant and in line with what Google users actually want?)

04:33 Time waster #2 - SEO plugins (Why having your plugin showing all the ticks in green doesn't automatically guarantee that you have everything done for SEO?) 

08:19 Time waster # 3 - Publishing fresh content all the time (...Instead of making sure that existing content has a proper structure)

10:10 Ending CTA

10:33 End

Resources:

SEO Tools

Yoast plugins - https://yoast.com/

RankMath Plugins - https://rankmath.com/

How You Are Wasting Your Time with SEO - and What to Do Instead

In any business, time is precious. It’s especially true in SEO, where tactics that work today may not work tomorrow. And where success can be fleeting.

However, there are countless time-wasting activities in SEO. From checking your competitor’s rankings to analyzing your site for errors, plenty of things keep you occupied. So it’s essential to focus on what delivers results and eliminate anything that doesn’t.

In this episode, Gert will look at some of the most common time wasters in SEO. Thus, suggest alternatives that are more likely to help your business succeed.

Let’s get started!

Why Most People Think SEO is a Waste of Time

We want our businesses to succeed, and for many of us, that means maximizing our online presence. For some, this means investing in search engine optimization (SEO). Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths and misconceptions about SEO - and many business owners are wasting their effort, time and money on tactics that don’t work. 

According to Gert, SEO can take a long time to really show up in your bottom line. Some SEO agencies usually take about 6 to 8 months, sometimes 12 months, to identify competitive niches. Other websites are going to see progress already after a few weeks.

And that’s why people believe that doing SEO strategy is a waste of time. But it doesn’t end there.

Until you hit page one ranking and start climbing up the ladder, there’s not much that will change in your opt-ins. Gert agreed to make sure time spent on SEO is well invested and well established.

Believe it. It could be hours wasted doing things like uselessly guessing keywords. Or, even following links back to their sources which doesn’t move the needle at all.

Top 3 Time Wasters in SEO

Here are the 3-time wasters in SEO cited by Gert.

Time waster #1: Publish content every week

Google loves fresh content, right?

They believe that Google will rank the articles higher by publishing once a week. And even think that there’s always something going on with your website. This would magically ensure that Google likes the website better or just automatically ranks articles higher.

However, Gert believes that this is problematic in many ways.

Why doesn’t Google need fresh content weekly?

While it’s true that publishing fresh content regularly is a great way to keep people coming back to your website, it’s not necessarily something that Google requires to rank your site well. In fact, several factors are far more important to Google when it comes to ranking websites. 

First of all, Google needs good content that’s maintained over time. If you regularly publish 10 articles at once, Google doesn’t really care about it. But think if your article is always in line with what Google users actually want.

Gert believes that Google wants to make users happy. Plus, Google users expect different things at different times.

For instance, consider what users expected when they typed in “viruses” before the COVID pandemic hits. Thus, what they expect afterwards. It’s pretty sure that if you put in a virus now, something about this COVID will come up. Whereas, if you put up a virus before, it might even have been a computer virus. 

According to Gert, Google really adjusts to macro events and changes user behavior. That means if the content you write today is better, tomorrow possibly needs to be maintained, changed, or optimized. This is to make sure that it is still in line with what Google users expect.

The second problem is the quality of those publications is not well established and guaranteed. Some writers and editors have trouble sticking with their work with the constant pressure to publish.

If you find that your articles are not up-to-par after publishing them once already, then why not take a look at what has already been published? Maybe there’s something in the article worth keeping. Or, perhaps it could be deleted without any loss of value.

Time waster #2: SEO plugins

While it’s true that most websites have some form of SEO plugin, many people don’t know how to use them. Like most websites worked by Gert, they’re using WordPress or Shopify. As you can see, these plugins have a few checkboxes or show you ticks whether you have or haven’t done something.

But the truth is, most people don’t understand what they are checking into. Gert agreed that most people only tick boxes just to make sure they go over to the next step.

Remember, having your plugin show all the ticks in green doesn’t automatically guarantee that you have everything done for SEO. And, there to be done on the article ranking itself. You think of the site linking, topic, and keywords associated.

Gert believes that there are a lot of things to see around SEO. It may be a great help in the competitive landscape of the term and industry, but it’s not what you need to focus on. Take note, worrying too much about Yoast is definitely going to be a waste of your time.

SEO is more than that. It needs a strategy. So, it’s time to step back to see what contributes to your overall goals. Then, focus on building good content, building links and so on. 

Get help from SEO experts

SEO needs time and effort to get the benefits. You don’t need to focus on ticking boxes. Instead, ask for guidance and help from an SEO agency. 

Time waster # 3: Publishing fresh content all the time

Fresh content is a must-have for any website that wants to stay at the top of its field. In today’s fast-paced world, news outlets are constantly publishing new articles in order to keep up with modern trends. That’s why it only makes sense then why they should be doing this same thing online too.

Freshness isn’t just essential when creating high-quality blog posts, either. However, you can do in-site audits, a so-called content audit. This is to check all the articles on the website and how they perform on Google.

In this way, you can check what works best for your website. Gert agreed that it’s better than focusing on creating something new all the time.

Content optimization is also a way to rank higher on Google. That means focusing on existing content to check the proper structure. And lastly, there’s a lot to say about making text engaging and actually to enjoy reading it, rather than being faced with a wall of text without any proper structure.

Key Takeaway

Time is precious, and it’s often said that time is money in the business world. So when you’re running a business, you can’t afford to waste time on activities that don’t contribute to your bottom line. 

The SEO landscape is constantly changing, so businesses have to adapt their strategies to keep up continuously. 

If you think you might be wasting your time with SEO, contact us here to check how to leverage your time better. Plus, ensure that whatever resources you dedicate to SEO are well invested with the company’s resources.

Connect with Gert Mellak:

Email: [email protected]