8 Signs That You Are Reading Outdated Content On SEO

SEO has changed leaps and bounds over the last decade. Techniques that worked great during the early part of the previous decade no longer work in 2022.

But the internet as we know can be a source of the latest as well as the most outdated information. So how do you know that the SEO article you are reading isn't outdated?

Here are a few things you can keep in your mind to know that the content you are reading isn't a recent one.

1. They talk about Keyword Density

Keyword Density is a thing of the past. Google no longer relies on Keyword Density to rank your website. In fact, if you stuff your content with too many keywords, it may even hurt your ranking.

2. They don't talk about RankBrain

RankBrain is one of the most important ranking factors for Google. It monitors how the user interacts with your content; whether or not they are satisfied with your content and then adjusts the SERP to promote websites that perform better with users.

If the SEO advice you're reading doesn't mention RankBrain, it's probably outdated.

3. They don't talk about Mobile-First Indexing

Mobile-First Indexing is a major change that Google made in 2018. With this change, Google now indexes websites based on their mobile version instead of their desktop version. So, you have to make sure that your website doesn't look out of place on a mobile device.

4. They don't talk about voice search

With the rise of digital assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, voice search is becoming more and more popular. If the SEO advice you're reading doesn't talk about how to optimize your content for voice search, it's probably outdated.

5. They talk about building directory backlinks

In the early days of SEO, it was common to build backlinks by submitting your website to directories. However, this is no longer effective and can even be harmful.

6. They ask you to use AMP

AMP had a very low adoption rate even at its peak and was mostly used by news websites. That's the reason, Google literally killed AMP after its recent announcement that AMP is no longer a criterion for getting featured in Google Top Stories.

7. They don't talk about the importance of UX

User experience is arguably the most important ranking factor for Google. If the SEO advice you're reading doesn't tell you about how to improve your UX, they probably are still following old school techniques

8. They ask you to buy backlinks

Now, don't get me wrong. Buying backlinks works great even today. But that's not from websites that are openly selling backlinks.

At the very least, if you have backlinks from websites that are known link sellers, Google will neutralize the effect of the link. Too many links from known link sellers and you also risk manual unnatural links penalty.

So, these are the points you need to look at to judge if you are reading an outdated piece of SEO advice.

Do hit the like button and share it with your network if you liked it.