What’s an old SEO trick that actually still works in 2026?

[diegowurtz]

Auto-rotating hero banners are conversion poison. Research proved that ten years ago and people still force them on sites.

People love shiny objects. Meanwhile, the boring landing page with a single clear headline and a straightforward form makes all the money.

 

[kylesmith]

People love shiny objects. Meanwhile, the boring landing page with a single clear headline and a straightforward form makes all the money.

What about classic press releases?

 

[diegowurtz]

What about classic press releases?

Mass distribution wire services are useless for SEO now, but targeted pitches to local journalists still work every single time.

 

[kylesmith]

Mass distribution wire services are useless for SEO now, but targeted pitches to local journalists still work every single time.

Local news outlets still hunger for good human-interest stories. A 5-minute phone call beats sending 500 automated cold emails.

 

[diegowurtz]

Local news outlets still hunger for good human-interest stories. A 5-minute phone call beats sending 500 automated cold emails.

Exactly. A single feature in a regional newspaper brings local trust and direct traffic that ad money can't buy.

 

[kylesmith]

Exactly. A single feature in a regional newspaper brings local trust and direct traffic that ad money can't buy.

Local news outlets still hunger for good human-interest stories. A 5-minute phone call beats sending 500 automated cold emails.

 

[diegowurtz]

Local news outlets still hunger for good human-interest stories. A 5-minute phone call beats sending 500 automated cold emails.

Exactly. A single feature in a regional newspaper brings local trust and direct traffic that ad money can't buy.

 

[kylesmith]

Exactly. A single feature in a regional newspaper brings local trust and direct traffic that ad money can't buy.

What about breadcrumb navigation on websites?

 

[diegowurtz]

What about breadcrumb navigation on websites?

Breadcrumbs are elite. Great for user experience, amazing for Google's understanding of site hierarchy and internal link flow.

 

[kylesmith]

Breadcrumbs are elite. Great for user experience, amazing for Google's understanding of site hierarchy and internal link flow.

Plus, Google displays breadcrumb trails in search snippets, so it makes your listing look way cleaner in the results.

 

[diegowurtz]

Plus, Google displays breadcrumb trails in search snippets, so it makes your listing look way cleaner in the results.

It's such an easy UI win that takes 10 minutes to set up, but so many modern templates completely skip it.

 

[kylesmith]

It's such an easy UI win that takes 10 minutes to set up, but so many modern templates completely skip it.

What about custom 404 error pages?

 

[diegowurtz]

What about custom 404 error pages?

 

[diegowurtz]

What about custom 404 error pages?

Huge missed opportunity for most sites. Put a search bar, your top 3 helpful links, or a discount code on your 404 page instead of a dead end.

 

[kylesmith]

Huge missed opportunity for most sites. Put a search bar, your top 3 helpful links, or a discount code on your 404 page instead of a dead end.

Turn a bounce into a session. Simple human psychology that worked 15 years ago and works now.

 

[diegowurtz]

Turn a bounce into a session. Simple human psychology that worked 15 years ago and works now.

What about HTML sitemaps? Not just the XML ones for search crawlers, but actual human-readable sitemaps in the footer.

 

[kylesmith]

What about HTML sitemaps? Not just the XML ones for search crawlers, but actual human-readable sitemaps in the footer.

HTML sitemaps are low-key great for deep page discovery and helping lost users find legacy pages instantly.

 

[diegowurtz]

HTML sitemaps are low-key great for deep page discovery and helping lost users find legacy pages instantly.

It's all about making life easier for both the crawler bot and the human sitting at the keyboard.

 

[kylesmith]

It's all about making life easier for both the crawler bot and the human sitting at the keyboard.

What about simple FAQ accordion sections on product pages?

 

[diegowurtz]

What about simple FAQ accordion sections on product pages?

Best way to catch long-tail question queries and clear customer purchase doubts on the exact same screen.