SEO is constantly evolving. What worked in the past might not be as effective today. While some strategies remain fundamental, others have diminishing returns—meaning the effort put in no longer justifies the outcome.

To make the most of your SEO efforts, it’s crucial to focus on what truly drives results. Here are four SEO practices that don’t deliver as much value as they once did and what you should do instead.

1. Obsessing Over Page Speed After a Certain Point

Page speed matters—there’s no doubt about it. A fast-loading website enhances user experience and can lead to better conversions, especially for e-commerce businesses.
However, once your website meets Core Web Vitals standards (good load time, interactivity, and visual stability), obsessing over shaving off a few extra milliseconds won’t significantly improve rankings.

Instead of investing countless hours tweaking page speed when it’s already optimal, focus on improving content quality, internal linking, or user engagement strategies.

What to Do Instead:

• Ensure pages load in less than 2 seconds. If they already do, focus elsewhere.
• Prioritize mobile experience. More users are browsing on mobile, and a seamless experience matters more than a perfect speed score.
• Optimize images and videos. Compression and lazy loading can enhance performance without drastic coding changes.

2. Overemphasizing Backlink Authority

Many businesses still believe that acquiring as many backlinks as possible is the key to higher rankings. While backlinks remain an important ranking factor, there’s a point where they no longer provide significant value.
If your site already has strong authority and ranks well, aggressively pursuing more backlinks—especially from low-quality sources—can do more harm than good.

What to Do Instead:

• Focus on quality, not quantity. One high-authority, relevant backlink is more valuable than dozens of low-quality links.
• Leverage PR and brand mentions. Instead of link-building for the sake of it, focus on earning organic mentions in authoritative publications.
• Improve on-site optimization. Internal linking, structured data, and content optimization can be just as powerful as backlinks in boosting rankings.

3. Publishing New Content Without Strategy

Many brands believe that more content means better rankings. While fresh content is important, constantly adding new articles without a strategic approach can lead to keyword cannibalization and diluted authority.
Some companies publish hundreds of articles but see declining traffic because they cover similar topics, leading to competition within their own site.

What to Do Instead:

• Refresh existing content. Updating old posts with new insights, stats, and better optimization can yield better results than new content.
• Improve internal linking. Connecting related pages helps search engines understand your site structure and enhances user navigation.
• Ensure new content aligns with search intent. Focus on topics that provide real value and target relevant queries instead of publishing content just for the sake of it.

4. Refreshing Low-Impact Content Too Often

Content updates are crucial for maintaining rankings, but not every article needs frequent revisions. Many SEO professionals spend too much time refreshing content that doesn’t contribute much traffic or conversions.

According to the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule), about 80% of your site’s traffic comes from just 20% of your pages. That means spending excessive time updating low-impact content isn’t the best use of resources.

What to Do Instead:

• Prioritize high-performing content. Identify the top 20% of pages driving the most traffic and focus on optimizing them.
• Remove or consolidate outdated content. If a page isn’t performing and doesn’t provide value, consider merging it with another relevant page or removing it.
• Use analytics to guide updates. Look at traffic data, rankings, and engagement metrics to decide which content needs refreshing.

SEO success isn’t about following trends blindly—it’s about adapting to what truly moves the needle.
Newer websites may need to focus on building authority and creating high-quality content. Established websites, on the other hand, should prioritize optimizing existing assets and improving user experience.

The key is to avoid the trap of diminishing returns. By investing time in high-impact strategies, you’ll achieve better rankings, improved user engagement, and sustainable long-term growth.

SEO is all about adapting to what works. If you’re ready to focus on high-impact strategies that drive real results, we can help. As an experienced SEO consultants in New York, we specialize in optimizing websites, improving rankings, and boosting organic traffic with data-driven strategies. Whether you need content optimization, technical SEO, or a full-scale strategy overhaul, we’ve got you covered.