In SEO attention to detail is key. 11 SEO mistakes businesses make. SEO is a jungle of rules and if you’re new to it all it can be overwhelming.
To succeed in the ever changing world of SEO you need to know the rules. Your SEO strategy is the map that tells Google where to show your content to people searching for terms in your niche.
Without a strategy you’ll miss out on opportunities to connect with potential customers and grow your online presence. In the world of search engine rankings not knowing how to play the game is like striking out before you even get to the plate. So you need to invest time and resource in building a solid Enterprise SEO strategy that aligns with Google’s guidelines and user expectations. This is not just about playing the game, it’s about hitting home runs.
Even if you’re an SEO expert there’s never a quiet moment in the world of SEO. While that’s exciting it also means you need to stay on top of the latest changes and industry best practices.
Managing this balancing act is no easy task especially if you’re the head of a marketing team or building a new business. That’s why you need to get it right from the start and avoid these common SEO mistakes.
1. Keyword and Content Gaps
One of the biggest SEO mistakes is gaps in your keyword and content strategy. These gaps are specific keywords your competitors are targeting but you’re not, so you’re at a disadvantage in search rankings. The problem gets worse over time as your competitors build authority around those keywords.
If your competitors are ranking well for high value keywords and running paid ads too, you’re essentially climbing a mountain to get visibility and ranking. So how do you identify and fill the gaps when you don’t even know what you’re missing?
The Fix
The best way to find these gaps is to use tools like SEMrush or SpyFu. These tools will give you insights into your competitors strategy so you can switch from a defensive to an offensive approach.
Also you can use tools like Moz’s Open Site Explorer or Ahrefs to find pages on your competitor’s site that get a high number of backlinks. While you shouldn’t copy your competitors directly you can use their strategy as a blueprint and inspiration for your content. They’re probably doing the same with your strategy. For more information on how to use SEMrush and Open Site Explorer to keep an eye on your competition there are resources available that show you how.
2. Traffic Focus
While driving more traffic to your site is a part of Adelaide SEO it’s a common mistake to make it the only focus especially among business and marketing professionals. SEO is not just about ranking well for valuable keywords it’s also about user experience, conversions and overall business growth. Having a million visitors is meaningless if only a handful find value in your content and convert into customers.
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is just as important as it’s directly related to business growth. Content marketing is another important piece of the puzzle, providing users with information about your industry. Social media Marketing is also important as it’s often the online face of your business.
In short while traffic metrics are important they shouldn’t be the only measure of a successful SEO campaign. The “O” in SEO stands for “optimisation” and that’s your ultimate goal: to maximise the potential of every page on your site for conversions and business growth.
The Fix
To truly optimise your site for search engines and conversions you need to take a multi faceted approach. This means stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things you haven’t tried before. Start with an SEO audit to make sure you’re using unique keywords for the pages you want to rank and check for any dead links that have accumulated over time. By taking a more holistic approach you’ll find out what works for your business and refine your strategy accordingly.
Next you need to add calls to action (CTAs) on every page of your site including the homepage and “About Us” page. CTAs are prompts that encourage user engagement and conversions. Once you’ve added those consider launching a content marketing campaign. Create new pages that target specific keywords which will drive more traffic and conversions.
Social media is another essential tool. Create profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn. These platforms allow you to engage with your audience through meaningful conversations and fresh content and encourage more conversions. Also register your business on Google My Business and Google+ Business. This will get you listed on Google Maps and local search results so local customers can find you.
This may seem like a long list of tasks but you can start most of these in a short period of time. Fine tuning the details will take some time but it’s worth it to avoid this common SEO mistake. By taking a holistic approach that goes beyond traffic numbers you’re setting yourself up for more meaningful engagement and sustainable business growth.
3. Inconsistent URL Structure
URLs are more than just web addresses they’re an SEO tool. Whether you’re linking to an external site or a page on your own domain search engines use these links to understand your site. However inconsistent URL structure can send the wrong signals to search engines. For example if search engines see two different formats for the same page (like http://www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com) they may see them as two separate pages with duplicate content. This confuses search engines and dilutes the link equity so neither URL will rank well in search engine results.
In short inconsistent URLs can confuse search engines and prevent you from ranking for your target keywords.
The Fix
There are many ways to format URLs but consistency is key. Once you’ve chosen a format stick to it across your site. Whether it’s http://www.yoursite.com, www.yoursite.com or yoursite.com it’s all the same. There’s no advantage to one over the other, it’s all about consistency.
If you have a mix of URL formats on your site it’s recommended to standardise them. http://www.yoursite.com is considered best practice. After you make these changes it may take some time for the major search engines to recognise and index the new URLs but you’ll see results soon.
To maintain consistency communicate the chosen URL format to everyone involved in your site’s development and content creation. Whether you have a small team or a large workforce everyone should know the preferred URL format for internal and external linking.
One way to enforce this is by creating a style guide that outlines your company’s formatting rules including URLs, headings, blogs and more. For inspiration you can refer to established style guides like the AP Stylebook or our style guide which is widely used and respected.
By having consistent URL structure you’re making it easier for search engines to understand your site and setting yourself up for better Brisbane SEO.
4. Thin Content
Thin content is content that is short, uninformative or too simple and results in a poor user experience. As content marketers across various industries are focusing more and more on the quality and length of their posts the bar for what is considered “thin” content is getting higher. Google’s goal is to give users a good experience and if your content doesn’t meet that your site will suffer.
Think of Google as a well meaning friend who recommends you for a job. If you do well they look good. If you don’t they won’t recommend you again and you lose their trust – in this case the user. Google wants to recommend websites that have valuable content. If your content is thin you’re telling Google you’re not putting in the effort and it’s hard to compete with established online businesses that Google already trusts.
The Fix
Creating high quality informative content is easier said than done especially if writing isn’t your thing. But there are some SEO best practices you can follow to improve your content. Start by researching keywords relevant to your industry and focus on high value targets. Use your expertise and years of experience to go in-depth on those topics.
Next create a consistent publishing schedule whether it’s through a blog or individual site pages to start ranking for those keywords. Promote your content on social media and use relevant hashtags to increase visibility.
Don’t stop after one round of content; keep the momentum going. Add multimedia like photos and videos where appropriate and always include a call to action at the end of each page. It may seem counter intuitive to give away valuable information for free but it pays off in the long run. By doing so you’re establishing yourself as an industry authority, showing you’re willing to help others and proving you’re an active online presence. These three things are the foundation for building your online reputation and Canberra SEO.
5. Duplicate Content
Creating content can get into a rhythm where you find yourself reusing the same information to answer different questions. It may seem like a time saving tactic to just copy and paste the content but it’s a big mistake. Duplicate content confuses search engines as they see the same information on multiple pages. It’s hard for Google to decide which page to show to the user. So Google may not show either page.
So your attempt to save time has actually hindered your website’s growth. Instead of having one strong page that can compete you have two weak pages that need to be rewritten before they can rank again. Fixing duplicate content is a pain.
The Fix
There are several ways to address duplicate content. One simple way is to delete one of the duplicate pages. Or you can rewrite one of the pages to focus on a different topic. Or you can do a permanent redirect (301) from one page to the other.
Each has its pros and cons. Deleting a page means you lose all the content on that page but no further action is needed. Rewriting allows you to salvage some of the original content to use in a different context. A permanent redirect removes one page from public view and directs traffic to the other page. Whatever method you choose the key is to fix the duplicate content to improve your site’s SEO Sydney.
6. Mixing Keywords
When creating content around specific keywords it’s important to focus on using those targeted keywords and their variations on one page. Spreading the same long tail keywords across multiple pages confuses search engines and makes them pit your own pages against each other in the rankings. In essence you’re competing with yourself too many keywords and undermining your own SEO and making it easy for your competitors to beat you.
It’s easy to accidentally include a keyword that should be on another page. A one time mistake won’t hurt your rankings but multiple instances will cause problems.
The Fix
The key to avoiding keyword mixing is editing after content creation. Review the page or blog post you’ve written and remove any irrelevant keywords. Stick to synonyms and variations of your target keyword to stay focused and not dilute your SEO Melbourne.
Using synonyms and rephrased versions of your target keyword can actually increase your chances of ranking as well. It improves the user experience and tells search engines you’re not just keyword stuffing to manipulate rankings.
This also allows you to target exact match and partial match keywords on the same page for different search queries. For example if your target keyword is “vintage graphic T-shirts” you can also include phrases like “vintage T-shirts with graphics” so your meta title can be more versatile and match different search queries. Just be careful not to include unrelated terms like “vintage wolf T-shirt” that’s a keyword for another day and another page.
7. Focusing on Search Engines
While the term “SEO” implies focusing on search engines the landscape has evolved to prioritise user experience. Focusing only on search engine algorithms leads to outdated or even black hat tactics like keyword stuffing, poor website navigation and no responsive design. These practices harm your SEO and are bad because they harm the user experience.
In essence user experience was always the priority and search engines have adapted their algorithms to reflect that.
The Fix
The key is to focus on the user not search engine bots as they are the ones who will ultimately become your customers not the search engines. Make sure your website is user friendly, mobile responsive and easy to read. Don’t overwhelm visitors with a wall of text filled with irrelevant keywords.
While it’s still important to consider search engine factors – like titles and headings which are important for rankings – your main focus should be on providing value to the user. High quality informative content meets the needs of your visitors and contributes to link building. As you get more quality links your pages will naturally rank higher in search engines.
By balancing user experience with search engine optimisation you get a win-win situation: your users are happy and your website ranks better and attracts more users.
8. Using the wrong redirects
Redirects are used often but not always understood. These are especially tricky for webmasters who are new to their first website(s) and need to move some of their content around. Using the wrong redirect will hurt your SEO because it will send the wrong message to search engines.
If you want a 301 redirect but you use a 302 redirect you have a problem. Basically if you’re going to use redirects you have to make sure you’re using the right numbers. If you’re not you can harm valuable parts of your site.
The fix
The best fix is to simply know your redirects.
- 301: Permanently move a page
- Preserves link equity earned from other sites
- Best solution for redirecting a page
- 302: Temporarily redirect to another page (HTTP 1.0); Found (HTTP 1.1)
- Does not preserve link equity earned from other sites
- Don’t use
- 307: Temporarily redirect to another page
- Does not preserve link equity earned from other sites
- Use if your server is 1.1 compatible and your content is really only moved temporarily
In essence you only want to use 301 redirects for the majority (99%) of your site. You can implement a redirect using HTML, JavaScript, Apache, .htaccess, Nginx, Lighttpd, Ruby, .NET, Node.js and Flask.
9. Misusing robots.txt, Useragent and Disallow
One of the easiest and most damaging mistakes you can make especially on a new website is misusing the robots.txt file. This file tells search engines what they can and cannot crawl on your site. A small mistake in this file will prevent your site from being indexed and will make it invisible in search engine results.
For example using “Useragent: *” and “Disallow: /” in your robots.txt file will block all search engines from crawling any part of your site. This can be bad for both new and old websites as it will undo all previous SEO work and prevent new pages from being indexed.
The fix
First you need to familiarise yourself with the robots.txt file and its syntax. Create a dummy page or section on your site and test how it works. Initially allow search engines to index this page. Once it’s indexed update your robots.txt to disallow crawling for this specific page or section. Wait for a few days or a week and then check if the page is removed from search engine results.
Not all bots that visit your site are from reputable search engines like Google, Yahoo! or Bing. There are also “bad” bots that ignore robots.txt instructions. These can skew your analytics, steal content and even make your site vulnerable to hacking. If you encounter issues with these bots you may need to identify their IP addresses and block them manually.
Remember robots.txt is more like a polite request than a strict barrier; bots follow it because they’re programmed to do so. If you’re dealing with persistent “bad” bots you may need to take additional security measures beyond just editing your robots.txt file.
10. Expecting Results NOW
SEO is a long term investment not a quick fix. Many people get frustrated when they don’t see immediate results but that’s the nature of SEO. Google has its own priorities and schedule for crawling and indexing websites and it can take time for your efforts to bear fruit. This is especially true if you’ve purchased a domain that has been penalised by Google. In that case you’ll need to work twice as hard just to get back to neutral before you can even think of climbing the ranks.
The fix
Start by building a solid, user friendly website with a clear purpose and multiple pages. Once your site is up and running submit your URL to Google so it knows you exist. After that the real work begins. Consistently produce high quality content either through blog posts or additional website pages. The more content you have the more there is for Google to index and the better your chances of ranking.
Next focus on link building. Reach out to other websites in your industry, promote your content on social media and make your content discoverable. The more high quality external links pointing to your site the better your chances of ranking.
Remember SEO is a marathon not a sprint. It takes time for Google to recognize and reward your efforts. It’s frustrating to wait but patience is key. Keep producing quality content and following best practices and over time you’ll see the results you want.
11. Thinking You’re Done
One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO is that it’s a one and done deal. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Local SEO is a continuous evolving process that requires ongoing attention and effort. The digital landscape is always changing and so are the algorithms that search engines use to rank websites. If you think you can set it and forget it you’re setting yourself up for failure. Your competitors are constantly optimising their sites and if you’re not doing the same you’ll fall behind fast.
The fix
The key to successful SEO is persistence and adaptability. If you love SEO the ongoing nature of the work should excite you. There’s always something new to learn, a new strategy to implement or a new algorithm to adapt to. This constant change allows you to build an impressive portfolio that showcases your adaptability and knowledge of SEO.
If the thought of ongoing SEO work doesn’t excite you it might be time to consider if this is the right field for you. SEO requires a certain level of passion and dedication that can’t be faked. If you or your team lack this passion it’s better to find someone who has it. SEO can be taught but the drive to continually improve and adapt is something that comes from within.
Are You Guilty of These SEO Mistakes?
If you’ve read this far you’re probably wondering how many of these SEO mistakes you’re making. The truth is SEO is a complex field that’s always changing and even seasoned pros can slip up. This list isn’t exhaustive but it covers some of the most common mistakes that can sabotage your SEO.
The key takeaway is to be vigilant and proactive with your SEO. Mistakes will happen but they don’t have to define your SEO journey. By being aware of these mistakes and knowing how to fix them you’re already one step ahead of optimising your website for search engines and users.
So take a minute to review your current SEO practices. Are you guilty of any of these mistakes? If so it’s not the end of the world. Each mistake is a learning opportunity to improve and refine your strategy. Remember the world of SEO is always changing and to stay ahead you need to keep learning and adapting.
Conclusion
If you think your website could use some professional SEO services but don’t know where to start look no further than Perth Digital Edge. Get in touch.
