25+ SEO Words To Delete, Add, Or Reconsider In The Web3 Era

What keywords are losing credibility and are no longer relevant? Top SEO professionals would like us to reconsider this list of words.

It’s sometimes more difficult than ever to know what’s hot in the SEO industry regarding SEO terminology, words, and phrases.

The next generation of internet terms will emerge as marketers and brands embrace HTML3.

We tapped the expertise of digital marketing and SEO professionals in the industry to help us understand the most important, underrated and up-and-coming SEO words.

SEO is just like fashion styles that change with the seasons. It also changes with the algorithm and the times.

This year’s Google penalty could be the buzzword that was last season’s most popular.

Do we still talk about white hats or black hats? This is still an exclusive, male-dominated industry. Is it still possible to use press releases as a strategy or tactic?

Some SEO terms have outlived their usefulness. They are now overused, overvalued and, in some cases, just plain old overused.

Next-Gen SEO World Of Words

Marketers and brands need to adapt as we move into the Web3 era, also known as the next-generation internet.

Web3 is not the only platform that brands need to be aware of.

They are buzzwords, including content and address accessibility, equality, equal payment, work at home, etc. These are the new norm in terms of keywords, culture, and innovation.

She shared her story as a search engine professional and thoughts about diversity in leadership.

SEO’s positive impact on media coverage and public relations continues to be strong despite the negative SEO benefits of links.

Let’s not forget to consider an eye on what SEO will look like as Google moves into essential Google Trend buzzwords for 2021: The “metaverse.”

We will see terms such as decentralization and privacy rising in popularity as we move into the Web3 world.

SEO is a complex topic that has been largely unexplored by the general public. It involves figuring out how it works, what it takes, and who the expert is.

Older terms and language signify incompetence, knowledge, transformation, and modernization.

We asked top SEO professionals to tell us which words they should eliminate. The most commonly used SEO word was SEO.

SEO: The Most Overused Keyword Ever!

Here are some reasons why you can’t be everything to everyone.

SEO isn’t magic, and it’s certainly not a panacea.

Kelsey Jones, a content marketing and SEO expert, said that SEO is a good word. “But, shady agencies use vague terms to hide the work they do on their websites from clients.”

“I get small business owners asking me for SEO and believing it will make their website number one in search results. This is because it has been proven possible by other SEO professionals within months. Jones said that professionals should not be exploiting people who don’t know what they’re talking about.

“I think that the term content is somewhat misleading and misunderstood. Many business owners and C-suite executives don’t get the value of the time and effort it takes to create content, from the initial idea through research, writing, promotion, and distribution.

Although they believe anyone can create content, it takes a team that understands the process to make it work.

SEO was born in 1997. That’s just over 20 years ago. There’s still so much to learn.

We have been through everything from infancy to childhood to middle school, high school, and college.

SEO was simple in its early years.

It was simple to use the system.

The game was manipulating search results.

SEO is now in its mid-20s, and things are beginning to mature.

SEO vocabulary, terminology, and best practices are constantly evolving.

Change is integral to modern life in today’s complex, post-pandemic digital marketing world. It’s true. It’s true.

So goes SEO.

It’s not news that what worked last year was still relevant. What worked five years ago is now history in Google years. Outdated SEO terminology doesn’t make a return, unlike fashion.

Optimizing for Google’s page 1 search results requires an attitude of “adaptor die.”

Here are 26 keywords industry professionals want to delete, kill, and bye-bye in order to keep up with the changing landscape.

DELETE SEO Words You Just Need to Say Goodbye

• Best.
• Cloaking.
• Content is King
• Content Marketing.
• A score of the DA.
• You will succeed if you do ‘this.’
• 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 and White Hat
• Top.
• Testing.
• Toxic Links.

SEO Terms To Add

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

Who thinks what & why

What SEO words should you delete and what SEO words can you add in 2022 or beyond?

Kelsey Jones, SEO Content Lead

Let’s look at the word “content.”

Because many business owners and C-suite executives aren’t aware of the time, effort, and sweat it takes to create content, they can be misleading. Although they believe anyone can create content, it requires a team of professionals who understand the whole process to make it work.

Heather Lloyd-Martin , SEO Copywriting Expert and Trainer

What is my pet peeve?

Keyword density.

Every week I get an email from an SEO writer complaining about their client’s desire for X% keyword density. It’s causing problems with the content flow.

Yes, we did need a 5.5% critical phrase density back in the day (over twenty years ago) to position Alta Vista.

Google today stated that keyword density was not a ranking factor.

Positions won’t be improved by randomly inserting keywords in the content. Google doesn’t want companies putting keywords in the content. Yet, some SEO tools and companies still insist on a particular keyword density.

Victoria Edwards, Online Marketing & Social Media Manager

The Most Common SEO Words:

SEO is Dead

It is not, and this really bothers me. It is impossible to predict how our business will react to Net Neutrality, but I’m sure we will find another way for our customers to get the content

they want.

Outbound Marketing

This one is my favorite, but it feels a little too common. Perhaps digital marketing should be the new buzzword.

Yes, inbound is different from outbound , but we must continue working on it and finding something else.

Content Is King

This is my favorite overused phrase. Content can be king, I believe. It is important to remember that content can be king if it isn’t well optimized and has weak content. It won’t be king if you don’t have the budget to promote it. The public won’t see the content.

Carrie Hill , Local SEO Analyst

Must-Have SEO Word To Add:

Testing

I would add the word “TESTING”, in bold, big letters. Many SEOs make a big deal about testing but few test, tweak, and learn from scientific testing.

What results were achieved and what didn’t? What can we do to improve the design of our test? What can we do to improve our results?

My first test rule is to “be ready to be wrong.”

There is a lot of ego and pride in the SEO industry. Many people can’t accept being wrong about a tactic or theory they have been heavily promoting for years.

Crow is hard to eat, but I will add ketchup if it means my clients are more financially secure.

Lily Ray, SEO-Expert by Day, DJ by Night

Tap – delete

• Malignant Links
• Score DA (Domain Authority).
• E-A–T Score / E–A-T algorithm/ E–A-T algorithm update

Here’s why

Toxic Link

SEO tools introduced the concept of “toxic links,” The industry is now obsessed with assigning relevancy and importance to this score.

Google ignores spammy links and the SEO tools that measure “toxic” links.

Google is aware that every website contains spammy links. Links not in line with Google’s guidelines are considered “toxic.” These links can be difficult to find using SEO tools.

For SEOs and website owners, the idea of a “toxicity rating” can be misleading.

DA Score

Another metric that SEO tools have created has been completely distorted.

Google may use some form of a domain-wide assessment of authoritativeness. However, we don’t have access to these metrics, and DA certainly isn’t it.

Rebecca Murtagh, author of Million Dollar Websites

The Most Common SEO Words:

“Best” and “Top”

These words have been used in the past by me, probably.

In an era of brand democracy, where customers are part of the brand story, search results favor brands when customers say they are the best and most valuable in their offerings.

Let customers and the audience have their say!

Trending in:

It’s time to embrace SEO’s soft side!

Brands that customers love become profoundly connected and loyal. Words will differ from one brand to the next.

Brands can leverage two vital elements of content and snippets to attract qualified visitors to their website via search engine results.

• They are connected to their ideal customers because of this.
• A Call to Action.

Apple’s snippet, for example, reads: Explore the innovative world of Apple, and shop.

Apple customers are loyal because they feel connected to the brand and can anticipate innovations.

Brand differentiation calls to action (CTA), such as “discover” or “shop,” and encourages steps (the click). ).

SEO can become more human. Everyone wins.

Joy Hawkins, Google My Business Expert

A New Term To be Added:

Google Business Profile

We should change the name to Google Business Profil since Google recently rebranded Google My Business.

This rebrand sounds awful when abbreviated to GBP because Google assumes that you are referring to the British pound.

To say Google Business Profile rather than GMB will take some practice.

For words that need to be deleted, I agree with Link Juice. This word is too offensive to me. I prefer “link power” and “link equity.”

Melissa Fach, SEO Consultant, Community Manager, & Editor

The Most Common SEO Words:

“Do this, and you will succeed.”

Those who write or give advice should stop using this language.

SEO is complex. It’s impossible to guarantee success if someone copies your strategy.

These false promises are removed from articles by me as an editor.

Virginia Nussey, Director of Marketing at MobileMonkey

The Most Common SEO Words:

Link Building

This concept needs to be thrown out. You’re either:

• Create unique content and promote it through PR and ads.
• You’re spamming.

Trending in:

Artificial Intelligence

I have been looking at ways to adapt to Artificial Intelligence technologies. Google’s RankBrain had a significant effect on SEO.

One thing is that writers and SEOs require better tools to identify long-tail and vocal search queries.

Google suggestions, “People also ask,” and FAQs from Answer The Public can be used. But what can we do to respond to AI’s impact on search and searcher behavior? This has been a significant focus of mine and will continue to be.

Eric Enge, SEO-Expert, Author, and President of Pilot Holding

Very Overused SEO Words:

Meta Description

It looks like meta description will soon be completely obsolete due to all the effort Google has put into snippet generation.

While I think I’d optimize your meta description, for now, I’m sure that in a few years, it won’t be.

Although I don’t have any confirmation, I speculate that given the amount of work Google puts into snippet extraction, I think meta descriptions will disappear.

Trending in:

Featured Shortcuts

Okay, I get that people talk about these a lot already. But I don’t think everyone understands how important it is.

The story of featured snippets will be told when more than half the search queries are voice-based. Most people get their answer from a verbal question, which is a SERP with only one answer. Today, that answer will be taken as a featured summary.

Conversations

Too many people only focus on the old-fashioned ranking signals like links and content. While these are still important, looking at how your brand is perceived online is essential.

Google repeatedly told us that they view our websites the same way as users. What does this mean?

Google will return brand results if users search for a query. Google will return a marketplace if users request it. Google will also return review sites if users order them.

They won’t return your query if you don’t provide a good result.

Google does this by analyzing your content. Google does not just examine your content. You can have pages that answer a query, but they may not be the company users want.

Although you can get links to your site that claim you are an authority for the query, that doesn’t necessarily mean users want you.

This is what you can do: Get involved in advertising and branding campaigns or start conversations on the internet about the question.

This is a sign that customers consider you relevant to their query.

Joe Laratro, SEO/PPC-Expert and President, Tandem Online Marketing Solutions

‘Unprecedented’ must go.

Today, we should remove “unprecedented” from our SEO vocabulary. It refers to Covid, March 2020-2022. During the pandemic, some industries prospered online.

Examples I hear…

• Traffic was unheard of.
• The conversion rates were unheard of.
• The rate of growth was unimaginable.

These numbers are not sustainable.

It is essential to compare today’s performance with the years before The Great Covid Migration (the large number of people who moved boosted every industry related to home services).

This year, you might be able to sustain last year’s results.

Marketers face a challenge right now: ensuring that the KPIs remain realistic.

These words should be added to the current SEO conversation:

Inflation and Quality

In the discussion about SEO, inflation and the quality cost must be included.

The landscape of search engine marketing professionals has changed more in the past two years than ever since the Google Penguin update.

The possibility of working from home opened up opportunities for local workers to work with international companies.

Because of the scarcity and abundance of positions, search engine optimization specialists have become more valuable. Quality has always been more expensive. It will cost more in 2022.

Agencies must make sure that their pricing reflects their rising costs. Client-side marketers are more expensive, so these companies must pass those costs onto their goods.

The Most Common SEO Word:

Storytelling

Storytelling was one of the most talked-about terms in 2017. It should be in 2017.

Storytelling is a valuable tool, but it’s another way to generate high-value, engaging content.

Trending in:

Holistic Search

Although this is an old concept, it has a more important place in today’s optimization environment than ever.

Specific keyword targeting is now complex due to the advances in SERPs that provide highly relevant and personalized results.

It is vital to have a broad approach to SEO, which considers all aspects of current best practices (fantastic user experience and speed, mobile-first) as an ongoing commitment.

Marty Weintraub, Internet Marketing- Expert and Founder of aim Clear

The Most Common SEO Words:

Linkbait, PageRank, Cloaking, Matt Cutts

These are seriously overplayed.

Weintraub provided Sysomos’ MAP word cloud to public Twitter organic tweets that showed semantic usage stats. Weintraub pointed out that this is also what words appear in tweets about SEO.

Conclusion

Do not use outdated terms and words.

New SEO generations are changing the search marketing landscape as it enters its third decade. New behaviors are influenced by technology and innovation.

Marketing professionals must stay updated with the latest trends and Google updates.