The 11 Deadly Sins Of Search Engine Optimization (And How To Fix It)
Blog | LeMay Consulting
In 2022, search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective ways to increase organic traffic to your website. By successfully implementing SEO strategies, you improve the quantity and quality of your website content. This way, more users will find your content valuable and more likely to become customers. However, SEO doesn’t come easy. There are tons of learning curves to it, and when you think you’ve followed all the rules, chances are you’re still missing a crucial part of SEO. We’ve compiled 11 common SEO mistakes that are deadly to your strategy, so you can tackle them and improve your rankings.
1. Not Researching Your Target Audience
Before you get into creating SEO content, researching your target audience is an absolute must. Implementing SEO strategies without understanding who your target audience is will result in wasted time and effort. If you can’t describe who you’re marketing your services or products to, you won’t be able to market to them. Plus, if you’re wondering how to find your blog audience and create relevant content, this is the first step.
Researching your audience is a critical step in marketing. Not only will you get insight into your audience demographics, but you will also uncover the tendencies of your audience. This can inspire new ideas for SEO content, such as blog posts, that match their interests and needs. You will be able to find your blog audience by browsing your other competitors’ pages and forums, as well as navigating related social media pages.
2. Avoiding Backlinks
Building your backlinks is one of the most challenging parts of creating SEO blog content. Backlinks are links that direct you to another website. When other sites link to your own business site, it can increase your traffic and improve your search engine rankings. It may be tempting to avoid this because it’s time-consuming to find broken links to fill or reach out to other website owners to collaborate.
However, avoiding backlinks can cost you so much traffic in the long run. Backlinks are a long-term way to direct traffic to your site, so even though one or two might make a small dent, a built-up backlink profile can create some significant traffic.
3. Not Writing Enough Copy
It may be easier to get your point across in a 500-word or less blog than to write a lengthy post. Your blog post may be informative and engaging, but Google won’t see it this way. Likewise, small blog posts may be great if you’re encouraging discussion between your existing viewers, but If you’re writing multiple short posts to improve your SEO, chances are it’s not enough.
Generally, it is recommended that small business owners write blogs at least 1,000 words in length. This is to compete with more significant, higher-ranking company content. Plus, the more niche content you write, the better search engines know what your blog is about. Then, they can find your target viewers much easier, which results in more traffic to your site.
4. Not Producing Content Consistently
SEO is all about improving the quality and quantity of your digital content. Well-written, high-quality blogs, photos, and pages are essential but not enough alone. Search engines are also looking to promote active online websites. As a result, they are more likely to avoid dormant sites. However, a search engine will help you rank above your competitors if you offer users consistent, valuable content.
Plus, users are more likely to click on an article two months old rather than an article from 2018 because the information is up-to-date. Fresh, new content is far more favorable, so be sure you’re consistently creating valuable content for your viewers.
5. Not Implementing Keyword Optimization
If you’re wondering how to get your blog noticed, keywords are the answer. Keywords are one of the most essential tools in SEO because they tell search engines about the content of your web pages. When users search for a key term, search engines provide them with the best-ranking content.
Focusing on a few specific keywords for each page or blog on your site is the trick to surpassing your competitors in search engines. If you’re struggling with finding solid keywords, hiring a search engine optimization consultant may be the best option. They will help you find high-volume keywords with reduced competition.
6. Keyword Stuffing
Okay, so you’ve done your keyword research and made a content plan to use them. What then? If you answered “put as many keywords as possible in my content,” you made a big (but common) mistake! Using keywords that describe your niche is influential, but too many keywords shoved into a blog, site page, or meta descriptions can be labeled as spam. This can cause your page to be shown LESS to potential customers.
Instead, using keywords within the proper context will get you better results. First, make sure the content you’re writing makes sense to readers. If it does, it probably makes sense to search engines, too. Well-written, valuable content always triumphs over spammy content.
7. Forgetting To Use Video Or Graphic Content
Word content is significant in any small business’s SEO strategy. However, users don’t want to read a novel when they jump to your site. It’s essential to break up word content with other engaging forms of content. If you don’t have enough visual content, bored viewers will exit, and your average user session time will drop.
Infographics, videos, photos, and even audio content such as podcasts are valuable tools to improve your rankings. For example, according to HubSpot, blogs with an image every 75-100 words receive double the social media shares compared to blogs with fewer images. So as you improve your site, social media pages, or blog posts, be sure to sprinkle in some additional content to engage your users.
8. Not Writing Relevant Content
Writing several long-form blog posts is time-consuming, so you may make some less noticeable mistakes. An easy SEO mistake is writing content that isn’t relevant to your page or blog title. You might find yourself going off-topic to squeeze more words in, but this won’t help your rankings improve.
As you develop your website pages, double-check that each sentence is valuable to the reader and answers any questions they may have when looking at your pages. For example, avoid diving into your services if you’re writing your “About” page. Likewise, when writing your “Services” page, focus solely on what your clients are searching for.
9. Not Updating Existing Content
If you don’t spend time updating your content every now and then, users will take notice and think it’s been abandoned. But on the other hand, updating your website, blog posts, and social media every 3-6 months will keep your business looking lively.
There are several things you can update as time goes on. First, always ensure that your website footer displays the current year. You can even update old blogs with fresh, relevant keywords and change the date. You can also link your blogs to other content across your website and social media, which will drive more traffic.
10. Not Tracking Analytics
You can learn all there is about implementing SEO strategies, but if you don’t track your analytics, then you won’t be able to find weaknesses in your content. Therefore, we recommend you deep dive into your analytics once a month.
A search engine optimization consultant is informed on the latest SEO strategies to boost websites. They can identify which pages result in the most traffic and which need some TLC. They can also determine if your rankings are improving or worsening for your keywords, and provide you with new ones accordingly.
11. Expecting Immediate Results
Above all, patience is key to seeing results from your SEO efforts! Effective search engine optimization is a long-term process, so if you don’t see results in a few days or weeks, don’t panic. Avoiding these 11 deadly sins of search engine optimization and instead using our tips to improve your search engine rankings will exponentially drive results in time.
Our team at LeMay Consulting is here to help your small business succeed. If you want to improve your rankings with a knowledgeable search engine optimization consultant, please email us at rob.k.lemay@gmail.com for a FREE 15-minute consultation.