5 SEO content pitfalls that could be hurting your traffic

Avoid common misunderstandings in SEO strategies and improve website traffic

Not all SEO strategies are universal, but some common practices are always effective when it comes to helping websites recover traffic losses or drive growth. These models have emerged repeatedly in numerous projects and have become best practices within our organization. While they may not be applicable in all situations, they always bring results.

If you want to recover lost traffic or return to growth track, avoid the following SEO pitfalls:

1. Write blog posts based on keyword search volume

Search engines prioritize content written for users because it meets the needs of users. They may use a site-wide classifier and a manual auditor to evaluate this.

If each page and blog post is created simply to generate traffic based on estimated keyword search volumes, you have explicitly placed traffic above the User Experience (UX).

Anyone can export keywords, questions, “others ask” results and a list of phrases with search volumes and then write a blog post for them using the following methods:

• Large Language Models (LLM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Article rewriting tool.
• Human writers whose native language is the target language.
• Outsource content to overseas content farms.

Using these methods in combination, it is more obvious that the content is created for SEO rather than for the actual user.

When this happens, search engines can easily detect this pattern. This is the same approach that many new websites or amateur SEO take.

Instead, write content that addresses keyword phrases, questions, or topics and focus on the questions raised by the client.

Look for topics related to their needs, even if there is no recorded search volume.

By providing content that ranks for queries and providing solutions to what users need next, you can create a good user experience.

These articles may not bring direct SEO traffic, but they are valuable resources. Users can still discover them through internal links, recommended readings, or rich search results such as "Others Ask" and AI Overview.

Another advantage is that these unique themes can attract backlinks and social media sharing as they provide new insights rather than fighting for high traffic keywords.

You can discover these topics in the following ways:

• Check out the questions in the blog post (your own and competitors).
• Explore forums and communities.
• Use tools such as AlsoAsked.com.
• Analyze the customer support database.
• Investigate your own clients.

In-depth Learning: A Complete Guide to Content SEO Optimization (with List)

2. Batch releases content rather than prioritizing quality

If you want your business to continue to grow, focus on quality rather than quantity.

Posting ten or even two articles a day can quickly lead to a shortage of topics.

Unless you are a media website with over 20 journalists or highly qualified contributors, it is nearly impossible to maintain fact-checked, high-quality and original content at this rate.

You will most likely rely on LLM, content farm, or article rewriting tools. In most cases, this can lead to inaccurate content or poor quality.

Even if the content is mostly accurate, search engines may consider it as low-quality content, which can damage the reputation of your website.

Worse, you end up running out of topics and having trouble creating new content.

This may cause you to start posting off-topic articles.

When your content deviates too far from its core focus, you may lose readers and subscribers because they will no longer feel your website is relevant.

More importantly, if there is nothing new or valuable to them, they will stop accessing.

Assume your content is original and written internally. Posting too much content too early can turn your passionate project into a burden, leading to burnout.

From an SEO perspective, large-scale releases are red flags for low-quality, AI-generated or unverified content.

While it may bring about an initial surge in traffic, this traffic usually disappears just as quickly as possible.

Over the past 15 years, I have seen the same pattern – first with the article rewriting tool, now ChatGPT.

If you want your website to flourish for a long time, focus on publishing high-quality content, not just more.

In-depth understanding: SEO content writing and content writing: the key difference

3. Focus on word count rather than value

There is no minimum or maximum word limit for SEO.

Some of our customers have hundreds or thousands of visitors every day, but the number of words is less than 300-400 words.

Before adding content to a page, consider the search engine's goals:

Search engines work is to provide the best answers in the easiest, fastest and most understandable way.

If the solution only requires 200 words – including one example – but you extend it to 1000 words just to meet the word count requirement, then you may have buried the answer under unnecessary nonsense.

Think of the recipe. If you just need to know how many cups of flour a loaf requires, you don’t need personal anecdotes about where the flour is grown, the origin of the bread, or about a holiday baking accident.

These details are complementary and not necessary for the user's search intention.

Two ways to effectively pass this information:

• Provide a clear recipe that explains the exact amount of flour used and amount of bread for a specific type of bread (for example, how many cups of flour are needed for two sour bread).
• Create a FAQ or blog post like "Number of flour cups per loaf" and include a table listing ingredients in rows and bread type or size in columns, allowing users to easily find what they need.

Sometimes, format is more important than word count. Text itself is not always the best way to convey information—other elements can enhance clarity and usability, such as:

• video.
• Sound editing.
• Tables and charts.
• Infographics and images.

If you want to drive traffic, and more importantly, keep visitors back, give priority to providing answers in an easy-to-use format to help them find solutions efficiently.

Learn more about: Content Length, Depth, and SEO: Everything you need to know in 2025

4. Turn each title into a question

This trend emerges with FAQ patterns and emergence in the results of “Others Ask” and “Others Search”.

However, once it is overused, search engines start to ignore it.

Instead of forcing each title to become a problem, focus on writing titles that clearly indicate the content of the page and align with the way users search.

Some questions are useful, but others are better as statements.

Brand phrases and slang may not have search volumes, but they still resonate with users.

If each title is a problem, the content can appear unnatural and far-fetched.

More importantly, the title does not need to appear in the form of a question to appear in a featured or rich result. The content itself only needs to be clear, direct and accurate.

When creating a title, we recommend:

• Use language that matches the way consumers search.
• Make them easy to scan so that users can quickly find what they need.
• Make sure each title supports the title above it and is consistent with the title tag.
• Remove parts that do not match the title or previous titles because they may not be related to the topic.

5. Post content every day or weekly

You don't need to post new content daily or weekly, especially if there is no new content to write.

Posting just for publishing often leads to thin content and a bad user experience.

Instead, increasing SEO traffic can be achieved by refreshing and improving existing content.

First look at the page with declining traffic and improve it.

Check for damaged sources, outdated information, or formatting issues. Internal links may need to be adjusted to suit the current structure of your website.

In some cases, other pages rank higher because they interpret or render information better.

Updating old content can be key to restoring traffic, especially if the topic has been covered in detail.

Posting new content without clear user needs is rarely a solution.

In-depth: 5 SEO bugs that sacrifice quantity and quality (and how to fix them)

Avoid these mistakes and keep your website competitive

These suggestions may not apply to all situations, but we often see them when working on projects.

When companies over-optimize search engines instead of users, they often create bad experiences.

You may get traffic temporarily, but if the content has no value, the user won't return.

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