When working on your company’s SEO, there are some mistakes you need to avoid. Read on to learn about the top SEO mistakes.
Is your website not doing as well as you’d hope it would? Are you not getting results that are worth the assets you allot for SEO? If you aren’t, there’s a chance you’re making SEO mistakes.
You already know what SEO stands for and why it’s important. However, you should know that there are SEO practices (or lack thereof) you should be avoiding. Of course, the key to fixing these SEO problems is to learn about them first.
Below are some of the most common SEO mistakes you need to avoid. We’ve also included some SEO tips and tricks to get around them.
Overlooking Local SEO
Don’t forget the SEO for your locale. This is one of the top SEO mistakes many e-commerce owners make. In their quest for a bigger target audience, they forget about their local visitors.
Consider this: 50% of searches through a mobile device result in an in-store visit. Seeing how difficult it can sometimes be to get clients to your store, investing in local SEO is worth it. Think about how many clients in the locality you can get to convert right away.
Use Google My Business as your online Google business page. The advantage with it is that it has everything you need to put online information for your business. You get to post photos of your establishment and link your business profile with Google Maps.
Ignoring Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
What are other essential elements of SEO other than keywords? The answer is title tags and meta descriptions. You’re not optimizing as well for search engines if you’re not using them.
The same goes for image tags for your images as well, if you use images. Optimize these three elements so more search engines notice your content. Don’t forget to use keywords when you can for a bigger chance of ranking.
Having Poor or No Content Marketing Strategy
SEO is more than optimizing your website for search engines. It takes more than using title tags, meta descriptions, and the right keywords. Remember that SEO is also about getting people to your website.
How do you expect to do it if you don’t have good content on your site? Or worse yet, you have no content at all for visitors to see? For many sites that focus on marketing products or services, this is a common mistake.
Content plays a critical role in determining the success of your marketing campaign. Content for your SEO comes in many forms. Your product pages are only one of these many content types.
It can be in video format or infographics as well. You can also create a blog and write articles related to your products. If you want to, write a feature piece or an article on news related to your services.
Your customers want things that are useful to them. Thus, focus on the educational aspects of your content first. If you’re unsure about it, learn more about SEO and the right content marketing strategy for you.
Seizing Internal Links That Segue From the Content
If there’s something your internal links shouldn’t be doing, it’s leading visitor astray. Put down internal links on your pages for the sake of having them is not good practice. Instead, look for links that have a connection with your content.
If you can’t find a way to relate them with your content, use a different internal link. Chances are you’d have one or two more that would fit the written content more than the one you want to put in. Don’t put your top-performing pages down as internal links all the time.
Also, insert these links into your writing in the most natural way you can think of. Clients can tell when you force links in because it gives an unnatural feel. Search engines won’t like them as much either and may treat the page as counterfeit.
Going Mobile for the Sake of Going Mobile
57% of online traffic in the US takes place on mobile platforms. With the statistics that high, it’s only wise to go where your customers are. If you’re going mobile, however, don’t do it for the sake of having a mobile-friendly site.
You have to invest in your client’s mobile experience too. It’s not enough that it exists when it’s slow. In actuality, this may only spell bad news for your website.
Google and other search engines prioritize the ranking for mobile-friendly sites.
Optimize your site for mobile and make sure you give your visitors a smooth experience. Make sure it performs at a good speed for a higher SERP rating.
Disregarding Analytics Tools
Do you measure and track the progress of your SEO? If you don’t, then how do you know which of the many factors in your SEO strategy is working? How do you know which ones you should keep and which SEO element you should change?
Data analytics tools can tell you which systems and/or strategies are working. Without these tools, you could get stuck in a cycle of using new systems and then replacing them again. The process of replacing a whole system of any kind takes time and money.
Analytics tools can cut down those costs and time. You get to locate which areas are problematic for your strategy and altering areas that aren’t. This way, you don’t have to undergo trial-and-error system replacement.
SEO measurement and analytics tools are very accessible online. For example, Google has Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools to help you get an overview of your website’s performance for free.
As a tip, always remember to do regular reviews of your analytics, especially when you set up a new strategy.
Holding Unreasonable Expectations for SEO
Look at your site as a visitor would. Before you start nitpicking SEO results, fix the technical aspects like UI and design. Only then can you take another look at your SEO and your goals.
While SEO gives you a competitive edge against other sites, don’t expect it to change your site’s ranking right away. It’s not about how much money you spend on SEO to make it work faster or easier too. Remember that SEO takes time to show results.
Search engine experts say that SEO clients often get disappointed when they don’t get immediate results. Well, first, what kind of results do you expect to see? Are you basing good SEO performance on SERP ranking?
The truth is you don’t measure SEO success based on ranking only. You can also measure it with traffic, lower bounce rate, and longer time visit. Better yet, measure it with how much more inquiries or sales you get.
Avoid These SEO Mistakes!
That’s our list of the top 7 SEO mistakes you should be avoiding. If you’re already making these mistakes, then stop. Although we gave you tips, not all sites are the same so consider the best way to fix them for your website.
Why stop learning here? There are more tips and tricks to discover. If you want to know more regarding SEO and how it can affect your business, feel free to read our other guides today.