Have you heard of the disadvantages of SEO in 2023?
This post answers the question, “How do you generate website traffic without using SEO?”
Google has ChatGPT.
Microsoft’s Bing has ChatGPT.
What chance do you have of getting blog traffic if search engine users can get their information from chatbots?
What can you do?
What this post isn’t:
This post will not tell you how to overcome the disadvantages of SEO.
What this post will do for you:
This article acknowledges the disadvantages of SEO and recommends what you can do instead of search engine optimization in order to get blog traffic.
Be sure to stick around until the end of the article for a bonus tip.
Let’s start exploring how to overcome the disadvantages of SEO by using other forms of marketing.
What are the Disadvantages of SEO?
- Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint
- SEO is dependent on the whims of Google
- Paid ads get more visibility than organic SEO
- ChatGPT is Creating Content
Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint
SEO is a long-game.
If you want website traffic (and don’t we all?), you need to blog long enough to let Google know you have expertise in your content niche.
Let’s face it: Google gives visibility to more established bloggers.
This means that new bloggers will have difficulty using SEO to generate traffic to their blog content.
SEO is dependent on the whims of Google
Have you ever been the victim of a Google update?
I read horror stories in Reddit communities of bloggers who lost the lion’s share of their traffic as a result of a Google algorithm update.
In fact, a dear friend who was a pro blogger lost so much of his traffic, he became a truck driver when he could no longer support himself as a pro blogger after the update.
Paid Ads Get More Visibility Than Organic SEO
You can be the greatest SEO in the world and use the best digital marketing tools. However, if people invest in paid ads, their website content will be seen at the top of Google’s Search Engine Results Pages and not yours.
ChatGPT is Creating Content
This article on the disadvantages of SEO is timely.
Bloggers are concerned that ChatGPT will take their website traffic.
Currently, Microsoft’s Bing and Google Chrome have ChatGPT.
Readers are often unable to tell the difference between ChatGPT’s content and a human blogger’s content and will choose the bot’s article to get their information.
You need options. You can’t put all your proverbial eggs in one SEO basket.
Due to the disadvantages of SEO for marketing, this post will explain how to use other forms of marketing.
Although SEO might have been an effective strategy in the past, times are changing.
Let’s examine how to generate website traffic without SEO.
Social Media Marketing
These strategies for boosting your business success on Instagram are generic. They will work regardless of the type of business you have.
First, you want to boost your brand’s name recognition. For instance, use the Shotgun Effect so the name of your business appears everywhere.
There are many advantages of Instagram for your marketing campaigns.
For instance, you can hold contests on Instagram. Let people who share your eye-catching images enter. They become your network, minions that boost your brand for you.
YouTube
There are also advantages of using YouTube to promote your business.
Isn’t your goal to make sales? Use YouTube.
For instance, you should make YouTube videos discussing your business. This earns trust in your brand so people hire you. Make sure to tell people to click your link in the video description, and be sure to place your link there.
Here are ways to get free YouTube traffic so you don’t even need a marketing budget.
According to the Authority Hacker podcast, people are getting their information in ways besides blogs: They use Reddit groups in order to engage in conversation.
For instance, people might share product reviews in Reddit groups and discuss their opinions of the product in these communities.
These types of posts are popular since people love to read each other’s opinions.
When these popular Reddit posts get upvoted, the Reddit algorithm gives the Reddit post more visibility. Considering 1.2 billion people use Reddit, that’s a great deal of exposure for your brand.
Reddit communities are called subreddits. Due to the vast number of subreddits that exist, you will be able to find people interested in your product or service and network with them.
This means that Reddit subreddits give you direct access to your target audience.
Posting your videos, text, and images on Reddit also helps with branding. When your target audience sees your content, you establish yourself as an expert in your industry.
TikTok
There are advantages of using TikTok to promote your business.
For instance, young people use TikTok, and they are eager to spend.
TikTok vs YouTube
When consumers want to make an informed purchase, going to TikTok instead of YouTube for their information makes sense. TikTok video creators are used to making videos so short, the videos are often laser-focused on providing condensed information rapidly.
TikTok vs Google
Why is TikTok better than Google?
Google has been around much longer than TikTok. For that reason, many of the articles Google provides contain outdated or less relevant information than articles you find on Google.
Also, YouTube and TikTok led the list of the most-viewed non-Facebook domains (Source).
Promote in Facebook groups. Since some Facebook groups contain tens of thousands of members, this is another great way to get exposure for your brand.
Also, although some people believe Facebook is past its prime, Facebook’s user base is actually growing. This is fueled, in part, by the political tensions between the US and China that suggest TikTok may soon be banned in the US. Concerned TikTok users are flocking to Facebook.
Email Marketing
What is your marketing goal? Why, to make sales, of course!
What better way than with your newsletter, your direct access to your list members?
Use your newsletter to educate your audience. Announce news in your industry, or promote a product or service. You will drive sales and sign ups and boost traffic to your website.
Many email service providers exist for all budgets.
How many email list members do you need for successful email marketing?
Data provided by Benchmark Groups indicate that the average size of the email lists B2B companies have is around 6000.
Featured Snippets
Search engine users use Featured Snippets to get their information. Since they sit high on Google’s Search Engine Results Pages, adding these features to your articles is a great opportunity for blog traffic. This is a feature which many bloggers ignore.
I realize this post explains how to get blog traffic without search engine optimization due to the disadvantages of SEO. However, adding these features does not require optimization. For instance, adding an image gives you a chance for traffic when people click on your image at Google Images. Also, adding an FAQ box allows you to answer actual search queries people typed into Google and put the answers in FAQ boxes in your post.
Bonus Tip: Quora
Although I find Quora.com is hit and miss as far as a method of blog traffic generation when you do generate website traffic from Quora, you have the chance to get waves of website traffic.
Merely answer a question on Quora. Insert a relevant link in your answer. When people click on your link in order to get more information, you get traffic to your website.
Disadvantages of SEO: FAQ
What are the issues with SEO?
SEO is a long game, SEO success s dependent on the whims of a Google algorithm upset, paid ads get more visibility than organic SEO, and ChatGPT is creating content.
Wrapping Up: Disadvantages of SEO
As you can see, SEO is not the only traffic generator.
By reading this article, you received options to using SEO to market your business.
The disadvantages of SEO cannot be denied.
Now you have an action plan and alternatives to using search engines to market your business.
Readers, please share so marketers discover how to advertise their online businesses without the frailties of SEO.
I look forward to your views in the comments section. Can you suggest more disadvantages of SEO or more ways to market your business without SEO?
Janice Wald is the founder of MostlyBlogging.com and co-founder of the Mostly Blogging Academy. She is an ebook author, blogger, blogging coach, blogging judge, freelance writer, and speaker. She won the Best Internet Marketer Award and the Best Blogger Award at the 2021 Infinity Blog Awards. Wald was also nominated as 2019 Best Internet Marketer by the Infinity Blog Awards and in 2017 as the Most Informative Blogger by the London Bloggers Bash. She’s been featured on Small Business Trends, the Huffington Post, and Lifehack.
