Lesson 26

What Not to Obsess Over

What you’ll learn

By the end of this lesson, you’ll know:

Which SEO metrics deserve less attention
What signals are often misleading
Where your time is better spent

Rankings (especially day to day)

Checking rankings constantly can:

  • Create stress
  • Encourage unnecessary changes
  • Distract from real improvements

Rankings naturally fluctuate.

Focus on trends over time, not daily movement.

Algorithm updates

Major algorithm updates make headlines, but:

  • Most sites don’t need to react
  • Panic changes often do more harm than good
  • Clear, helpful sites usually recover naturally

If your site follows solid fundamentals, algorithm updates are rarely personal.

Keyword density and exact matches

Modern search engines don’t require:

  • Exact phrase repetition
  • Artificial keyword placement
  • Mechanical optimisation

Natural language and clarity matter far more than counts.

Tools and scores

SEO tools can be useful, but they:

  • Are approximations
  • Use their own scoring systems
  • Don’t see your site like users do

Use tools for guidance, not validation.

A calmer focus

Your effort is better spent on:

  • Improving clarity
  • Removing confusion
  • Making content genuinely helpful
  • Keeping your site organised

These improvements compound quietly over time.