Which SEO Factors Don’t Need Excessive Worry? Distinguishing Tool Metrics from Real Website Problems

Items that do not warrant excessive concern include differences between SEO tools’ figures, crawl budgets for most websites, the anchor text ultimately used in media coverage, and some links reported as lost because of canonical URL changes. But lower priority does not mean ignoring them entirely: large websites, sites that frequently add many pages, and sites with existing crawling barriers still need to take technical issues seriously. A 2024 article by yesharris notes that ranking factors vary in their influence and that Google has not disclosed the importance of every factor, so not every item should be treated as equally important.

Use tool scores for comparison rather than expecting every figure to match

In a 2025 introduction to SEO tools, Welly notes that different tools crawl data differently, so discrepancies are inevitable. The figures are best used for relative comparisons rather than fixating on which is most accurate. For example, when assessing competing websites, there is no need to insist that different tools produce identical results first.

A Semrush article similarly recommends comparing your site’s Authority Score with competitors’ scores rather than dwelling on the exact number. This is a tool metric designed to predict ranking potential, not a ranking weight published by Google. Avoiding fixation on the score also does not mean ignoring the link and traffic conditions it reflects.

Assess crawl budget concerns based on site size and how much content is added

Semrush’s 2023 explanation says most website owners need not worry too much about crawl budget, but identifies three situations that warrant particular attention:

• Large, complex websites: the article uses sites with more than 10,000 pages as an example. New pages may not be discovered immediately, and older pages may be recrawled less often.
• Sites that frequently add many pages: crawl budget may affect those pages’ visibility.
• Sites with existing crawlability issues: technical barriers may prevent content from appearing in search results.

The 10,000-page figure is an example from that article, not an official safe threshold. Having fewer pages does not mean there is “no need to worry” if crawling barriers exist.

There is no need to control media anchor text word for word, but it should remain relevant

A 2023 Screaming Frog article on PR and SEO recommends using varied, topically relevant anchor text in outreach content. Journalists and media outlets may edit the copy, and the final wording is usually outside the outreach team’s control, so it is not worth spending excessive time worrying about it.

This is not an invitation to stuff anchor text with commercial keywords. The same article warns that using only commercially oriented anchor text and accumulating large numbers of keyword-heavy backlinks in a short period may cause problems.

When a link is reported as lost, first identify what changed

Ahrefs’ 2022 analysis of lost links notes that when the cause is a change to the linking page’s canonical URL—for example, switching from HTTP to HTTPS or standardizing trailing slashes or URL parameters—there is usually no need for excessive concern. The link may simply have moved along with the URL under which the page is indexed.

This assessment applies only to canonical URL changes and cannot be extended to every lost-link notification. A deleted page, a link removed from the content, or a broken redirect are different situations and cannot all be treated as simple changes of location.