4 SEO practices with diminishing returns

Marketing resources, whether time, money, or expertise, are limited. Today's businesses, fueled by AI advancements and efficient tools, demand greater results with fewer resources. This means every moment invested in SEO is crucial. SEOs must concentrate on high-impact activities, avoiding wasted time and effort. This article identifies SEO tasks with diminishing returns—where effort surpasses benefit—and suggests optimization strategies.

1. Page Speed Optimization: Diminishing Returns

A recent client obsessed over page speed, despite already achieving excellent scores (100% Core Web Vitals pass rate on desktop, over 95% on mobile). Their pursuit of perfect scores demanded extensive code review and JavaScript cleanup, a significant time investment.

2. Net-New Content Creation: A Potential Pitfall

Years of solely creating new content led to internal cannibalization for another client, with multiple articles covering similar topics. This resulted in content loosely or entirely unrelated to their services. HubSpot's recent SEO challenges highlight this issue; expanding into unrelated areas (e.g., business credit cards for a marketing automation company) can negatively impact performance.

Instead of solely focusing on new content, consider:

• Refreshing existing content.
• Improving internal linking.
• Promoting existing content.

3. Content Refreshing: The Pareto Principle in Action

Refreshing old content is a proven SEO tactic. Search engines favor fresh content, and updating existing material improves accuracy and relevance. A survey of 850 enterprise marketers showed content refreshes yielded better results than creating new content.

However, even content refreshing experiences diminishing returns. The Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) applies: 80% of traffic/conversions usually originate from 20% of website pages. While focusing on top-performing pages is key, refreshing low-traffic/low-relevance content offers limited value. Sometimes, it's best to leave or retire an article.

Prioritizing SEO Efforts:

Effective SEO strategy depends on various factors. New websites should prioritize link building and new content, while established sites with strong authority should focus on content refreshes, UX, and CRO. Success requires a balanced approach; allocate resources wisely to maximize value and avoid diminishing returns.

Further Reading: [Link to SEO Prioritization Article] [Link to Prioritizing SEO Strategies Article]

Note: The opinions expressed are those of the contributing author.

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