8 Bad SEO Practices to Avoid & What to Do Instead

What Are Bad SEO Practices?

Bad SEO practices are those that break hunt motor guidelines aliases negatively impact the personification experience. These practices undermine the superior extremity of hunt engines and AI tools: to thief users find helpful, relevant, and trustworthy information. 

Some bad SEO practices are unintentional, often stemming from outdated tactics—like keyword stuffing. Although predominant keyword repetition erstwhile helped sites look higher successful Google, it reduces readability and tin little visibility. 

Here’s an illustration of keyword stuffing:

Plus, many times utilizing the aforesaid query tin forestall you from gaining visibility successful AI platforms for illustration ChatGPT. Those devices usage a query fan-out process that considers the multitude of ways group speak astir a fixed taxable erstwhile seeking applicable sources. 

Other bad SEO practices are intentional and manipulative, specified arsenic utilizing private blog networks (PBNs), cloaking, aliases buying spammy backlinks. These methods whitethorn present short-term results but typically consequence successful penalties from hunt engines. 

Consequences of Bad SEO

Here’s what tin hap if you autumn into adverse SEO habits:

• Drop successful visibility: Search engines and AI hunt devices purpose to show high-quality, user-focused content. If your tract relies connected outdated aliases manipulative SEO tactics, you’re improbable to show prominently.
• Less traffic: When you aren’t arsenic visible successful hunt results and AI tools, you’ll inevitably get little postulation to your site. And that besides intends less imaginable customers aliases clients.
• Damage to your brand’s reputation: Low-quality aliases deceptive contented doesn’t conscionable effect SEO—it tin besides harm your credibility. Users announcement erstwhile a website feels spammy, unreliable, aliases frustrating to use.
• Google penalties: Engaging successful deceptive strategies tin trigger manual penalties from Google. Recovering from these penalties is challenging and time-consuming.
• Competitors summation advantage: If your tract loses visibility, your competitors tin quickly capitalize connected it

8 Bad SEO Practices (with Examples)

We surveyed 58 SEOs and contented marketers connected LinkedIn astir the astir harmful SEO practices. Below are the results, ordered from astir to slightest problematic.

Bad SEO Practice	% Saying It’s Most Problematic
Creating unhelpful contented that lacks expertise	29.3%
Over-optimizing for search	24.1%
Using backstage blog networks	12.1%
Delivering a mediocre personification experience	15.5%
Manipulating hunt engines pinch cloaking	6.9%
Publishing generic, AI-generated content	6.9%
Having copy content	3.4%
Relying connected estimation abuse	1.7%

1. Creating Unhelpful Content That Lacks Expertise

Content that doesn’t supply existent worth aliases expertise often struggles to rank highly successful hunt engines. And it’s little apt to show successful AI hunt arsenic well.

From our survey, 29.3% of the respondents identified this arsenic the astir problematic bad SEO practice. 

Google prioritizes contented that’s helpful, trustworthy, and authored by experts. That besides matters for AI systems erstwhile you see they often usage Google results. 

So, if you’re penning astir fittingness tips and simply rehash accusation from existing articles (like “do cardio” and “lift weights”) without offering unsocial insights, hunt engines, AI tools, and users will apt spot your page arsenic low-value.

What to Do Instead

• Write from experience: Share what you’ve personally done, tested, aliases learned. If you don’t person nonstop experience, question and reply taxable matter experts and see their insights to supply depth. For example, if you're penning astir increasing an email list, talk astir strategies you've really used. Like really publishing a investigation study helped you turn to a definite number of subscribers. 
• Use original data: Run surveys, analyse your ain capacity metrics, aliases propulsion insights from soul reports. Even mini information points tin make your contented guidelines out. For example, a financial advisor penning astir finance strategies could see study information from clients connected consequence preferences and plus choices.
• Find a unsocial angle: Look for what’s missing from competing content, past capable that spread pinch your ain position aliases adjuvant additions. For example, alternatively of a generic “How to Use ChatGPT” guide, attraction connected circumstantial usage cases crossed applicable industries. 

Further reading: Quality Content: What It Is + 10 Actionable Tips for Success

2. Over-Optimizing for Search

When contented is written much for hunt engines and AI systems than people, it often performs poorly by each measures. And 24.1% of our study participants flagged over-optimization arsenic a important concern.

Over-optimization occurs erstwhile contented is truthful focused connected showing up successful hunt that it becomes unnatural for readers. This tin hap done excessive keyword use, awkward anchor text, aliases unhelpful and repeated internal links. 

Over-optimized contented often comes disconnected arsenic clunky, robotic, aliases spammy. It disrupts the reference flow, hurts personification experience, and whitethorn moreover trigger Google penalties.

What to Do Instead

• Write for humans first: Focus connected delivering existent worth to readers—not conscionable optimizing your content. For example, a trading agency could people a guideline connected really to build a contented strategy pinch clear and actionable steps, existent examples, and earthy usage of target keywords/prompts.
• Link to applicable pages erstwhile valuable: Only usage internal links erstwhile they’re applicable and genuinely thief the scholar research related topics aliases return action. For example, a skincare blog station connected really to dainty barren tegument could nexus to its moisturizer guideline wrong a conception connected hydration. 

3. Using Private Blog Networks

A private blog network (PBN) is simply a web of websites built to nexus to your tract to amended its hunt performance. 

SEOs build PBNs by either mounting up caller sites aliases purchasing high-authority domains. These sites past nexus to your tract to summation its authority. 

Though PBNs tin sometimes amended performance, utilizing them is precocious risk. 

If Google catches you trying to manipulate capacity successful this way, your tract could beryllium penalized aliases moreover removed from hunt results. Of our study participants, 12.1% highlighted this maneuver arsenic problematic.

Edward White, Founding Growth Lead astatine Brightwave, faced this rumor firsthand successful a erstwhile domiciled erstwhile his squad decided to trial retired a third-party SEO service:

“Within weeks, I noticed a suspiciously accelerated spike successful referring domains. A deeper audit revealed the sites were portion of a disguised PBN. We trim ties instantly and submitted a disavow file. Fortunately, the domains hadn’t yet been indexed, truthful we avoided penalties. 

As a result, Edward and his squad rethought really to measure nexus sources and made judge to vet each backlink strategy.

“We besides prioritized integer PR complete synthetic backlinking. After the change, our integrated postulation grew steadily pinch little volatility.”

What to Do Instead

Focus connected building authority successful a morganatic and sustainable way:

• Create link-worthy content: Publish unsocial and valuable resources that others want to reference. For example, a cybersecurity institution could merchandise a investigation study connected phishing attacks crossed Europe that tech blogs and news outlets want to nexus to because it offers insights not recovered elsewhere.
• Contribute guest posts to reputable sites: Submit high-quality posts to high-authority publications successful your niche. For example, if you’re successful ecommerce, you could taxable a impermanent station to Triple Whale. 
• Run targeted link-building campaigns: Reach retired to sites linking to akin competitor contented and transportation yours arsenic a amended alternative. For example, you could find articles linking to an outdated guideline and propose those articles nexus to your updated type (with master insights and caller data) instead.
• Build existent relationships successful your industry: Collaborate pinch group successful your niche successful ways that people lead to backlinks. For example, if you position yourself arsenic a thought leader successful the trading space, you could get invited to a respected podcast. This tin lead to marque mentions and links to your site.

Use Semrush’s Link Building Tool to build high-quality backlinks astatine scale. It helps you negociate the full process each successful 1 place.

4. Delivering a Poor User Experience

Providing a mediocre personification acquisition (UX) tin mean agelong load times, mobile issues, autoplay videos, intrusive pop-ups, fierce CTAs, sticky widgets, and more.

For instance, opportunity a personification wants to publication your blog station but is confronted by a full-screen pop-up, an autoplay video, and a “tap to reveal” block. Frustrated, they click retired of the page.

Almost 16% of our study respondents identified mediocre UX arsenic a awesome issue. 

Survey responsive Becky Cockcroft, a Freelance SEO Manager, offers a useful attack for knowing whether you’re providing bully UX:

"Imagine if you were the user. The existent extremity is to create a seamless and enjoyable acquisition for them—because that’s what genuinely drives engagement and satisfaction."

Google considers personification engagement signals erstwhile determining wherever pages should show successful results, which intends those signals tin besides effect AI visibility. If users struggle to navigate your tract aliases get bombarded pinch distractions, it’s apt to negatively effect your performance. 

What to Do Instead

Make your contented easy to publication and navigate by:

• Prioritizing velocity and mobile usability: Sites that load quickly and activity good connected mobile present a bully UX. For example, you tin compress merchandise images, usage lazy loading, and adopt a mobile-first layout. 
• Limiting distractions: Use pop-ups, autoplay videos, and sticky elements pinch caution—they tin frustrate users and summation bounce rates. Consider non-intrustive options for illustration a subtle banner that appears only aft a personification scrolls to a definite point.
• Guiding the reader: Structure your contented pinch logic and flow. Use visuals and clear layout choices to thief users enactment engaged. For example, a B2B blog tin break agelong posts into digestible sections pinch descriptive headings, icon-based summaries, and inline visuals.

Use Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to spot UX issues you tin reside to support your hunt visibility.

To start, motorboat the Site Audit instrumentality and participate your domain. Click “Start Audit.” 

Follow this configuration guide to group up your project. Once the audit is complete, you’ll spot issues grouped into different sections. 

Focus connected the ones that impact personification experience: HTTPS, Core Web Vitals, and Site Performance.

Click “View Details” to dive deeper into each category.

You’ll find circumstantial issues listed on pinch clear, actionable steps to hole them.

5. Manipulating Search Engines pinch Cloaking

Cloaking is simply a maneuver that purposely shows different contented to hunt engines versus users. It violates Google’s guidelines and is simply a speedy measurement to get penalized aliases moreover deindexed.

An illustration of cloaking is erstwhile a tract shows Google an optimized page astir training dogs. But erstwhile a personification clicks the link, they’re redirected to a income page for canine treats. 

Nearly 7% of study participants identified cloaking arsenic a important SEO mistake. 

What to Do Instead

Avoid cloaking and instead:

• Be consistent: Show the aforesaid contented to users and hunt engines
• Redirect responsibly: Use redirects only erstwhile necessary, and make judge they lead to applicable and expected content. For example, if you sunset a blog station connected repast planning, redirect it to an updated guideline connected the aforesaid topic.
• Check what bots see: Use devices for illustration Google Search Console’s URL inspection instrumentality to corroborate what pages hunt engines are indexing

6. Publishing Generic, AI-Generated Content

AI-generated content that lacks originality and extent tin negatively impact your capacity successful hunt engines and AI tools. 

Google’s helpful contented update intends to prioritize high-quality, user-focused content. Low-value AI contented tin consequence successful penalties and reduced visibility. 

Close to 7% of our study participants opportunity publishing generic, AI-generated contented is the astir problematic bad SEO practice. 

What to Do Instead

Use AI to support your contented creation—not to switch it. Here’s how:

• Make meaningful edits: Go beyond surface-level tweaks. Add existent examples, master insights, and individual experience. And restructure sections, amended the logical flow, and capable successful gaps AI mightiness miss.
• Offer thing original: Include unsocial data, original research, and master quotes. For example, a SaaS blog tin supplement an AI-generated article pinch stats from a caller personification study and commentary from the merchandise squad connected emerging trends.
• Improve readability: Use elemental connection to make your contented easy to follow. For example, a method station connected schema markup tin beryllium rewritten utilizing analogies and plain English, making it easier for non-technical marketers to follow.

Use Semrush’s Content Toolkit to create high-quality contented astatine scale. The toolkit guides you done the stages of contented production, from taxable ideation to publication.

When it’s done, people aliases export it pinch conscionable a fewer clicks.

7. Duplicate Content

Duplicate content pages that person identical aliases astir identical contented tin lead to little aliases moreover nary hunt visibility for that content.

According to our survey, 3.4% of study respondents identified copy contented arsenic a notable SEO concern.

Duplicate contented tin moreover hap without you realizing it. For instance: 

• You mightiness create a caller portion of contented connected a taxable you already person a page about 
• You mightiness people variations of pages (such arsenic abstracted U.S. and U.K. versions of a page) that are astir identical

What To Do Instead:

There are respective ways to forestall aliases reside copy content:

• Set canonical tags: Use canonical URLs to show Google which type of a page you want to look successful hunt results erstwhile you person akin pages. For example, an online manner shop pinch filtered merchandise pages (e.g., /shoes?color=black and /shoes?size=9) tin group the canonical URL to the main merchandise page (e.g., /shoes).
• Use 301 redirects: If you person aggregate pages covering the aforesaid topic, take 1 superior page and redirect different variations to it. For example, a SaaS institution could harvester 2 landing pages targeting the word “CRM for mini businesses” by updating 1 page and past redirecting the different to it.
• Specify www aliases non-www URLs: Clearly specify whether your domain is "www" aliases "non-www" and beryllium consistent
• Add hreflang tags: If your tract has aggregate state aliases connection versions, usage hreflang tags to intelligibly bespeak these variations to Google to guarantee the correct page appears for immoderate fixed user

Easily find copy contented connected your tract utilizing Semrush’s Site Audit tool. 

Once you’ve configured your project, caput to the “Issues” tab and hunt for “duplicate content.” 

Address the copy contented by utilizing methods for illustration canonical tags, mounting up redirects, etc.

8. Reputation Abuse

Reputation maltreatment involves leveraging different website’s authority to manipulate rankings. 

Close to 2% of study respondents flagged regularisation maltreatment arsenic the astir concerning bad SEO practice. 

Forbes Advisor was wide criticized for engaging successful estimation maltreatment by capitalizing connected the main domain’s authority to get precocious hunt visibility for pages covering topics extracurricular their areas of expertise. And Forbes Advisor saw a crisp alteration successful integrated postulation pursuing Google’s estimation maltreatment argumentation update astatine the extremity of 2024.

What To Do Instead:

Focus connected building your ain reputation. Here’s how:

• Create valuable content: Publish adjuvant contented that intelligibly aligns pinch your expertise. For example, an HR package institution could nutrient a guideline connected penning inclusive occupation descriptions that includes templates, research-backed tips, and DEI advisor insights.
• Be transparent: Clearly disclose immoderate connection aliases sponsored relationships. For example, merchandise reappraisal sites typically see a disclosure stating that the page contains connection links they gain a committee from.

Focus connected the Latest SEO Best Practices

Ultimately, the champion measurement to debar bad SEO practices is to travel SEO champion practices. 

But mistakes still happen. 

The key? Catching them successful clip and fixing them quickly. So your visibility and results don’t suffer.

To extremity bad SEO successful its tracks, regularly usage the Site Audit tool.