In order to get your blog noticed, it is important that you try to learn as much as possible about search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO. By optimizing your blog and website, it is more likely to be found by all of the people searching online.
Unfortunately, many business owners are trying to fill the marketing role and do not have a strong understanding of search engine optimization. This leads to many mistakes which can be very harmful when it comes to getting your website (and your business) noticed!
What are common SEO mistakes?
1 – Choosing The Wrong Keywords
One of the worst mistakes that you can do is choosing the wrong keywords. You probably gave it a lot of thought when you were trying to decide which keywords you needed to use. However, did you think about all of the different ways that your customers might be searching for information? You might even try to use shorter keywords, though long-tail keywords can also help to get your blog noticed.
In order to figure out what keywords you should be using, make sure that you take advantage of some of the tools that are available to you. Google AdWords Keyword Planner is just one tool that can help you see what words your customers are using when they search online.
2 – Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing is frowned upon and can be a big mistake when it comes to SEO. Keyword stuffing is used to describe someone who fills their blogs and website with too many keywords, making it very hard to read. Though you might think that this would help your blogs get found, it actually has the opposite effect.
Not only will keyword stuffing rank your website or blog lower, but your readers won’t stick around either. This will also tell the search engines that your website or blog doesn’t have enough good information on it.
3 – Duplicate Content
A big no-no in the content world is publishing content that is not original. Though this was commonly done a few years ago, it is not effective anymore. In fact, content that is plagiarized will be punished and find itself at the bottom of any search results.
Even if you duplicate the work of someone else by writing their ideas in your own words is frowned upon. For this reason, you need to work hard to come up with original content on a regular basis.
4 – Fill Out Title Tags & Meta Descriptions
While this seems pretty straightforward, many business owners forget to fill out the title tags and meta descriptions, which are essential for search engines. By filling these out correctly and thoroughly, you are helping your website and blog to be noticed. This extra step can really make a difference when it comes to search engines.
5 – Image Tags
You also can’t forget about image tags. These are also essential when it comes to SEO since search engines can’t differentiate images. All they can do is read the tags that you put on them. If you are not labeling your images, the search engines will skip right over them (and quite possibly, your website).
6 – Ignoring Links
Not thinking about links. Links are very important when it comes to SEO and many business owners make mistakes when it comes down to it.
Many don’t include any links because they don’t want to send their readers to other websites. However, external links show the search engines that you actually care about your readers and want them to get the information that they need. They prefer to send people to websites with external links.
You should also link to your own blogs. Many business owners don’t do this for a variety of reasons, though you should send your readers to other pages on your website. This shows them that your website is filled with helpful information. However, you shouldn’t include internal links just to have them. Make sure that you are sending them to some of your best blogs.
Anchor links where you tell your readers to click here should be avoided. You should just put your links in naturally.
To link or not to link... Links are where many business owners make mistakes.
While links are important for SEO, you can easily overdo it. Make sure that you include a few to help you get your point across. Don’t have so many links that your readers won’t want to click on any of them!
Some end up putting in too many links, while others don’t use any. Some people only think about internal links while others only use external ones. However, using a few of each type is the best way to go. You should also avoid anchor links that tell your readers to click here.
7 – Must be Mobile-Friendly!
Another big mistake is not having a mobile-friendly website (and blog). More and more people are accessing the internet on the go so it is essential for your website to be mobile-friendly. You don’t want your readers to try to read your blogs, only for it to take too long so they move on to the next (and faster) website.
When your readers click off of your website really fast, the search engines take notice and are less likely to send more people to your site because they feel like your site must not be filled with valuable information. Also, they are getting smarter and are less likely to send people to websites that are not mobile-friendly.
8 – Monitor Results
Not watching your results to make sure that it is working. Though most people know that you need to watch your results to make sure that you are spending your marketing time and money wisely, it is also essential for SEO. Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools can be helpful to see how well your website and blog is optimized. By seeing how well (or not) your website is doing, you may be able to make small changes until you notice a big difference.
Work Your Way Through SEO optimization Slowly For the Best Results
Many business owners make mistakes when it comes to SEO. They want to get traffic so they end up using too many keywords and their writing sounds unnatural. It becomes hard to read and many will click away. You also need to make sure that your blogs are original. Though this may take you some extra time, it will be worth it.
Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the solid SEO foundation for your website.
Contact us for all of your marketing needs.
Cassandra is the Content & Social Media Strategist at ThinkFlame. There is no challenge too big or too small. She enjoys creating, integrating and managing online communities and working with clients to building up their social footprint.