Why Some Digital Marketing Trends Aren’t Worth It
It’s always a great idea to stay up to date with what’s happening in the digital marketing industry. But it’s also important to maintain a grain of skepticism whenever a new trend emerges.
Every month or so, a marketing trend that promises to improve online performance spreads rapidly throughout the digital marketing community, but fades almost immediately upon arrival. Why? Usually, it’s because the trend stops showing results, or the results turn out not to work when the biggest and best websites are able to jump on the bandwagon and dominate the trend.
Perfect examples of recent trends that have tried and failed include guest blogs, article directories, and link wheels. Websites used these trends, hoping to improve their ranking in search engine results, but Google has since given up on them.
So how do you avoid falling for these flash-in-the-pan techniques? Well, first, you need to identify the trends that are just not worth asking these questions.
Does it do anything for my users?
Most of the trends that emerge in the digital marketing industry are minor gimmicks that somehow improve SEO. These trends have absolutely nothing to do with improving the overall user experience, which is why they get shut down so quickly.
Search engines are increasingly focused on promoting sites that actually contribute to a good user experience for your site visitors. So if a trend emerges that doesn’t relate to refining the user experience, it’s a good idea to avoid it altogether.
Is it called a “trick” or a “trick”?
If so, that’s a pretty big red flag. Many so-called “experts” in the field turn to forums for all the so-called “quick hacks” or “SEO tricks” that will help your website jump up the rankings. The fact that they even refer to these strategies as hacks or hacks should indicate that they will not deliver lasting results. Worse yet, these workarounds can (and usually will) break your website again, as Google penalizes sites that use black hat techniques, making it harder for those sites to see a good search engine ranking and web traffic.
One important thing to keep in mind when marketing your website is that there are no easy strategies or “tricks” to stay on top. Everything takes time and effort. If you avoid temporary “gimmicks” and focus on strategies that offer long-term value, you’ll experience much more success with your online presence.