Posted by If you are tired of using content marketing strategies that just aren’t delivering the results you need…relax. Content marketing is an ever-evolving field. It can be frustrating to put in the time and effort without seeing the desired outcome.
But the good news is that there are certain content marketing practices that are no longer effective, which you can stop wasting your time on.
In this blog post, we’ve done the research for you and gathered powerful insights from SaaS marketers who have been in the game for a while. We reached out to these experts, interviewed them, and asked them to share their thoughts on the content marketing practices that they think are no longer working.
Keep reading to discover the top 7 content marketing practices that you should stop using and what you can do instead to drive traffic, leads, and conversions.
Whether you’re a seasoned marketing pro or just getting started, this post is a must-read for anyone looking to get the most out of their content marketing efforts.
Let’s dive in.
1. Mass Emailing
“Mass emailing is no longer a viable option for content marketing because it is inherently spammy and lacks the personalization and targeting that modern consumer’s demand. Not only is mass emailing a turn-off for most people, but it is also a quick way to get your emails marked as spam, which can damage your sender’s reputation and make it even harder for your future emails to reach the intended recipients. Instead of wasting time and resources on mass emailing, marketers should focus on building targeted email lists and creating personalized, relevant content that speaks directly to the needs and interests of their audience.” — Michael Brooks, Founder, and CEO of goLance.
If you’re still relying on mass emailing as a content marketing tactic, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Mass emails are no longer as effective as they once were, and there are several reasons why:
First, consumers have become more savvy and selective about what emails they open and read. They are bombarded with emails on a daily basis, and they are less likely to pay attention to generic, mass emails that don’t speak directly to their interests and needs.
Second, mass emails are often flagged as spam, which means they are less likely to be delivered to the recipient’s inbox. Which can seriously limit the reach and impact of your content.
Finally, mass emails lack personalization, which is crucial for building relationships and engaging with your audience. Instead of sending out generic, mass emails, to a generic audience, segment your email list and tailor your messaging to specific groups of people. That will allow you to create more targeted, relevant content that is more likely to be read and acted upon.
Research done by Epsilon suggested that 80% of consumers want personalized experiences — which further proves that a generic bombardment of emails just simply won’t work.
In short, mass emailing is no longer an effective content marketing tactic. If you want to engage with your audience and build relationships, it’s time to shift your focus to more targeted, personalized email campaigns.
2. Rewriting Top 10 Results
“Rewriting the content of the top 10 results in search engines is no longer an effective tactic in content marketing. Google’s algorithms are becoming more sophisticated and able to detect duplicate or copied content. This means that if you’re just rewriting the content of others, you’re not adding any value or originality to the conversation. Marketers who are still relying on this tactic are shooting themselves in the foot. They’re not putting in the effort to create unique and valuable content that truly resonates with their target audience. They’re just trying to take the easy way out, and it’s not going to pay off in the long run.” — Gerrid Smith, Chief Marketing Officer at Joyorganics.
If you’re still using the tactic of rewriting the top 10 search results for a particular keyword, stop. This approach is no longer effective and can even hurt your website’s ranking.
Here’s why: Search engines, like Google, have become much smarter over the years. They use advanced natural language processing (NLP) technology to understand the content on a webpage and determine its relevance and quality.
In layman’s terms, this means that they can easily detect content that is simply a copy of existing content, and they will penalize or even suppress the ranking of such websites.
In short, rewriting the top 10 results is a waste of time and resources. It’s not a sustainable or effective content marketing strategy.
Instead of trying to game the system, focus on creating original, high-quality content that adds value to the user. This means conducting thorough research, presenting new ideas and insights, and using your own voice and perspective.
By creating original content, you’ll not only be providing a better user experience, you’ll also be positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Which is crucial in the SaaS space. This is the kind of content that will earn the trust and loyalty of your audience, and ultimately drive traffic and conversions for your business.
3. Stuffing Meta Descriptions
“Stuffing meta descriptions with keywords is a tactic that has long been used by marketers in an attempt to boost their search engine rankings. However, this tactic is no longer effective and is actually detrimental to your content marketing efforts. Google has become smart enough in its ability to understand the context and intent of a search query, and as a result, it now rewrites meta descriptions to better match the search intent of the user. By stuffing your meta descriptions with keywords, you risk confusing Google and potentially decreasing your chances of ranking for relevant searches. Instead of relying on this outdated tactic, focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience. This will not only improve your chances of ranking for relevant searches, but it will also help you build trust and credibility with your audience, leading to increased CTRs.” — Douglas McShane, Operations Director at Leeds First Aid Courses.
Stuffing meta descriptions with keywords is no longer an effective content marketing tactic. Not only is it against search engine guidelines, but it can also harm a website’s ranking. Here’s why:
First, Google has become smarter and can detect when a meta description is stuffed with keywords. This can result in the website being penalized or suppressed from search results.
Second, Google frequently changes the metatext that appears in search results based on the user’s search query and behavior. This means that even if you do manage to stuff your meta description with keywords, there’s a good chance that Google will overwrite it with its own version.
Lastly, meta descriptions are meant to give users a brief overview of what the page is about and help them decide whether or not to click through. If your meta description is stuffed with keywords and doesn’t accurately reflect the content of the page, it leads to a poor user experience and a high bounce rate.
In short, stuffing meta descriptions with keywords is not only against search engine guidelines, but it’s also ineffective and can harm a website’s ranking.
So instead of trying to become sleazy, focus on creating clear, concise descriptions that accurately reflect the content of the page. Google will rewrite them anyway.
This will not only improve your search ranking, but it will also lead to a better user experience and increased traffic to your website.
4. Writing for Everyone
“Writing for everyone is no longer a viable strategy in content marketing because it lacks focus and fails to tap into the power of community building. In this brand-rich era, it’s crucial to establish a clear brand identity and target a specific audience. By writing for everyone, you dilute your message and fail to make a meaningful connection with your readers. Building a community around your brand allows you to create a loyal and engaged audience that will not only consume your content but also actively promote it to their own networks. This is how you create a truly successful and sustainable content marketing strategy in today’s crowded online landscape.” — Mike Owens, Digital Marketing & Growth Director at HostingRevelations.
Writing for everyone is a mistake that many marketers make — even today. Trying to appeal to everyone with your content is not only difficult, it’s also ineffective.
Instead of writing for everyone, identify and target a specific audience with your content. This means understanding the needs, wants, and challenges of your ideal customer, and creating content that addresses those issues.
By doing that, you can create content that resonates with them and helps to build a community around your brand.
In this brand-rich era, building a community around your brand is crucial. By creating a sense of belonging and connection with your audience, you can foster loyalty and encourage advocacy for your brand. This is why it’s so important to identify and target a specific audience with your content, rather than trying to appeal to everyone.
5. Publishing Non-Branded Content
“Publishing non-branded content is no longer effective in content marketing because it fails to establish a strong brand identity. In today’s digital age, consumers are bombarded with an overwhelming amount of information and are constantly seeking out ways to filter through the noise. This is where brand identity comes in. A strong brand identity helps consumers recognize and differentiate your company from the competition, creating a sense of trust and loyalty. By publishing non-branded content, you are essentially sacrificing the opportunity to establish a clear and consistent brand identity, which is critical for building and maintaining a strong customer base in this era. So if you want to succeed in content marketing, it’s time to ditch the non-branded content and focus on creating and promoting content that showcases your unique brand identity and value proposition.” — Jonathan Merry, CEO of Moneyzine.
Publishing non-branded content may seem like a good idea at first glance, as it allows you to reach a wider audience, and “supposedly” increases your exposure. However, in today’s competitive and savvy digital landscape, publishing non-branded content is no longer an effective strategy.
Branding is crucial for any business, as it helps to establish your company’s identity and differentiate you from the competition. By publishing branded content, you are able to consistently communicate your values and mission to your audience and build a strong, recognizable brand.
On the other hand, publishing non-branded content dilutes your brand and makes it more difficult for consumers to identify and remember your company. It also makes it harder for you to stand out from the competition and differentiate yourself in a crowded market.
In fact, a study discovered branded content is 22 times more engaging than traditional ads.
In short, publishing non-branded content is a waste of time and resources that does little to benefit your business. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, branded content that reflects the values and mission of your company. This will help to establish your brand and make it more timeless and identifiable in the competition.
6. Spammy Link Building
“Spammy link building is no longer an effective tactic in content marketing because Google is actively cracking down on these types of practices. With the recent release of the Google algorithm update, any website found to be using spammy link-building techniques will be penalized and could potentially lose its ranking on search engine results pages. It’s not worth the risk to engage in spammy link-building when it could ultimately harm your website’s visibility and credibility. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, valuable content that will naturally attract links and drive traffic to your website. It’s a much more sustainable and ethical approach to content marketing in the long run.” — Gene Fitzgerald, Head of Marketing at BOS.
If you’re still relying on spammy link-building tactics to drive traffic and improve your search engine rankings, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
Google’s latest Spambrain link spam update is effectively neutralizing the link juice passed by purchased or unnatural links, making it more important than ever to focus on building high-quality, natural links through legitimate means.
This means that instead of trying to game the system with tactics like buying links or participating in link schemes, you should focus on creating valuable resources and engaging in guest blogging to naturally attract links from other websites.
Not only will this help you avoid any penalties from Google, but it will also lead to more sustainable and long-term results for your content marketing efforts.
So if you want to stay ahead of the game and ensure that your content marketing strategy is effective, it’s time to ditch the spammy link-building tactics and focus on building natural, high-quality links.
7. Relying on a Single Platform
“Relying on one platform for your content marketing efforts is no longer effective in today’s digitally savvy world. Consumers expect a seamless and consistent experience across all channels and devices, and relying on just one platform limits your reach and fails to meet the expectations of your audience. Omni-channel marketing approaches, on the other hand, allow you to effectively reach and engage with your audience on multiple platforms and devices, leading to higher conversion rates and customer loyalty. Don’t get left behind in the dust — it’s time to adopt an Omni channel marketing approach and leave the one platform mentality in the past.” — Raine Gui, Director of Model Chic.
As a marketer, it’s important that you don’t put all of your eggs in one basket when it comes to your content marketing efforts. Relying on a single platform, whether it’s a social media network or SEO, can be risky and isn’t sustainable in the long run. This is because any SEO updates or changes to policies on the platform could potentially put a halt to your growth.
Instead, it’s crucial to adopt a cross-channel marketing mix in order to reach your audience through a variety of channels. This not only helps to diversify your marketing efforts, but it also allows you to reach your audience where they are and through the channels they prefer.
By adopting a multi-channel approach, you can more effectively connect with your audience and drive more leads and conversions. So don’t be afraid to experiment with different platforms and channels — the more you diversify your marketing efforts, the more likely you are to find success.
Conclusion
In conclusion, stay up-to-date on the latest content marketing practices and be willing to ditch strategies that are no longer effective. By focusing on creating valuable, high-quality content, building natural, high-quality links, and diversifying your marketing efforts across multiple channels, you can effectively connect with your audience and drive traffic, leads, and conversions.
Don’t waste your time on tactics that just aren’t working — instead, focus on strategies that will help you reach your content marketing goals and achieve success.
Ready to shift?