Top 6 Common SEO Mistakes
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is an ongoing process. It takes time to see gains in your organic search ranking, but your results could also be slowed down due to a few common SEO mistakes. By partnering with the right marketing agency to develop your SEO strategy, you can avoid these common pitfalls and ensure that your website is working to get your business among the top search results.
Top SEO Mistakes
1. Not Mobile Friendly Site
Mobile devices account for more than half of all web traffic worldwide. So, if your website doesn’t display fully on mobile, you could be turning away loads of potential customers without even knowing it. Google and other search engines recognize the importance of mobile compatibility, so pages that are mobile-friendly get a boost in search rankings. Utilizing responsive design for your website ensures that users on any device get your full site experience and that you won’t get penalized in search results.
2. No Meta-Descriptions and Title Tags
Every page of your website should have a unique title tag. However, many businesses make the mistake of using their company name as the title on every page. While your business name may be part of the title, you should also include a unique component in every page title that lets readers know exactly what they can expect on the page. Similarly, meta-descriptions should be created for each page on your site. These descriptions will be viewable in search results, so they should entice users to click by offering a succinct page description that incorporates your target keywords for the page.
3. Wrong Keywords
SEO is all about keywords. Keywords help users find content that’s relevant to their search queries. To identify which queries are leading users to your site, you’ll need to do a little research. In addition to identifying broad keywords that may have lots of competition, you should dig deeper for long-tail keywords that speak specifically to your audience. For example, instead of simply targeting “landscape services” you might target “low-water landscape design services.” This level of specificity can help you stand out and better match your site to users who are interested in the exact services you offer.
4. No Internal or External Links
Internal linking is part of an effective SEO strategy. Strong internal linking will use relevant anchor text to guide users to other pages on your site where they can learn more about a particular subject. For example, a page focused on kitchen remodeling may link to another page on your site about flooring. Using the phrase “flooring options” as anchor text will give users a clear idea of what they’ll see when they click on the link. This will also encourage a higher click-through rate for your site, which in turn boosts your SEO.
External links for further reading can also be useful, especially when you link to sites with a high authority score. However, you should always set these links to open in a new tab so that they don’t draw users away from your site.
5. Ignoring Load Speed
Businesses will often load their websites with bells and whistles like images, plugins, and videos. While these features can be useful, they can also slow down your site. Alternatively, you may have slow load times because your site isn’t hosted on a reputable server. In either situation, slow load speed could be preventing users from accessing your website, causing them to turn to your competitors. Even worse, users may never even land on your site, because long load times have buried your site in the search results. To avoid this issue, be sure that your digital marketing agency has plenty of experience with web design and offers its own web hosting. This way, you can feel confident knowing that your website will quickly load every time someone visits it.
6. No Target Audience
Do you know who the target audience is for your business? If not, you may need to spend time developing customer personas to round out your SEO strategy. Every page on your website should speak to a specific audience, such as business owners, stay-at-home moms, or young adults. From the tone of your written content to the colors and images you select for your website, everything should be selected with your target audience in mind. By optimizing for your target audience, you’ll see more engagement with your site that positions your brand higher in search results.
We Bring Optimization To The Next Level
Now that you know the most common SEO mistakes, you can develop a well-rounded strategy to avoid them. Whether you’re starting from scratch with a new website build or optimizing your existing pages, The BLÜ Group – Advertising & Marketing agency can help you with your Search Engine Optimization.
Source: Group6 Interactive
