15 Outdated SEO Tactics You Should Stop Doing In 2025

In the fast-paced world of SEO, staying updated with the latest best practices is crucial. Over time, many SEO tactics that were once perceived as effective strategies for improving search engine visibility have become outdated or were never genuine actions.

In this article, I’ll share 15 outdated SEO tactics that I believe you should stop doing right away.  I will also explain why I believe they are no longer valid and what you should focus on instead.

Don’t Target Keywords … Instead Focus on Topics

But today, focusing solely on individual keywords neglects the context and user intent. Search engines now prioritize semantic search and user experience, making a topic-focused approach more effective. We all know that 

Тargeting individual SEO keywords instead of topics is an outdated SEO practice because it overlooks the fundamental shift in search engine algorithms towards semantic search and user intent.

In the past, SEO strategies heavily revolved around identifying and optimizing specific keywords to rank for in search results. However, search engines have evolved to prioritize delivering the most relevant and comprehensive content to users based on the broader context and meaning of their queries. This means that simply stuffing content with keywords without addressing the overall topic and user experience is no longer effective.

What should you do instead?

In the past years we’ve seen a clear shift, Google increasingly favors content that covers a topic comprehensively, addressing various aspects and subtopics related to a user’s search query. This shift towards topic relevance and user intent has led to the emergence of content clusters and pillar pages, where a central topic is covered in-depth, supported by related subtopics and linked content. By focusing on creating valuable and in-depth content that addresses a broader topic rather than just individual keywords, websites can better align with search engine algorithms and provide more value to their audience. Therefore, the outdated practice of targeting keywords in isolation has given way to the more effective and user-centric approach of creating content around comprehensive topics.

Don’t Rewrite Articles Based on SEO Scores SEMRush/Yoast Score

Relying solely on the yet-so-popular “SEO scores” often leads to forced keyword insertion and unnatural content flow, which can harm user experience and overall quality.

 

Rewriting articles solely to improve their SEMRush or Yoast SEO scores is an outdated SEO practice because it prioritizes these tools’ metrics over the quality and relevance of the content. Relying excessively on these scores often leads to forced keyword insertion, unnatural and long headings,  content flow, and an overall lack of focus on user experience. While these tools can provide valuable insights into on-page optimization, they should be used as guides rather than strict directives for content creation.

What should you do instead?

Search engines have become increasingly sophisticated in evaluating content quality and user relevance, moving away from a purely keyword-focused approach to understanding the context and intent behind the content. Therefore, artificially inflating SEO scores through forced keyword optimization can actually harm a website’s ranking and user engagement. Instead, the focus should be on creating high-quality, valuable, and user-centric content that naturally incorporates relevant keywords and addresses the needs of the target audience. By aligning with search engines’ emphasis on user experience and relevance, websites can achieve sustainable and meaningful improvements in their search engine visibility, rather than chasing arbitrary score improvements.

Don’t Spend Too Much Time Rewriting Meta Descriptions

This opinion often surprises my clients, who are very used to working with SEO agencies who frequently advise to write, rewrite, and optimize meta descriptions.

Meta descriptions used to be an important ranking factor and were widely used by SEOs to rank pages for targeted keywords. The prevailing idea was that writing optimized meta descriptions would help rank pages higher in Google search results. In the past, I’ve also spent hours meticulously crafting meta descriptions by including specific keywords and their close variations, hoping this will improve ranking. But meta descriptions were easy to manipulate, SEOs abused the practice, and search engine algorithms had to evolve. Their impact on search engine rankings has significantly decreased over the past 15 years until  Google completely stopped using meta descriptions as a search ranking signal. Some believe that this change happened as early as 1999 or 2003-04. 

In 2009 Matt Cutts’ confirmed that the meta descriptions were removed from the algorithm:

Even though we sometimes use the description meta tag for the snippets we show, we still don’t use the description meta tag in our ranking.

Even today, the meta description you assigned to that page might not appear in search results.

Even in 2020, John Muller (re) confirmed this in a Twitter post:

Today, the idea that optimized meta descriptions won’t help you improve your page’s ranking for a specific keyword is common knowledge.

What should you do instead?

Of course, this doesn’t mean meta descriptions can be completely neglected. Optimizing meta descriptions is important for click-through rates (CTR) because they can enhance clicks and improve the user experience by providing a preview of the page content. This is why SEO experts advise having well-crafted meta descriptions: to entice searchers to click through to your content and not to rank for targeted keywords.

But in my opinion, even though well-crafted meta-descriptions are helpful to CTRs, spending excessive amounts of time on rewriting them is an ineffective use of time and resources. Instead, spend your time creating better quality content that naturally incorporates keywords and provides value to the audience. Choose user-centric SEO practices that focus on quality and user experience. Don’t waste time on SEO elements and tactics whose impact is minimal compared to other factors.

Don’t Optimize Meta Keyword Tags … Not Even for Baidu

I still get asked about the relevance of meta keywords, by companies interested in Baidu SEO.

More than 10 years ago, Google officially stated that they do not use meta keywords for ranking purposes. In fact, most Western search engines have formally deprecated the use of the tag. But until recently some Chinese SEO experts believed that meta keywords were a relevant ranking factor for Baidu. However, last year, Baidu’s official spokesperson, explicitly addressed the relevance of meta keywords. According to him, meta keywords are no longer considered in Baidu’s ranking algorithm. This statement aligns with the prevailing belief of many Baidu SEOs that the meta keywords have been losing their importance as a ranking factor on Baidu over the past few years.

Example of Meta Keywords tag

As a result of these recent Baidu developments, we can easily say that optimizing meta keywords offers no impact on search engine visibility whatsoever, no matter if we are speaking of Google, Bing, or Baidu.

What should you do instead?

On the other hand, meta titles continue to be an important meta tag and are considered as a ranking factor in the algorithms of most search engines.

Don’t Use “No Follow” Tags for PageRank Sculpting

This is another SEO technique that I’ve spent hours on. But not anymore …

Historically, webmasters and SEOs used the “no follow” tags to control the flow of PageRank within the websites, attempting “to channel” (or “to redirect”) page authority to the main money pages. This was called “PageRank sculpting”. But over time, SEOs started abusing the practice (as usual), and search engines became more intelligent. Today, search engines are adept at understanding internal linking structures and interpreting links organically, rendering the practice of PageRank sculpting less effective and even detrimental.

 

In addition, in 2019, Google introduced a major change in the way nofollow links are counted. Previously, the nofollow attribute was treated as a directive, meaning Google obeyed the nofollow. After the 2019th change, Google started treating nofollow only as a “hint”, meaning that the algorithm decides whether or not to use the nofollow link for ranking purposes. This change had an important impact on page SEO, link building, and link spam. It also made PageRank sculpting through nofollow tags completely irrelevant.

What should you do instead?

Instead of trying to “redirect page authority” and influence the algorithm, focus on building a logical site structure that enhances user navigation and engagement. Organize your site’s pages to help visitors find the content they’re looking for. A good website architecture helps search engines understand the importance and relevance of different pages within the website. Adopting a logical and user-centric website structure and internal linking aligns better with modern SEO practices, ultimately contributing to a more holistic and effective SEO strategy.

Don’t Do Volume and DA/DR-based Link Building

By this, I mean building backlinks only from websites with high Domain Authority (DA), Domain Rating (DR), and Domain Age. And completely ignore websites with lower domain metrics.

I’ve been doing link building for more than 10 years and I know how complex it can be. However, as an SEO consultant in Hong Kong, I understand that SEO clients will always try to rationalize linkbuilding in order to try to understand it. For example, clients often ask :

• “Why is a backlink from site A 5 times more expensive than a backlink from site B?”,
• “Why do you charge 200 USD for a backlink, while my previous SEO agency was charging me 100 USD?”,
• “How do you know that backlink A is more valuable to me than that backlink B?”,
• “Why backlinks on Upwork cost 30 USD and yours cost 300 USD?”
• etc.

And, of course, the simplest way to understand the value of a backlink is by looking at the referring website metrics and relying on them to provide a quick snapshot of a website’s credibility. The most well-known and easily digestible website metrics are Domain Authority (DA), Domain Rating (DR) and Domain Age :

• Domain Authority (DA) is a metric developed by Moz that predicts a website’s ranking potential based on its backlink profile. It ranges from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater ability to rank.
• Domain Rating (DR) is a metric developed by Ahrefs that measures the overall strength of a website’s backlink profile. It ranges from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating stronger, more authoritative websites.
• Domain Age refers to how long a domain has been registered. Older domains are often perceived as more trustworthy.

So naturally, most SEO clients prefer to buy backlinks from websites with high Domain Authority, and Domain Rating. And many will completely neglect websites with low DA, DR, and Domain Age.

But all website and domain metrics have limitations. They simply provide a quick snapshot of the referring website and most of them are easy to manipulate. For example :

• DA can be manipulated by acquiring spammy backlinks; 
• Domain age only indicates when a domain name is registered, but it doesn’t guarantee that a website has been operating on this domain the entire time;
• DR can be manipulated by acquiring spammy backlinks; 
• Both DA and DR can be built on one website but then

More importantly: neither DA nor domain age indicates the relevance of a referring website to your niche, the quality of its content, or the user experience it provides.  That’s why link-building strategies that prioritize or rely solely on high DA, DR, and Domain Age are outdated and inefficient. 

What should you do instead?

Instead of focusing only on DA and DR, consider the niche relevance of the referring website. Analyze its user experience and the quality of its content. These are all fundamental factors in evaluating backlink quality.

Don’t Build Backlinks with Exact Match Anchor Text

Anchor text (also called link text, or link label) is the visible, clickable text of a hyperlink. This outdated linkbuilding practice involves creating links where the clickable text (anchor text) exactly matches the keyword you’re targeting for the page being linked to. For example, if you’re linking to a page you want to rank for “best-scented candles”, the anchor text would be the exact phrase “best-scented candles”.

Read more: What is Image Alt tag and Is It Important for SEO?

Building backlinks with exact match anchor text was very effective in the past, but today search engines view it as manipulative. Search engines, particularly Google, have sophisticated algorithms to identify unnatural linking patterns. When too many different websites use the same anchor text to link to your website, this is obviously unnatural and signals manipulation.

Below is the anchor text analysis of a URL with an over-optimized anchor text :

For 6 years, this client has been building backlinks through a link exchange scheme. Referring websites were asked to link to my client with a specific anchor text that matches the targeted keywords of the page they are linking to. As a result, we see that 90% of all backlinks use exact anchor texts matching specific keywords. In fact, 12.6% of this page’s backlinks use the same keyword “voyage au Canada”. This is a clear example of an over-optimized backlinks profile, that is seen as unnatural and manipulative. 

In some cases, excessive linkbuilding with exact match anchor text can lead to potential penalties and reduce a site’s visibility in search results.

What should you do instead?

Linkbuilding is still a very effective SEO strategy, but it should be done intelligently. If you are engaging in paid linkbuilding campaigns, you should strive to obtain natural link profiles.

A natural link profile reflects the organic way people link to content. This includes a natural mix of anchor text types. So instead of asking websites to link always with the same anchor text, you should use varied anchor text to create a more natural link profile. Use a mix of branded anchors, generic phrases, naked URLs, and long-tail keywords. This diversity helps avoid the red flags associated with spammy SEO practices.

Don’t Pay More for .edu and .gov Backlinks

In the past, SEO practitioners believed that .edu and .gov backlinks were exceptionally valuable because these domains were typically associated with high authority, trusted institutions like universities and government bodies. Given that search engines value authority in their ranking algorithms, backlinks from these sites were seen as highly beneficial for boosting a website’s credibility and rankings.

Today, this view is outdated.

What should you do instead?

As I mentioned in point 6, what matters more in linkbuilding is whether the referring website is relevant to your content. Search engines evaluate backlinks based on the relevance and authority of the linking page’s content, not merely the domain extension. While .edu and .gov sites are often authoritative, their backlinks aren’t inherently more valuable just because of their domain type.

Don’t Use Software to Automatically Create Links and Comments

Years ago, using software to automatically create links in comments and forums was popular because it quickly generated a high volume of backlinks, which once helped boost SEO rankings. However, this tactic is outdated, as search engines now recognize these links as irrelevant. Moreover, automated link building and comment spamming violate search engine guidelines, risking severe penalties and damage to your website’s reputation.

What should you do instead?

Instead, build genuine, high-quality backlinks by engaging in relevant online communities, guest posting on relevant authoritative websites, sharing valuable content, and fostering organic connections that enhance credibility and authority.

Don’t Buy Social Signals and Social Shares

In the early days of SEO, getting social signals and shares was a common practice, as many thought that high social interaction could really improve rankings. Marketers viewed social activity as a sign of content authority, leading them to prioritize and even buy shares and signals to boost SEO results. However, while social signals might indirectly influence SEO by raising brand and content visibility, their direct effect on search engine rankings is minimal.

The State of SEO 2021 survey from Search Engine Journal shows that social signals are one of 15 ranking factors. While less influential than on-page signals and user behavior, many SEO experts think social signals do have some effect on search rankings based on their experience. A study from CognitiveSEO also found that there’s a correlation between a strong social media presence and better rankings. Though correlation is not causation, SEOs maintain there is a connection between SEO and social media. This might explain why many freelancers still offer “social sharing” packages, as noted below:

What should you consider instead?

The debate about social shares’ effects on SEO is ongoing, but one fact is clear: search engines appreciate real engagement and quality content more than fake signals. Therefore, it’s vital to create useful content that naturally drives social engagement and shares. This approach helps to build an authentic online presence that search engines acknowledge and reward.

Even if social signals have some indirect impact on SEO, their direct influence on rankings is minor. Rather than purchasing social signals from random, irrelevant accounts, invest your efforts into fostering real engagement through solid content and community management. The rise in social media visibility and the accompanying marketing benefits – including increased brand exposure and enhanced consumer trust – will yield positive results over time.

Don’t Buy Web 2.0 backlinks

Buy and Forward Expired Domain Names

Once, buying expired domain names and redirecting them to your site was a common SEO strategy. The idea was to acquire domains with established backlinks and traffic, forwarding them to pass on authority to your site. However, this method is outdated as search engines now evaluate the relevance and intent of redirects. So, redirecting unrelated expired domains has little to no effect on website authority and rankings nowadays.

What should you do instead?

Instead, prioritize natural link acquisition. Spend time acquiring high-quality, relevant backlinks through valuable content and authentic outreach, ensuring enduring SEO success without risking penalties.

Don’t Disavow “Toxic” Backlinks

Many SEO professionals still analyze and disavow links via Google Search Console. Disavowing “toxic” backlinks involves using Google’s Disavow Tool to instruct search engines to disregard specific low-quality links pointing to a website. This practice gained popularity after Google’s Penguin updates penalized sites with unnatural link profiles. Many believed that disavowing such links was vital for maintaining or recovering rankings.

However, algorithms have improved significantly, and they can now easily identify which links are beneficial and which to ignore. “Toxic” or unnatural links are naturally disregarded by Google and Bing. Google has confirmed that they mainly ignore poor links instead of penalizing sites for them.

And given the recent instructions in the Google Search Console Help Center, you should disavow backlinks only if:

1. You have a considerable number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality links pointing to your site,
   AND
2. The links have caused a manual action or likely will cause a manual action, on your site.

And here’s an official message from Google that supports this view:

“If you have a manual action against your site for unnatural links, or if you think that you’re about to get one because of paid links or link schemes that violate our quality guidelines, ask the other site to remove those links. … If you can’t get these links removed, then disavow those sites using this tool.

Thus, disavowing backlinks with Google/Bing disavow tool makes sense only in three cases:

1. Manual action: When Google issues a penalty against your site (you can find this in Google Search Console).
2. Algorithmic penalty: Knowing that a website participated in large scale unnatural link-building that violated Google’s rules can lead to algorithmic penalties. If you notice a ranking decline and fear receiving many paid toxic links, try to remove those links.
3. SEO attack: If your site is a target of a black-hat SEO attack resulting in many bad backlinks quickly.

If there is no specific manual action from Google for unnatural links, disavowing can be harmful because you might remove beneficial links that help your SEO. Excessive use of the Disavow Tool could harm your rankings and waste time if good links are disavowed by mistake. Even Google states it is an advanced tool not meant for casual usage, warning it may do more harm than good.

Still, many SEO agencies include disavowing “toxic” backlinks to their monthly SEO retainer services as a billable service because it is easy to sell and requires little effort. However, without a specific manual action from Google for unnatural links, this service offers no real benefit.

What should you do instead?

Avoid disavowing backlinks. Concentrate on acquiring new quality links instead of removing old ones.

In September 2023 Bing Webmaster Tools removed their disavow link tool, and gave the following explenation:

“We have invested heavily in developing and improving our artificial intelligence capabilities, which enables us to better understand the context and intent of links, as well as the trustworthiness and authority of their sources. We can now differentiate between natural and unnatural links, and we can ignore or discount the latter without affecting the former.”

In May 2024, John Mueller, wrote on X, that “At some point, I’m sure we’ll remove it,” referring to Google’s disavow tool.

Don’t Worry About Your Crawl Budget

Are you concerned that search engine bots won’t crawl all pages?

The crawl budget is the number of pages Googlebot (or another search engine bot) will crawl on a website within a given timeframe. Some unethical SEO agencies may try to convince you that Google “can’t index all your pages” and that you need a “crawl budget optimization service” to improve your crawl efficiency.

Let me assure you: that this concern is valid only for very big websites with thousands of pages, where poor crawling could overlook key pages. Below is an example, of large websites where crawl budget optimization should be considered.

With 17,8m pages crawled by Google (3,8 million indexed pages + 14m not-indexed pages) and several hundred new pages posted each week, we can assume that Googlebot may not have the capacity to crawl, analyse and index (or not) each new page, every day. A significant part of my job for this client was to analyze the crawl efficiency and consider crawl budget adjustments. 

But if your Google Search Console doesn’t look like this, you don’t need to worry. For most small and medium websites, the crawl budget is not an issue. Search engines are effective at crawling and indexing content, making manual crawl budget adjustments usually unnecessary. Unless you manage a very large e-commerce or news site, crawl budget is rarely an issue.

What should you do instead?

Don’t fall for any “advanced crawl budget optimization services”. All you need to do is to maintain a clean site structure, ensuring key pages are accessible with minimal clicks. Conduct regular SEO audits and address technical SEO issues that may slow your website performance. Eliminate duplicate pages, repair broken links, and utilize an updated XML sitemap.

These practices help search engines crawl your site effectively without needing to excessively focus on crawl budget.

Don’t Obsess Over Keyword Density or Code-to-Text Ratio

Improving keyword density means optimizing the frequency of target keywords in the page content. Improving code-to-text ratio involves reducing the amount of code relative to text on a webpage. These SEO methods were popular 10+ years ago, when search engines focused a lot on how often keywords appeared in the code to judge relevance.

But today’s search algorithms emphasize natural language, relevance, and user experience instead of keyword stuffing or overly basic code. Therefore, these two methods do not match the current SEO landscape. Also, too many keywords can make content feel forced, unnatural, which can harm user experience and hurt your rankings.

What should you do instead?

Write high-quality, user-centered content that smoothly includes keywords and meets user intent. Make sure your website’s code is clean and optimized for speed and performance (e.g., fast loading times and mobile-friendly pages). Don’t fixate on random ratios. Content relevance and usability are the main factors that really boost rankings.

On the other hand, even if the code-to-text ratio isn’t a direct ranking factor, it can still indirectly affect some SEO metrics.

Read more here: Why Code to Text Ratio Still Matters for SEO?