The do’s & don’ts of SEO

by | Aug 14, 2020 | SEO

Search engine optimisation has changed dramatically over the past few years. Search engines are now far better at identifying valuable, trustworthy content and filtering out low-quality or scam websites. The elimination of scam websites leads to the optimal user experience.

Understanding the key SEO dos and don’ts can help improve your visibility in search results while building long-term credibility with both users and search engines.

In this article, we have outlined some core do’s and don’ts of the SEO.

Do – Measure SEO Performance Regularly

One of the most important parts of any SEO strategy is tracking performance. As a website owner, everyone wants to see their website at the top, but SEO is a long-term investment that requires ongoing monitoring and refinement.Start by identifying keywords and search phrases that are genuinely relevant to your business, products, or services. From there, use tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console to measure how your pages are performing. Monitoring data such as traffic, bounce rates, click-through rates, and keyword rankings helps you understand what is working and where improvements are needed.The best way to ensure high-performance ranking is to rank the business-relevant sentences. Focusing on realistic, lower-competition keywords can often deliver better results than trying to rank for broad, highly competitive terms. Reviewing performance data regularly also helps you identify outdated content, technical issues, or pages that may need optimisation.

Don’t – Copy Content From Other Websites

Original content remains one of the most important ranking factors in modern SEO. Search engines prioritise websites that provide unique insights, useful information, and genuine value to users. It was said that using the own content was harmful to the SEO ranking, but with the changes in algorithm, such issues have been eliminated. However, it also concludes that it isn’t helpful either. Copying content from external websites can damage your rankings, reduce trust, and make your website appear low quality. Even duplicate or heavily recycled content may struggle to perform well in search results.

Instead, focus on producing content that reflects your own expertise, experience, and perspective. Businesses that share practical advice, industry knowledge, and real-world insights are far more likely to build authority and trust online.

Creating original content also helps strengthen your brand identity and encourages users to spend more time on your website.

Do – Build Content Around Relevant Keywords

Many people make the mistake of writing the content first, and after that, they write the titles and meta-titles. A strong SEO strategy starts with proper keyword planning. Rather than writing content first and adding keywords afterwards, it is far more effective to research relevant search terms before creating your content.

The primary keyword should appear naturally in important areas such as:

    • The page title
    • Headings and subheadings
    • Meta descriptions
    • Introductory paragraphs
    • Image alt text where relevant

Titles should be concise, clear, and relevant to the user’s search intent. In most cases, keeping SEO titles under roughly 55–60 characters helps prevent them from being cut off in search results.

Your content should also remain focused and informative. Adding unnecessary filler simply to increase word count rarely improves rankings. This is because the algorithms have been smart as they are able to detect the multiple tons.

Using long-tail keywords and related search phrases naturally throughout the article often improves visibility while keeping the content readable.

Don’t – Overuse Keywords

Keywords density is important, but overdoing it can harm both readability and rankings. This practice, often referred to as keyword stuffing, makes content sound unnatural and creates a poor user experience. With the smartness of the search engine algorithms, the users are at liberty to add the keyword synonyms, and the ranking will improve.

Modern search engines understand context, related phrases, and keyword variations. This means you no longer need to repeat the exact same keyword excessively to rank well.

Instead, write naturally and focus on creating useful content that answers the reader’s questions clearly. Using synonyms, related terms, and conversational language helps search engines understand the topic without making the content repetitive.

Good SEO content should always prioritise readability first.

Do – Use Internal Linking Strategically

For every website, conveying the one basic message is a must, but how do you ensure that traffic to that specific page? In our opinion, you should opt for the hyperlinking in the content that will direct the traffic to such pages. Internal linking plays a valuable role in SEO and website usability. Linking between relevant pages on your website helps users navigate your content while also helping search engines understand your site structure.

For example, linking related blog posts, service pages, or case studies can guide visitors towards useful information and encourage them to stay on your website longer.

When adding internal links:

    • Use natural anchor text
    • Link only where it adds value
    • Avoid excessive linking on a single page
    • Direct users towards genuinely relevant content

Strategic internal linking can improve crawlability, strengthen topical relevance, and distribute authority across your website more effectively.

Don’t – Hyperlink Excessively to Low-Quality External Websites

External links can sometimes provide value when referencing credible sources, statistics, or trusted industry information. However, linking excessively to unrelated or low-quality websites can damage your credibility and make your content appear spammy.

Search engines place strong emphasis on trust and authority. If you include external links, make sure they point to reliable, reputable sources that genuinely support the information you are discussing.

Quality matters far more than quantity. A few relevant external references can improve trustworthiness, while excessive or irrelevant outbound links may negatively affect user experience and SEO performance.