In any industry, the objective is to get more eyes on your products or services. In a world that has a growing love of technology, entrepreneurs can attract potential customers through a quality website that is strong in SEO, so it shows up high in search engine rankings. But just as important as knowing what to do, it’s also essential to understand what SEO mistakes to avoid.
Here are the top 7 SEO errors to avoid:
1. Focusing only on On-Page SEO
On-site or on-page SEO refers to optimizing the written content on your website, from the posts to the pages. And while it’s important, it’s not the only factor in determining how well your site ranks on leading search engines.
In addition to taking time to improve your internal content, you should also put forth the effort to publish content on other sites. Guest posts can drive organic traffic, in addition to increasing Domain Authority.
2. No Meta Descriptions for Pages
While many webmasters know to write meta descriptions for posts, not all do so for every page. This absence can mean more than you realize as the short descriptions can increase click-through-rates on Google.
And the more clicks, the higher rank you’ll get for the page (and post). So, the effort to add meta descriptions for pages is well spent.
3. Improper Link Structure
While you’re likely creating internal links, such as backlinks from one of your posts to a related post, you might be missing looking at strengthening the overall link structure. Internal links, when used effectively, can spread authority to pages that might otherwise be hidden.
Improving your website architecture can improve the page authority of the content that you want to communicate to Google as most important. You can also link to pages that are more likely to convert readers to buyers, which helps increase your sales.
4. Not doing Extensive Keyword Research
If you’re writing without doing a lot (or any) keyword research, then you’re likely to try to rank for words that are highly competitive and won’t get you on Google’s page one. While a good SEO strategy focuses on keywords that get a high volume of keywords each month, it’s important to focus on the ones that are relevant to your readers and that you have a good chance of ranking for.
Remember to regularly use Google Analytics and professional SEO services to help determine what phrases people use to arrive at your site. This info is a great starting point for your goal to find topics to write about. Furthermore, use a mix of head and long-tail keywords for each topic area so that you appeal to both those who have a specific search intent and others who are looking for more general info.
5. Not Performing an SEO Audit
The reality is that everyone makes mistakes. But it takes a wise person to know that you can learn a lot about your website by analyzing those mistakes. A great way to find errors is through an SEO audit.
It’s not a one-time activity either. Plan to do so once or twice a year. Each time the process will get easier as you’re more familiar with the steps. Make sure you use Google Search Console to get a deep dive into link building opportunities (on and off-site), find any duplicates, and more.
6. Forgetting to Check Website Speed
Also, check that your page speed is fast as Google rewards those sites with high speeds with more organic traffic.
On a related note, mobile site speed can slow down considerably if you embed video content, so keep that in mind before doing so. It’s good practice to also include a written transcript with video for those who utilize closed captioning and to help Google determine placement in search rankings.
7. Duplicate Content
This last one is bad form in any context but especially terrible for SEO. It’s dishonest to plagiarize someone else’s website content onto your own platform.
While you might change a word here or there, “spinning” content is essentially ripping off another person’s idea. Search engines will penalize your site if they figure out that you’ve published a copy and that can tank your Domain Authority, which means a blow for SEO.
Now you know what to avoid and hopefully, based on that information, it’s also clear how to improve your site when it comes to Search Engine Optimization. As with most things, learning is key, and, with time, your website can become one that ranks highly for many keywords.
No comments yet.