Neil Patel’s SEO Strategy: Why Blog Posts Alone May Not Be Enough

Today, we’re discussing whether blog posts are still the best SEO strategy.

To start, I want to share a post from LinkedIn by Peter Caputa, the CEO of Databox. He mentioned that a fellow agency owner recently decided to ramp up their content production from four to eight blog articles a month to improve their marketing. This was exactly the kind of advice I used to give back in 2010: "Publish more blog posts to get more search traffic." However, times have changed, and today, this approach alone often doesn’t yield the same results.

A New SEO Approach: Strategy by Domain Authority

Writing more content isn’t necessarily a bad idea if you already have solid SEO traffic. But if you’re starting from zero, blog posts alone might not cut it. I recommend adjusting your strategy based on your domain authority (DA).

1. Low Domain Authority: Offer Free Tools

If your domain authority is low—say around 20, 30, 40, or even 50—it can be beneficial to focus on offering free tools on your website rather than just producing content. For example, tools like UberSuggest and Answer the Public on my website provide real value to users, while naturally attracting a significant amount of backlinks. These free tools generate more links than typical content can and create a residual effect that continues to drive traffic over time.

While blog posts can bring links initially, they tend to taper off. Tools, on the other hand, keep accumulating links and traffic.

2. High Domain Authority and Traffic: Update Existing Content

If you already have high domain authority and traffic, focus on updating your existing content. We found that keeping older content fresh generates much more traffic than creating new content on saturated topics. For instance, Wikipedia ranks highly on numerous topics, not because it has the best information, but because it’s continually updated.

We use Google Search Console to identify pages with declining traffic and update those pages with fresh, relevant information. When we update, we look at factors like:

What competitors are including that we may have missed

Adding up-to-date information and resources

Enhancing the content with videos, images, or a more conversational tone, if needed

Improving content quality across all these dimensions can help drive significantly more traffic.

3. Adding New Content

While updating old content is effective, producing new content remains essential. Industries constantly evolve, and new trends or topics arise. Creating content on emerging topics ensures you’re covering all angles relevant to your audience.

The Evolution of SEO: Free Tools vs. Old Content Strategies

SEO today requires going beyond just writing blog posts. A decade ago, infographics were a powerful link-building tool, but they’re less effective now. I once invested $30,000 in infographics that generated tons of links, but if I did that today, it wouldn’t have nearly the same impact.

Instead, free tools are immensely valuable. For instance, UberSuggest has around 21,000 referring domains, with backlinks from reputable sites like Google, Adobe, GitHub, Shopify, and Reddit. Free tools offer practical value, which leads to natural link-building. Though creating tools can be a larger investment upfront, they often reduce costs and drive long-term traffic more effectively.

Conclusion

Relying solely on blog posts isn’t enough to succeed in SEO. Tailor your approach based on your domain authority and traffic level, focusing on free tools and updating existing content to achieve sustainable SEO results.

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