Some common SEO mistakes are so easy to make, you may be doing them without realizing it. Here are 10 things you must avoid and tips on what to do instead.
Are you ready for your SEO campaign to truly deliver the results you need?
If you’ve developed a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy, you’ve made use of one of the most critical digital marketing tools of the century.
SEO can be your answer to gaining more organic traffic to your website. It can also build an effective online reputation, influence conversion rates, and help you engage with local customers.
However, it is possible to make SEO mistakes. In this post, we’ll cover the top ten mistakes you may not even realize you’re making and what you can do to change the game.
1. Ignoring Social Media
A lot of business owners assume that SEO is all about their company website. This is definitely true. SEO means optimizing your digital content for greater viewability via multiple search engines.
However, social media can also play a critical role in any generic SEO campaign. In fact, social media can leverage SEO efforts and ensure that your newly acquired organic traffic doesn’t simply become a high bounce rate.
Powerful business profiles on social media giants like Facebook and Twitter can expand your digital reach. This is especially the case if you are active on these profiles, engaging with customers, and posting daily.
Source: https://www.govtech.com/gov-experience/State-of-Social-Media-Infographic.html
This can signal more credibility in Google’s eyes and impact your search ranking. What’s more, you can optimize anything you post on social media for searchable keywords. This includes video and images.
Avoid this SEO mistake by building business profiles on social media and optimizing all posts for trending keywords.
2. Neglecting Data
When it comes to SEO mistakes, this is a perilous contender.
SEO isn’t a strategy you can implement one day and forget about the next. Yes, it can work its magic when you lean back and watch– but it requires constant attention.
This is because SEO itself is always in flux. Google’s algorithms are always shifting and your keywords themselves are likely to gain and lose traction with consumers’ preferences.
Managing your data does more than keep tabs on SEO performance. It can also provide insight into how strong your keywords are, how you’re acquiring organic traffic, and what you can do to keep customers on your site.
Avoid this mistake by paying attention to data analytics tools, like Google Analytics. Generate regular SEO reports, analyze the data, and adapt accordingly.
3. Not Constantly Honing Keywords
SEO mistakes have a lot to do with keyword selection. As we discussed in the previous point, popular keywords won’t always be popular.
You’ll likely be able to hold on to some generic keywords, particularly ones that describe your industry, such as “car mechanic” or “fair trade coffee.”
But other keywords must adapt to the needs of your customers, which are always changing. If you don’t constantly hone keywords, you may witness your SEO campaign drooping.
Counteract this mistake by monitoring your keywords at all times. Perform regular keyword audits and use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to constantly generate trending search phrases.
4. Delivering Poor Content
Besides keywords, typical SEO mistakes also involve the optimized content itself. Google actually writes about the content that’s ideal for a Google-friendly site.
This content is always valuable to any visitor. This is because it is well-written as well as rich. What is rich content? It’s useful, informative, engaging, and/or professional.
If you’re launching an SEO campaign through social media, make sure your content checks these boxes. Uninspiring or generic content can hurt your Google ranking in no time.
The same goes for your website. Make sure its copy gleams by Google’s standards so your SEO efforts can also shine.
5. Overlooking Online Reviews
Online reviews are a fantastic tool for businesses looking for ways to establish a reputation. However, they can also negatively impact your SEO efforts. Sadly, this is among the more overlooked SEO tactics. Don’t make this same mistake; reviews are valuable.
In order to gather online reviews, you have to have local citations. This includes citations as appropriate on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google My Business.
Without these citations, Google may assume that you aren’t a local business or an industry authority. Furthermore, these citations enable you to actually get reviews from your customers themselves.
Build local citations and encourage online reviews in order to establish Google authority.
6. Bypassing Local Customers
You can use SEO to attract local customers. Optimizing your online content for location-based searches such as “art gallery in Bozeman” can bring more local clients through your doors.
Local SEO can also leverage your other citations and put you on the map. Integrate a local SEO strategy into your holistic SEO campaign today.
7. Putting Off That Blog
A powerful SEO campaign depends on content. The more digital content you have, the more opportunities you have for optimization.
A blog on your website can be a critical channel for engaging with customers. You can offer valuable information about relevant topics.
Even better, you can also optimize every post you create, share posts on social media, and gain greater digital visibility overall. Incorporate a blog on your website and aim to produce at least one post a week.
Hubspot describes how often you should blog in the below infographic.
8. Forgetting About User Experience
Common SEO mistakes focus too much on keywords and forget about the actual user. Campaigns will push for digital visibility to gain more traffic, overlooking what to do with that traffic when it arrives on site.
A website with excellent user experience is more likely to retain customers gathered through SEO. Don’t forget about the user when designing your website and implementing your SEO campaigns.
Optimize your website for mobile access, boost page loading speeds, and ensure that content is easy to read.
9. Over-Optimizing
It may be tempting to cram your content full of trending keywords. But Google’s web crawlers will catch on to this. Over-optimized content can immediately lead to a lower ranking.
In general, aim to use a keyword around 3-5 times per 500 words of content. Learn more about Google’s SEO recommendations here.
10. Not Relying on the Experts
All in all, many SEO mistakes come about due to inexperience in the field. You can achieve greater impact with your SEO campaign by relying on professionals.
SEO experts can help you identify the keywords that will maximize your digital visibility. They can also effectively manage any campaign, adapting it to meet consumer needs.
What’s more, they can even assist with content development, data analytics, and social media. Get on board with a team of experts today!
Final Thoughts on SEO Mistakes
SEO isn’t easy, but with careful thought and attention, it is possible to see your efforts pay off. Take advantage of social media and business review platforms. Don’t over-optimize your valuable content or forget about user experience.
Stay on top of your data in order to hone keywords and maintain a high Google ranking.
At Bear Fox Marketing, we can help you avoid any and all SEO mistakes. We’re excited to transform your SEO marketing into tangible results.
Give us a shout today to learn more!