SEO, when done right, can lead to higher rankings on search engines, more website traffic, and conversions. All of which are advantageous to your business.
But couple it with missteps, mistakes, and oversights, and you can potentially hurt your online reputation and visibility.
What is SEO?
In a nutshell, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s the process of getting “free,” “organic,” and “passive” traffic from search engines.
It is basically the practice of enhancing both the quality and quantity of traffic that goes through your site through organic search results.
Through SEO, you can enhance your ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) with the possibility of reaching the top spot of the search results.
But there are also several things that you need to keep in mind while doing the SEO for your site. It’s because you might commit a couple of SEO or missteps along the way.
Here are some deadly SEO mistakes that you need to avoid:
1. Focuses on text-only content
You’ve probably heard about how video is taking the online world by storm.
It’s true. Most people prefer watching videos than consuming other types of content formats out there. That’s probably the biggest reason why Youtube is so popular these days.
You might also notice how videos show up in SERPs, too. Google knows how users love watching these videos and are displaying them on search engine results as well.
Apart from that, videos are also known to be more engaging than other types of content out there. Google has been adding podcasts, as well. Both these content types are starting to gain traction, and are less competitive than text-based content.
That’s why you should definitely add this to your SEO strategy apart from blog posts.
2. Neglecting user experience
One of the best ways to improve your SEO performance is to optimize the user experience of your site.
The thing is, a lot of users will stop engaging with your site if the layout and content are unappealing.
So, how do you optimize your site’s UX? Here are some ways to help you do that:
- Optimize your site speed.
- Make your site more mobile-friendly.
- Don’t use pop-ups aggressively.
- Avoid using disruptive ad placements.
Finally, one UX that matters for SEO more than anything else is to optimize your user’s intent. Meaning, your page or website should be able to fulfill the intent of the keyword that’s being searched by the user. You can work with a reputable seo services Indiato maximize your results.
3. Lack of keyword research
Related to the previous point we’ve made above, one of the biggest SEO mistakes that you can commit is the lack of keyword research.
Don’t jump in and try so hard to conquer every single keyword known to your niche. You’ll simply be going to a losing battle.
In fact, this can be a counterproductive move since you won’t have a website authority high enough to target keywords that have a high, or mid-level keyword competition.
If your site is relatively new, you might have to focus more on low-competition keywords to make your goals much more achievable. So, learn to manage your expectations. After you’ve built your site authority, you can now target high volume and high competition keywords.
4. Investing in black hat SEO
Another deadly mistake most site owners make with their SEO strategy is to either deliberately or unintentionally use black hat techniques in the hopes of getting quick results.
They would find themselves ranking on Google for a short period of time, which, on average, would usually take weeks, months (or even years!) to achieve.
As tempting as it is, avoid this at all costs. Know the difference between a white hat with black hat SEO, and try to stick to the former.
Offer users value, and get people to naturally share your content. Also, try to build links as organically as possible, and focus on creating a high-quality site, overall.
Don’t subject your site to sudden de-ranking and penalties because it’s spamming backlinks across the internet, manipulating your pages with secret keyword lists, or purchasing links from link farm sites.
5. Poor search intent
Google is now focusing on the user’s search intent more than anything else. So, if you deliver content that doesn’t precisely meet user’s expectations, then don’t expect that you’ll be getting a healthy ROI.
To deliver the type of content that most searchers want, your SEO strategy should have the following:
- Performing thorough research of your audience.
- Using more specific keywords to make your content rank better.
- Provide specific solutions that address your customer’s pain points.
6. Not updating your website
Sites that are updated frequently are more favored by search engines. It’s because search engines want to provide their users with current and updated information as much as possible.
So you should regularly update your blog posts and other content. With every content, use it as an opportunity to utilize one or two specific keywords that will go on to become one of the search vehicles of your site.
When you create an SEO-friendly site, and regularly updating your content, you can boost your site traffic and improve your rankings on search engines.
7. Neglecting mobile users
It might be alright if you don’t optimize your site for desktop users, but it will be fatal if you don’t optimize it for mobile.
A majority of website visitors that you’ll get will be using mobile devices. Also, Google Search Console has mentioned that it has already switched to mobile-first indexing.
By tapping into mobile traffic, you’ll be significantly increasing your site’s visibility. Mobile-friendliness is also one of the most important ranking factors of Google.
So, if you want to grow your business and succeed in SEO, you should make mobile users a priority.
Over to You
So there you have it. Now that you are already aware of these deadly SEO mistakes, constantly put in the effort to avoid them as much as possible.
Also, try modern SEO techniques to make you rise above your competitors.
