Do you know that SEO mistakes can cost your business in big-time?
There isn’t a need to go into panic mode; awareness is the key to avoid making a mistake. Getting the audience to your site and enjoying conversions will not be sufficient.
You will have to keep up with the changing search engine algorithms.
First, you need to get your website up to the mark before employing off-page SEO strategies.
You can also learn more about Digital Marketing through our online or classroom training programs.
Here is a complete list of 20 common SEO mistakes to avoid
- Choose the right Keywords
- Overstuffing keywords
- Not using long-tail keywords
- Duplicate content
- Being original
- Very thin or less content
- Good Content creation
- Meta descriptions and title tags are important
- Failure to provide internal and external links
- Careful usage of internal links
- Include social media sharing buttons
- Including robots.txt
- Optimize for mobile devices
- Forgetting to replace/delete old URLs
- Naming the Image appropriately
- Avoid skimping on your website development
- Improve the site speed
- Incorporate sitemaps
- Optimize for local searches
- Connect to Google Search Console and Google Analytics
Choose The Right Keywords
The strength of optimization lies in picking the right keywords for your content.
The SEO strategist will keep in mind things like relevance, search volume, competition, competitors’ keywords, and so on while choosing keywords.
You will have to keep in mind to whom it will matter the most
- Search engines
- Users
When you fail to connect with the meaning of keywords used in the queries, there is no point in optimizing the keywords.
Pick on the right keywords relevant to your business, and various tools will help you understand the right set of keywords.
Here an easy-to-understand and follow Keyword Research Process that will help you chose the right keywords for your business.
Overstuffing Keywords
The common mistake committed while trying to boost your rankings is stuffing the content unnecessarily with keywords.
The overuse of keywords would be the worst practice in search engine optimization. The search engines are smart enough to spot that and register you as spammy.
Keywords don’t serve their purpose and never reach the intended audience when you use this tactic. The search engines are equipped with algorithms to know about content related to the topic. Abnormal usage of keywords can do no good.
Not Using Long-Tail Keywords
Many SEO specialists make the mistake of concentrating on generic or short-tail keywords. But all users do not search in the same way.
When you include long-tail keywords in the content, you can reach more users and increase visitors’ number to your site.
Set up the correct blend of both short-tail and long-tail keywords in your content and rank higher.
Duplicate Content
When the same content appears on more than one page on the website or another domain, it is called duplicate content.
It confuses the search engines and will lead to the content not showing up in search results. Use tools to find duplicate content and change them to remove replication and boost up your ranking.
One of the most commonly duplicated content is versions of the home page.
Being Original
When you copy content from another place or site, it won’t do justice to your business as search engines have strict rules.
It’s a spammy practice, best avoided. It is one of the most common SEO mistakes that content marketers make.
When you put original meaningful texts out for the users, you have better chances of getting traffic to your site than a plagiarised content-based one.
If you don’t want to slide down the rankings, pull up your socks, and put up some fresh content.
Thin Content
Google does not give preference to sites with significantly less or thin content.
Try to answer all your ideal customer’s queries through your content.
Address your business’s problem and give all critical and relevant information to help your customers find answers to their queries.
Good Content Creation
Website owners usually try to save on money by employing average content writers to create content for them. SEO trends have been changing with time.
Now, excellent and relevant content that helps the visitors has become an important factor in ranking a website.
If your content is not right, visitors will exit your site. Your bounce rate will increase, which will signify to search engines that your site is not relevant for them, which will push down rankings.
Meta Descriptions and Title Tags are Important
Every little SEO detailing will matter in terms of your ranking and traffic generation. Search engine crawlers take notice of these elements. Search bots read into meta tags.
Write your meta tags carefully, keeping in mind the character limit, and incorporate essential keywords into them to help both users and search engines.
Failure to provide internal and external links
Links are an essential component of any SEO process. Choose carefully placed internal links to increase the time your visitor spends on the site. Help with navigation with internal links.
Also, incorporate external links to relevant pages to increase your site’s relevance and help users find solutions to their queries.
Careful usage of Internal links
Many of the SEO professionals fail to see that they overuse it when using the links of top-performing pages.
To gain traction and visibility, you shouldn’t be placing internal links on every piece of text. It makes the entire process unnatural.
Ensure that the links mix contextually to the topic presented on that page.
Including robots.txt
A robots.txt tells the search engines which pages to crawl and which not to on your website.
There are tools available to check if this file is on the website, and if it’s not, you need to submit one.
Include Social Media Sharing Buttons
Your compelling presence on social media gives Google social signals about the popularity and relevance of a site.
Don’t forget to include social sharing buttons on your website to help visitors share your content and drive traffic from social media.
Optimize for Mobile Devices
It is a fact that many of the searches done today are through mobiles. If you haven’t optimized the site to accommodate the device’s compatibility, you will lose the audience.
The site will not enjoy the traction that other mobile-friendly websites do. You will have to update your website according to the new versions of the handheld devices.
If there is a variation in the loading time and experience, people wouldn’t want to interact with the site again.
Forgetting to Replace/Delete old URLs
When you are revamping your website, you may sometimes forget to redirect the traffic to the new URLs without making sure that the old URLs no longer exist. It can cause problems.
The web crawler cannot do its job, and you will lose traffic because of this mistake.
The redesigning team has to carefully make sure that the existing URLs are taken care of before changing one.
It may be a common SEO mistake done unknowingly, but it can hurt the business.
Naming the Image Appropriately
If you have images or videos on the site, name them right; the alt tag will inform the viewers about what they are about to see.
It will be easier to search as it can be indexed well. Instead of using random numbers or different symbols or codes, naming the image right can help direct more traffic to the site.
If you neglect this part, it can affect the ranking of your website.
Avoid Skimping on Your Website Development
A cheap website may save you some money, but the loss you will see in the coming days is unimaginable.
Getting a well-made website with good architecture will be a good investment for your business. You will reap good returns if you put in the effort to get it done from the business’s best.
It should be responsive to work on all devices and should be SEO optimized.
Improving Site Speed
One important thing to work on is improving the website loading time. A slow website will give users a bad experience, and they can move to another site.
Use tools to check the website loading time and keep it as quick as possible; anything under 3 seconds is recommended.
Incorporate Sitemaps
Sitemaps allow website owners to inform search engines about all the URLs present on a website and available for crawling.
It helps search engine crawlers to crawl the site more efficiently and ensure that all your pages are correctly indexed.
Optimize for Local Searches
Many businesses that have brick and motor establishments would do well optimizing for local searches.
Include keywords like “bakery near me” or “bakery in Pune” to rank better on local search and drive traffic to your website and physical establishment.
Connect to Google Search Console and Google Analytics
If you want insights about how your site is performing and any issues with your site, you need to connect with these crucial platforms.
Make data-driven decisions related to your website and take timely action. It can go a long way in helping your site rank on search engines.
Conclusion
SEO isn’t a one-time task; you can’t set it and forget it. When developed, a website will be SEO enabled but is not the end of the job.
As long as the website exists, SEO strategies have to be worked on, maintained, and upgraded to keep the website in the ranking to drive consistent traffic.
Every SEO mistake counts, and if you want to stay ahead of your competition, you need to find and fix them. It’s essential to do this, as it will help change the course of your site.
Targeting both the rankings and traffic by acknowledging the mistakes and updating SEO strategies will cause better results.
We have discussed the 20 common mistakes of SEO that you need to fix before starting. Once these are optimized, you can create quality backlinks and start improving your ranking on SERPs.
Suppose you are still facing a problem and cannot implement these tips effectively. Why don’t you come done to our Bangalore centre and enquire about our Digital Marketing Courses?