SEO keeps changing with search engines, user behavior, and the competition. If your website traffic has plateaued or your search engine rankings are slowly declining, your SEO approach may already be outdated.
This article will help you identify the signs that your SEO needs an update and guide you on what to do next to remain competitive and visible on the internet.
Your Organic Traffic Is Falling or Not Increasing
Organic traffic that is steadily falling or not increasing at all is one of the most alarming signs. This indicates that your content is no longer relevant to what users are searching for.
Search intent keeps changing with time. What worked two years ago may not work today. If you are not updating your content or targeting keywords, your competitors will rank higher than you.
What you can do:
- Assess your top pages using Google Search Console
- Refresh your content with more up-to-date information and better answers
- Use search intent optimization instead of keyword optimization
Your Content Is Outdated or Thin
Content that is too short, too generic, or too outdated simply can’t compete. Google now favors informative, experience-based content that answers users’ complete questions.
If your articles are shallow, lack examples, and offer no useful advice, they may be hurting your site. This is where advanced SEO methods, as employed in Carl Ocab SEO techniques, come into play by emphasizing valuable content.
Refresh your content by:
- Including real-life examples and perspectives
- Fleshing out thin spots with interesting information
- Cutting unnecessary words and making it clearer
Your Rankings Are Stuck on Page Two
Being on page two of Google is practically the same as being nowhere. If most of your keywords are ranked between 11 and 20, your SEO technique simply requires some tweaking.
This typically means that your on-page optimization is subpar or that your site’s internal linking is poor. Making small adjustments can move these rankings to page one.
Quick fixes to improve:
- Optimize headings and meta descriptions
- Use internal linking from authoritative pages
- Enhance page speed and mobile usability
Your Website Is Not Mobile-Friendly
Mobile searches dominate today. If your website is slow, difficult to use, or has a poor mobile design, your rankings will decrease.
Google’s mobile-first indexing means that Google indexes your mobile site before your desktop site.
Verify and optimize:
- Mobile page speed
- Button size and readability
- Simple and clean designs
You Ignore Technical SEO Problems
Technical SEO issues quietly damage your rankings. Issues like broken links, crawl errors, and poor site architecture make it difficult for search engines to understand your website.
Even high-quality content can’t rank well if technical issues prevent search engines from indexing your pages correctly.
Common issues to resolve:
- Broken internal and external links
- Missing or duplicate meta tags
- Poor URL structure
This data-driven approach is one of the underlying tenets of Carl Ocab SEO techniques, where all actions are grounded on actual results.
Wrapping Up
An outdated SEO strategy is a slow process of draining your traffic, leads, and profits. A lack of traffic, poor content, technical problems, and poor mobile optimization are all signs of an outdated strategy. If you want to see steady growth, stop waiting for your rankings to tank. Assess your SEO strategy today, upgrade what’s outdated, and implement effective strategies that emphasize value, simplicity, and user experience.