What worked for your business five years ago might be costing you customers today. The way people search, scroll and buy has changed a lot in a short time, and many local businesses haven't adjusted yet.
Google now answers many questions with AI summaries before anyone clicks a link. Social feeds favor real people over polished ads. Customers also expect emails and offers that fit their needs.
Most outdated habits are easy to fix once you spot them. Here are five worth retiring.
1. Keyword stuffing
Remember when ranking meant repeating "best plumber in town" six times on one page? That stopped working years ago. Search engines and AI tools look at what a page actually says and whether it answers the question.
SEO example: A landscaper's service page that crams "lawn care service" into every sentence is hard to read. A competitor's page that explains when to aerate and what a spring cleanup includes is more likely to rank and to get mentioned in AI answers.
Paid search example: The same habit shows up in ad accounts as long lists of near-identical keywords. Google's smart bidding already matches ads to what people mean, so oversized keyword lists split your data and waste budget.
2. The set-it-and-forget-it Google Business Profile
Many businesses claimed their profile years ago and haven't updated it since. The hours are wrong, the photos are from 2019 and reviews sit unanswered. That profile is often the first thing a customer sees before deciding to call.
SEO example: A restaurant with the wrong holiday hours sends customers to a locked door. Some of them will leave a one-star review.
Paid search example: Location details in Google Ads can pull from your Business Profile. If the profile is out of date, your ads will be too.
3. Generic stock photos on social
Most people recognize a stock photo right away, and they tend to scroll past it.
Paid social example: A dental office runs Facebook ads with a stock model holding a toothbrush. People scroll right past it. Instagram and TikTok tend to favor posts that look like regular content, and stock images look like ads. A short clip of the office's own hygienist sharing a whitening tip usually performs better.
4. Chasing follower counts
A large follower count looks nice, but it doesn't bring in revenue by itself. A page with 800 followers who call, book and refer friends is worth more than one with 10,000 who never buy.
Paid social example: Boosting posts just to grow followers, or running "like and share to win" giveaways, mostly attracts people who want the prize. They rarely engage again, and low engagement can lead the platform to show your posts to fewer people.
5. One-size-fits-all email blasts
Sending the same newsletter to every contact saves time, but it's a big reason so many local business emails go unopened.
Example: A gym emails a "first month free" offer to its whole list, including members who have paid full price for years. Longtime members feel overlooked, new leads get a message that doesn't match what they asked about, and unsubscribes go up.
Time for a fresh start
Customers shop differently than they did a few years ago. More of them ask AI tools for recommendations, skip anything that looks like an ad and expect businesses to remember them. Your marketing should keep up.
In Part 2, we'll cover what to do instead of each of these five habits.
Need a lift? If any of these habits sound familiar, we can help. Boost Digital is a full-service online marketing agency helping businesses with SEO, pay-per-click management, social media and more, all offered à la carte so you only pay for what you need. Call 800-961-4601 or contact us for a free consultation.