Why Your 2018 SEO Content Stopped Working (And What Actually Ranks Now)

“We were ranking great in 2018. Top 3 for all our main keywords. Then 2019 hit and everything fell apart. My old agency said it was just normal algorithm fluctuation. Three years later, we’re still buried on page 3.”

I’ve heard this story from contractors at least a dozen times. Different cities, different trades, same pattern. Great rankings in 2017-2018, sudden drop in 2019-2020, never recovered.

The agencies usually blame “algorithm changes” without explaining what actually changed or how to fix it. Some throw around terms like “Penguin” or “BERT” to sound knowledgeable. Others just shrug and suggest starting over with a new website.

Here’s what actually happened: In October 2019, Google released an update called BERT that fundamentally changed how search works. Not “made it a little better” - fundamentally changed it. And if your website was built on the old playbook of exact-match keywords and “optimized” content, you got left behind.

TL;DR: Google BERT taught search engines to understand intent instead of just matching keywords. This killed keyword-stuffed content overnight and made natural, helpful content the only thing that works. If your 2018 SEO strategy hasn’t evolved, you’re competing with one hand tied behind your back.

Why This Actually Matters for Your Business

Here’s what we’ve seen across contractor websites: Every time we rewrite old “SEO optimized” content to natural language, performance improves. More impressions. More clicks. More leads.

Not “slightly better” - noticeably better. Because contractors aren’t searching for “Best Affordable Roof Replacement Ogden Utah” like a robot. They’re typing “how to affordably replace your roof” or “roof replacement cost in my area” like humans.

The contractors who adapted their content strategy in 2020-2021 maintained or improved their rankings. The ones who didn’t are still wondering why their “perfectly optimized” pages from 2018 don’t work anymore.

The 2-Minute Generic Content Test

Here’s how to tell if your content is BERT-friendly or stuck in 2018:

Open any page on your website. Read the first two paragraphs out loud.

Now ask yourself: Could this exact content appear on any contractor’s website in America with just the city name swapped?

If yes, Google probably thinks it’s generic.

Look for these red flags:

Headlines like “Best Affordable [Service] [City] [State]”
First paragraph that mentions city landmarks or history
Generic advice that appears on 10,000 other websites
Content that could have been written by someone who’s never actually done the work

Example of old-school content: “Welcome to Best Roofing Solutions! We are proud to serve the beautiful Ogden, Utah community. Founded in 1847, Ogden sits at the base of the stunning Wasatch Mountains…”

What BERT-era Google sees: Generic. Replaceable. Provides no unique value.

Example of BERT-friendly content: “The average roof replacement in Northern Utah runs $12,000-18,000 depending on your roof size and material choice. Here’s how we help homeowners afford it without financing…”

What Google sees: Specific. Regional expertise. Actually answers the question.

Want to run this audit on your entire website? Download the Ultimate Online Marketing Checklist - it includes the same 50+ points we check when auditing contractor websites for content quality and search performance.

What Most Agencies Told You About BERT (And Why They Were Wrong)

When BERT rolled out in 2019, most agencies sent emails to clients saying some version of: “Google released a major update. Don’t worry, we’re monitoring your rankings. No action needed.”

Then they kept writing the same keyword-stuffed content they’d always written.

Why? Because changing their entire content creation process would have been expensive and time-consuming. Easier to talk about BERT than actually adapt to it.

We still see this in 2026. Agencies producing article #10,001 on a topic that already has 10,000 nearly-identical articles. Same generic advice. Same keyword-focused headlines. Same city-name-dropped intro paragraphs.

It signals to Google what you do (good for showing up at all). But it’s terrible for actually ranking well and converting visitors into leads.

The conventional wisdom was: “BERT is just another algorithm update. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

The reality: BERT fundamentally changed the game. If you didn’t change your content strategy, you got left behind.

How Google BERT Actually Changed Search (In Plain English)

Before BERT, Google basically matched keywords in your search to keywords on the page. If you searched “roof repair” and a page said “roof repair” 47 times, that page probably ranked.

This created an internet full of keyword-stuffed garbage. Pages that repeated the same phrase over and over. Content written for search engines, not humans.

BERT changed this by teaching Google to understand search intent instead of just matching words.

Example: “DIY roof repair” and “roof repair pricing” both contain “roof repair” - but they mean completely different things.

Pre-BERT Google: Shows you similar results for both because they contain the same keywords.

Post-BERT Google: Understands one person wants to fix it themselves, another wants to know what it costs to hire someone. Shows completely different results.

This is why headlines like “Best Affordable Roof Replacement Ogden Utah” stopped working. Google no longer needs you to stuff every keyword variation into your title. It can read your content, see you’re in Utah, understand what you offer, and put it all together.

The pages that survived BERT were the ones actually answering questions and providing value - not the ones gaming keywords.

The Rebel Ape Approach to Post-BERT Content

We don’t write for 2018 Google anymore. Here’s what we do instead:

Step 1: Write for Humans First, Optimize for Robots Second

Old approach: “Best Affordable Emergency Roof Repair Services Ogden Utah Near Me”

Our approach: “Emergency Roof Repairs in Northern Utah: What to Expect and What It Costs”

Google understands the second headline just fine. But humans actually want to click on it.

In our work with contractors, this single change - natural language headlines instead of keyword-stuffed titles - consistently improves click-through rates by 40-60%.

Step 2: Infuse Real Authority Signals

Generic content says: “Roof maintenance is important. You should inspect your roof twice a year.”

Content with authority signals says: “We’ve replaced 200+ roofs in Northern Utah over the past decade. The roofs that last 25-30 years all have one thing in common: the owner caught small issues before they became big ones. Here’s what we look for during inspections…”

The difference? One could have been written by anyone with 5 seconds on Google. The other could only come from someone who’s actually done the work.

When we audit contractor websites, this is the biggest gap we see. Lots of generic advice that could appear on any website. Very little specific expertise that demonstrates actual experience.

Step 3: Add Location Context Naturally

You don’t need to stuff “Ogden Utah” into every sentence. Google knows where you are from:

Your Google Business Profile
Your service area pages
Your address in your footer
Links from local directories

Instead of: “We provide the best roof replacement Ogden Utah has ever seen in the great state of Utah near Ogden…”

Use: “Utah’s high desert climate and temperature swings destroy shingles faster than the national average. Most roofs here last 18-22 years instead of the 25-30 you’d get in milder climates.”

Google understands you’re in Utah. You’re demonstrating regional expertise instead of just repeating the location name.

Step 4: Answer the Actual Question (Then the Next Question)

Old SEO: Target one keyword per page. Stuff it in repeatedly. Hope it ranks.

BERT-era SEO: Answer the question someone’s actually asking. Then answer the logical follow-up questions they’d ask next.

Someone searching “roof replacement cost” probably also wants to know:

What affects the price
How long it takes
Whether they need a full replacement or just repairs
How to pay for it
How to choose a contractor

Answer all of it. Comprehensively. With specifics from your actual experience.

This is exactly how we build contractor websites - as complete marketing systems that answer questions at every stage of the decision process. See how we structure contractor sites for both rankings and conversions.

We’ve been systematically rewriting old keyword-focused blog posts on our own site and client sites since 2023. Every single rewrite follows the same pattern:

Before: Keyword-focused headline, generic advice, repeated phrases, minimal specific value.

After: Natural language headline, real experience, specific examples, comprehensive answer.

Results: More impressions. Higher click-through rates. Better rankings.

This isn’t theoretical. We’re tracking this across 70+ blog posts right now.

The posts that still use 2018-style “SEO content” get impressions but no clicks. Google shows them, but humans don’t find them compelling enough to click.

The rewritten posts with natural language and actual expertise? Better performance across every metric.

One roofing contractor we worked with had a blog full of generic “how to choose a roofing contractor” style posts from 2019. We rewrote them to include:

Specific red flags from bad contractors they’d seen in their market
Real examples of what they look for in good work
Local pricing context for their area
Stories from actual jobs

Organic traffic from blog content doubled in 6 months. More importantly, the quality of leads improved because people reading the content felt like they already knew the company.

How to Fix Your 2018-Era Content

Here’s your roadmap for updating keyword-stuffed content:

Step 1: Audit Your Current Content (1-2 hours)

Run the Generic Content Test on every important page:

Homepage
Main service pages
Top 10 blog posts by traffic

Flag anything that sounds like it was written for a robot instead of a human.

Step 2: Prioritize Your Rewrites

Start with pages that:

Get impressions but few clicks (Google shows them, humans don’t click)
Target your most valuable services
Should rank well but don’t

Don’t try to fix everything at once. Tackle 2-3 pages per month.

Step 3: Rewrite with Real Expertise

For each page, ask:

What question is someone actually asking?
What would I tell them if they called me?
What specific examples or stories demonstrate I’ve actually done this work?
What follow-up questions would they ask next?

Write that instead of “optimized content.”

Step 4: Add Authority Signals

Include:

Specific numbers from your experience (“We’ve installed 200+ roofs in Northern Utah…”)
Regional expertise (“Utah’s climate means…”)
Real examples (“One client had…”)
Honest admissions (“This is harder than it looks because…”)

Reality check: You could do this yourself - but it’ll take 3-4 hours per page if you’re writing it yourself, or 40-60 hours total if you’re rewriting your entire site. Plus you need to maintain it ongoing as you create new content.

Or we can systematically rewrite your site’s content with natural language, authority signals, and conversion optimization built in. Most contractor sites take 6-8 weeks to fully update. See how we approach content for contractor websites.

Common Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Mistake #1: Trusting Your SEO Plugin’s Keyword Density Recommendations

RankMath and Yoast are great for reminding you to add internal links and alt text. But they’re still pushing outdated tactics like:

“Use your focus keyword X times”
“Put power words in your title”
“Keyword density should be 1.5%”

Google’s moved past this. If you’re writing naturally and answering the question, keyword usage takes care of itself.

Fix: Use SEO plugins for technical reminders. Ignore the keyword stuffing suggestions.

Mistake #2: Thinking Natural Language Means No Optimization

“Write for humans” doesn’t mean “ignore SEO entirely.”

You still need:

Clear page titles that include your topic
Proper header structure
Internal links to related content
Alt text on images
Fast page speed
Mobile responsiveness

Natural language and technical optimization work together.

Fix: Optimize for the basics. Then focus on creating genuinely useful content.

Mistake #3: Waiting for “The Next Big Update” Before Fixing Your Content

Contractors sometimes think: “If BERT hurt my rankings, maybe the next update will help them again.”

It doesn’t work that way. Google’s updates move further toward understanding quality and relevance - not back toward keyword matching.

Fix: Update your content now. Every month you wait is another month of lost leads.

Mistake #4: Reproducing Content That Already Exists Everywhere

If your blog post about “how to choose a roofing contractor” says the same thing as 10,000 other blog posts, Google has no reason to rank yours higher.

Fix: Add something only you can add - your specific experience, local context, real examples, contrarian takes based on what you’ve seen.

Mistake #5: Forgetting That SEO Is About Getting Leads, Not Just Rankings

Rankings matter. But clicks matter more. And leads matter most.

Content that ranks #5 but converts 8% of visitors is more valuable than content that ranks #2 but converts 1%.

Fix: Focus on content that drives business results, not just search visibility. Learn how we track SEO performance by leads generated, not just rankings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to rewrite my entire website because of BERT?

Not necessarily. Start with your most important pages - homepage, main service pages, top-performing blog posts. If they’re written in natural language and provide real value, they’re probably fine. If they’re keyword-stuffed and generic, update them.

Q: Will updating old content hurt my rankings?

In our experience, the opposite happens. When we update keyword-stuffed content to natural language with real expertise, rankings typically improve within 2-3 months. Google rewards better content.

Q: How do I know if my content is “good enough” for post-BERT Google?

Run the Generic Content Test: Could this exact content appear on any contractor’s website with just the city name changed? If yes, it needs work. If no - if it clearly comes from someone with real experience in your trade and market - you’re probably fine.

Q: Should I still use my focus keyword multiple times per page?

Use your main topic naturally throughout the content. But don’t force it or count repetitions. If you’re thoroughly answering a question, the relevant terms will appear naturally. Google understands synonyms and context now.

Q: My old agency said BERT only affected 10% of searches. Why should I care?

BERT started at 10% of searches in 2019. Google has continued rolling out similar language understanding improvements since then. By 2026, essentially all searches use some form of natural language processing. This isn’t a minor update - it’s how search works now.

Q: Can I just use AI to rewrite all my old keyword-stuffed content?

Only if you heavily edit it. Generic AI content fails the same test as keyword-stuffed content - it’s replaceable and provides no unique value. Use AI as a starting point, then add your actual experience, specific examples, and regional context. Read about our approach to AI in contractor marketing.

Q: How long does it take to see results after updating content?

Typically 2-3 months for rankings to adjust, though we’ve seen improvements in click-through rates within weeks. Google needs time to re-crawl, re-evaluate, and adjust rankings. Be patient but track your progress.

The Bottom Line

Google BERT wasn’t just another algorithm update - it fundamentally changed how search works. The old playbook of exact-match keywords and “optimized” content stopped working in 2019.

If your website still reads like it was written for a search engine instead of a human, you’re competing at a disadvantage. Every contractor who’s adapted their content strategy has an edge over you.

The good news? Fixing this isn’t complicated. Write naturally. Answer real questions. Add specific expertise from your actual experience. Stop trying to game keywords and start providing value.

Your 2018 SEO strategy was built for a search engine that doesn’t exist anymore. Time to adapt.

Ready to audit your website and fix your keyword-stuffed content? Download the Ultimate Online Marketing Checklist to see all 50+ optimization points we check, or schedule a call to talk about updating your site’s content strategy for how search actually works in 2026.

Why Your 2018 SEO Content Stopped Working (And What Actually Ranks Now)