With Google algorithm updates occurring more frequently, it’s now more important than ever to stay on top of SEO. Avoiding SEO mistakes is a crucial part of this. Whether you are managing an SEO campaign for your business or are just starting out as an SEO professional, it’s critical that you’re aware of both common performance and technical SEO mistakes.
So today, I’ll be going over some of the most common SEO mistakes and how you can turn them into potential opportunities to improve your overall rankings.
1. Not Seeking Expert Help When You Aren’t Getting the SEO Results You Want
Second only to not learning SEO basics right from the get-go, the first mistake is not seeking expert help when you don’t see results from your SEO efforts. If you’ve been working on your website for 6 months and still don’t have any traffic or conversions, it may be time to seek help from someone who knows what they’re doing.
However, it’s not enough to hire an agency and assume that everything will be fine. A website struggling to break into the Australian market, for example, will do much better leveraging local experts better suited to deliver proper SEO for better rankings in Brisbane than someone from the other side of the world.
2. Not Evolving With Your Search Algorithms
Another mistake companies make with SEO is not adapting their strategies as Google updates its algorithms. Changes like Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird have made it even more important for businesses to monitor their rankings closely and keep up with changes as new ones arise.
The key here is knowing what each update entails so you can quickly address any negative effects before they become permanent.
3. Copying or Duplicating Content
Duplicating content is one of the most common SEO mistakes you can make. Copying content from another site is called plagiarism, and it can get your site penalized by Google and other search engines.
You might think that if you copy someone else’s article and change a few words here and there, it doesn’t count as plagiarism, but it does. The best way to avoid this mistake is by doing your keyword research and creating original content to complement perfectly
4. Not Keeping Track of Analytics and Data
One of the best ways to learn about what works in SEO is by tracking your analytics data over time (if you don’t have an analytics account set up for your website yet, check out Google Analytics).
See which pages get the most traffic and what keywords they rank for online. This tool will provide you with a much better insight into the importance of efficient SEO optimization and inform future decisions about where to focus your efforts to optimize your web page titles or meta descriptions for search engines.
5. Ignoring keywords in your site content
If your site isn’t optimized for the right keywords, search engines won’t know what they’re looking at when they crawl through your site. Unfortunately, this means that they won’t be able to rank it as highly as other sites with more relevant content. To avoid this mistake, make sure that all of the pages on your website include keyword phrases that are relevant to your topic.
You can also use tools like Google Search Console (formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools) to find out which phrases people are using when searching for information about your business or industry. This process will let you know which keyword phrases to include in your site content.
Give Your Website Greater Visibility With Better SEO
Each mistake mentioned above is common among new (and experienced) site owners, but that doesn’t mean you have to be one of them. Set some time aside to research SEO and make that effort part of your routine. It won’t fix everything, but it will be a valuable addition to your entire operation.
