Relying heavily on QR codes
All the rage in 2010 and 2011, QR codes took a hit in 2012. Many mobile and marketing industry pundits believe the technology is flawed for a variety of reasons. Based on my experience, I agree. QR codes require too many steps and rarely solve a problem uniquely.
Newer technologies like near-field communications (NFC) and other apps are rending the QR code obsolete. Saturation of QR codes at events and in print media has created a jaded consumer who is more likely to ignore than ever. Without unified standards, competing solutions like Microsoft Tag create confusion and annoyance as they might require download of additional apps. The bottom line: Be cautious when using QR codes; make sure they solve a problem better than newer, more intuitive technologies.
Keyword-based search engine optimization
When I first optimized websites in 1996, we spent a good deal of effort embedding target keywords throughout website copy and code and then measured effectiveness based on rankings for said terms in search results. Times have changed, and as Google gets smarter, the algorithm relies less on keyword placement and more on context.
The other troubling trend exasperating the old-school SEO pros is that Google is now hiding search terms from your referring search engine traffic logs. When searchers are logged into Google Search, Firefox search bar, and Chrome address bar, all searches are encrypted with HTTPS, causing an increase in "(not provided)" results in your keyword data (up 171 percent since its introduction). As "not provided" data become a bigger part of our analytics reporting (now estimated at 30-50 percent of Google traffic), marketers are forced to spend more time and effort on content and contextual analysis. The good news is that organic search results still drive a good deal of qualified traffic, and evaluating rankings or visibility is not as important as the ability of that traffic to convert.
