by Lina Martinez

https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-typing-on-green-typewrite-938971/

The online world does not remain stagnant. Every month there are new trends and techniques being introduced, and with every new trend that comes into play, there are old approaches that have gone out of date. If you are still using outdated marketing practices, you are putting your business at a significant disadvantage. With that in mind, read on to discover some of the most outdated marketing methods that you need to stop using today…

Keyword stuffing – There is only one place to begin, and this is with keyword stuffing. This past its sell by date a long time ago, yet it is surprising how many marketing agencies and businesses still use this approach. Yes, you do need to include relevant keywords in your content that are going to help you to rank. Nevertheless, these keywords need to appear natural – to the point whereby no one would notice that they have been purposely placed there. Today, Google places more emphasis on user experience than ever before and, therefore, keyword stuffing is viewed as a black hat technique, which will only result in you being punished by Google. Look at aligning yourself with companies that only focus on white hat techniques. You can find out further information on this at http://www.ascend2.com. White hat techniques are marketing techniques that work in accordance with the search engine policies so that you are not breaking any rules.

Content without strategy – If you are creating content without knowing about the buying habits, genders, and age ranges of your ideal consumer, you are making a big mistake. You need to embrace competitive analysis, editorial calendars, and buyer personas so you can get a better understanding of your audience and create content that resonates with them.

Quantity over quality – Quantity should never trump quality when it comes to marketing. This is especially the case with regards to content. Yes, you do need to post on a regular and consistent basis. Nevertheless, you should not flood the Internet with tons of articles per day that are of a poor standard or have simply been copied from elsewhere. By doing this, you are offering no value to your viewers, ad this will not only hurt your SEO ranking but your overall brand image too.

Focusing on clicks instead of conversion rates – If you want to build a strong marketing campaign, you should not concern yourself with the amount of traffic or clicks your business gets. Yes, this is important, but it does not always equate to more sales. If people are leaving your website as soon as they enter it, something is going wrong. Perhaps you are targeting the wrong keywords? You need to be focusing on your conversion rates, i.e. the number of people who enter your website and then make a purchase or sign up to your newsletter. This information is way more valuable and gives a better reflection regarding your performance.

Pop up ads – This is another approach to marketing that has been around a lot longer than it should have been. After all, it is no coincidence that Ad Blockers were invented. No one wants to browse the Internet and have their screen taken over by pesky adverts. More and more marketing firms have gotten the memo about this and they have moved to seamless advertising, which is much more effective. You can find out more about this at http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/12/14/the-power-being-seamless-brand-integration. It is all about creating adverts that will seamlessly blend with your website, rather than interrupting the person’s browsing experience.

So there you have it: a glimpse at some of the most outdated marketing methods that businesses are still guilty of using today. If you are guilty of using any of the methods mentioned above, you should not panic, but you do need to make an effort to change your marketing approach sooner rather than later. After all, all that is going to happen is that you will start moving down the search engine result pages, rather than moving up them – and this is the last thing that any business owner wants!