What SEO words are outdated and losing credibility? Check out this list of words top SEO professionals want us to reconsider.

These days in the SEO world, sometimes it’s more complicated than ever to tell what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to SEO terminology, phrases, and words.

As brands and marketers start to embrace Web3, the next generation of the internet terms come and go.

To ensure you are on top of it, we tapped the minds of the industry’s leading SEO and digital marketing professionals to dissect the over-used, underrated, and up-and-coming SEO words.

Just like styles change with the season, SEO changes with the algorithms and the modern times.

What might have been last season’s must-have buzzword just might be this year’s red flag waiting for a Google penalty.

Are we still talking about wearing black hats and white hats? Is this still a primarily male-dominated, exclusive industry? Are press releases still a tactic or a strategy?

Some SEO words have just run their course, classifying them as overused, overvalued, and in some cases, just plain over.

Next-Gen SEO World Of Words

As we enter the Web3 era, also known as the next generation of the internet, marketers and brands must adapt accordingly.

Besides Web3, brands of all sizes need to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion as a strategy, leadership, and culture checkpoint.

Including content and addressing accessibility, equality, equal pay, work from home, etc., are not just buzzwords. They are the new normal when it comes to keywords, culture, and innovation,

In Search Engine Journal’s recent interview with Rachel Heseltine, she shared her story of coming out as an SEO professional and thoughts on the impact of diversity in leadership and beyond.

“Public relations” and media coverage continue to positively impact SEO as the results unravel from the perks of links to the positive SEO bumps, thanks to brand mentions in the media.

Let’s also keep on the radar what SEO will look like in the metaverse as Google tiptoes into one of the biggest Google Trend buzzwords of 2021: the “metaverse.”

As we enter into a Web3 world, terms like decentralization, privacy, and blockchain will be trending up.

For the average person, SEO has been somewhat of a mystery of how it works, how long it takes, and who is the expert.

Using outdated terms and language can be a sure sign of incompetence, ignorance, or transformation and modernization.

When we asked leading SEO professionals which words to eliminate, the most overused SEO word is… SEO.

SEO: The Most Overused SEO Word Ever?

Here’s why you can’t be all things to all people.

SEO is not magic, and it’s not a catchall.

“The word SEO on its own isn’t bad,” said content marketing consultant and SEO expert Kelsey Jones. “But shady agencies are using vague terms to not be transparent with clients about the actual work they are doing on their website.”

“I have small business owners coming to me, asking for ‘SEO’ and assuming it will magically make them number one in search results simply because other SEO practitioners have said it’s possible within months. As professionals, it’s just not right to be taking advantage of people who have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jones added.

“I also think the term ‘content’ is slightly misleading and misunderstood because many business owners or C-suite executives don’t understand the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to create a piece of content from the initial idea to research, writing, and promotion.

They think anyone can create ‘content,’ but it takes a team of professionals who know how the entire process works to make it effective.”

Considering SEO’s birth dates back to 1997, making it just over 20 years old, there’s still a ton of growing up.

We’ve gone from birth to infancy to middle school to teen years and graduated from college.

SEO was quite simple in the early years.

Gaming the system was easy.

Manipulating search results was the game.

Now that SEO is in its mid-20s, things are starting to mature and get serious.

As SEO grows up, so does the vocabulary, terminology, and best practices.

In today’s post-pandemic, complicated, and fast-moving digital marketing world, change is a way of life. It’s true. If search marketers had to pick a specialty, it would be “expert in change.”

And so the SEO goes.

What worked last year is old news and what was amazing five years ago is ancient history in Google years. Unlike fashion, dated SEO terminology doesn’t make a comeback.

Optimizing to win results on Google’s page one search results needs an attitude of “adapt or die.”

To keep up with the changes, here are 26 SEO words industry professionals would like to delete, die, and say bye-bye.

DELETE: SEO Words That Just Need To Go Bye Bye

  • Best.
  • Cloaking.
  • Content is King.
  • Content Marketing.
  • DA Score.
  • Do ‘this,’ and you will succeed.
  • Integrated Campaigns.
  • Hacking… anything.
  • Implied links via brand mentions.
  • Keyword Density.
  • Linkbait.
  • Link Building.
  • Link Juice.
  • Matt Cutts.
  • Meta Description.
  • Outbound Marketing.
  • PageRank.
  • Ranking Factor.
  • RankBrain.
  • SEO.
  • SEO is Dead.
  • Storytelling.
  • The “Hats” Black Hat, White Hat.
  • Top.
  • Testing.
  • Toxic Links.

SEO Words To Add

  • Accessibility.
  • Artificial Intelligence.
  • Authentic.
  • Chief Digital Officer.
  • Conversations.
  • Customer anything.
  • Danny Sullivan.
  • Decentralized.
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
  • Driverless Vehicle Optimization Expert.
  • Featured Snippets.
  • Google Business Profile.
  • Holistic SEO.
  • Metaverse.
  • Mobile.
  • Privacy.
  • Transparency.
  • Web3.
  • Women SEO Experts.

If you are interested in original article by Kelsey Jones you can find it here