I Have Stopped Accepting SEO Projects | Here’s Why

Having spent the entire 2 decades of my career in the industry, I have witnessed how SEO has changed over the years. From the nascent years when SEO experts could easily rank any website on the first page of Google to today, when everyone’s predicting AI to be a game-changer, we have come a long way in SEO projects.

In fact, the initial hype about AI-generated content isn’t very different from the early days when people used keyword stuffing and link scheming tactics. And the response from Google isn’t very different either. I don’t know how many have noticed, but Google recently introduced a series of algorithmic updates within a span of 30 days, targeting anyone putting up unhelpful, low-quality content AI-generated or not.

Coming To the Question of Why I Stopped Accepting SEO Projects?

Thanks to Google, everyone thinks they’re an expert. People source basic information from the internet and mistakenly overestimate their knowledge. Sadly, someone who knows only the basics doesn’t know enough to know what they don’t know.

I can’t begin to explain how much I’ve been flooded with well-meaning suggestions from clients who have read how some SEO strategy has worked for someone and want us to try those tactics on their website as well.

Truth is, SEO isn’t for everyone.

Case in Point | ChatGPT or AI- Generated Content in General

Before I go ahead, let me clarify: I have nothing against ChatGPT or any other form of AI tools. Rather, I’m excited to see how it could be a game-changer in the SEO arena. But lousy content is just that irrespective of whether it’s human-written or AI-generated. If you don’t follow Google’s guidelines w.r.t content, it will go downhill.

Here’s My Personal Experience with ChatGPT Content

As the head of the best digital marketing company in Chennai, I have had two personal experiences with my clients regarding ChatGPT. When one of our clients heard about ChatGPT, they suggested I use them to create content. I advised waiting it out since switching completely to AI-generated content was too early. However, since the client insisted, we went out with ChatGPT content for six months.

Another client took my advice and decided to go with human-written content until things became clear.

And the Results Were Clear As Day and Night

While the first client witnessed a 40% drop in visits, the second client, GT Holidays, experienced zero traffic loss. In fact, rankings for some of their pages improved significantly.

During this time, we upgraded some of the client’s high-value pages with improved infographics, relevant information, easy-to-understand graphic design, and on-site SEO. The content writer included plenty of tidbits and information required to ensure everything and anything travellers seek is available on the page.

The Result…

Rankings for one of these high-value pages improved significantly while ranking for the Maldives tour package page ranges from Top 3 To Top 5 for all the following keywords:

• Maldives Tour Packages
• Maldives Tour Packages From Chennai
• Maldives Tour Package From India
• Maldives Tour Package For Family

Mind you, these keywords are highly competitive (mention the price of keywords on Google Adwords), and we’ve managed to outrank giants like MakeMyTrip, TripAdvisor, Yatra, Thomas Cook, Thrillophobia, and Travel Triangle.

In Conclusion

I apologise for sounding dramatic, but I have not stopped accepting SEO projects altogether. As the best SEO agency in Chennai, I prefer to work with clients with the patience to wait until White Hat practices show their organic results. There are plenty of weekend warriors offering quick-fix solutions that may initially improve your website rankings but will quickly nosedive after a Google Algorithm update. And trust me, it’s not easy to recover if your website takes an update hit.

If you don’t have the patience to wait for sustained and organically obtained rankings, sadly, we’re not the right service providers for you. If you need genuine SEO help or have faced issues with recent Google updates, please contact us at +91 8939690923 to reach out to the best web development agency in Chennai or comment below.

I’ll address when and why to avoid SEO in my next post.