What Not to Do: Essential SEO Practices to Avoid

Avoiding AI Content Spam

While AI tools can help with content creation, publishing pure AI-generated content without human editing can seriously harm rankings. AI should be used as an assistant, not a replacement for human-written content. Always review, edit, and enhance AI-generated content to ensure it provides genuine value to readers.

Managing Crawl Budget Wisely

Google assigns each website a limited crawl budget, determining how many pages it will index per month. Publishing too many pages simultaneously can overwhelm this budget and delay the indexing of important content. A better approach is to:

• Release new content gradually (20 to 30 pages per month)
• Use noindex tags strategically on less important pages
• Prioritize your most valuable content for indexing

Avoiding Keyword Stuffing

Modern SEO requires natural keyword usage. Repeatedly forcing keywords into content will trigger Google penalties. Instead, focus on creating valuable content that naturally incorporates relevant terms. Use SEO tools to find the right keyword density without overdoing it.

Preventing Duplicate Content Issues

Duplicate content, whether copied from other sites or repeated across your own pages, can harm rankings. Each page should offer unique value with:

• Original written content
• Unique meta titles and descriptions
• Fresh perspectives on topics

Understanding Keyword Cannibalization

When multiple pages target the same keyword, they compete with each other and dilute ranking potential. Every page should target distinct primary keywords. For example, instead of two pages targeting "AI headshots," differentiate them with specific focuses like "professional headshot generator" and "creative AI portraits."

Avoiding Thin Content

Pages with minimal content provide little value to users and can hurt SEO performance. Every page should include at least 300 to 500 words of relevant content. This applies to tool pages, landing pages, and blog posts alike. Focus on providing comprehensive information that answers user questions and addresses their needs.

Best Practices for Content Length

• Blog posts: 1000+ words
• Tool pages: 300 to 500 words minimum
• Landing pages: 500+ words