The 5 Shocking SEO Mistakes You Could Be Making Right Now
There are many aspects that go into a successful SEO strategy, and conversely, there are many bad practices that can lead to poor web performance. This guide will help to shine a light on the top five mistakes you could be making with your SEO, and give you actionable solutions to address them so that your SEO strategy leads you to a path of growth that you’ve been searching for.
Mistake #1:
Ignoring Mobile Optimisation
Your Mistake:
With over half of global web traffic emanating from some form of mobile device, overlooking mobile optimisation is one of the most serious mistakes you can make with regards to SEO. A non-responsive website not only gives your visitors a poor user experience, but what you may not know is that it also negatively impacts your place in the search rankings.
Your Solution:
Address mobile responsiveness right now! Utilise responsive web design so that your site can adapt to any device. You can use third party software to test how your site actually functions in the real world on multiple different devices.
Mistake #2:
Ignoring Local SEO
Your Mistake:
Local SEO is hugely important if you need your business to target local customers. Taking the time to implement a Local SEO plan is particularly important for highly competitive markets and keywords.
Your Solution:
Incorporate local SEO strategies. This includes optimising for local keywords, claiming your Google My Business listing, and ensuring NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) consistency across all online platforms.
Mistake #3:
Low Speed & Poor Performance
Your Mistake:
Website speed makes a big difference to how well your site ranks in the eye of the search engines. Slow-loading sites are one of the biggest turn-offs for visitors who’ll quickly turn to a competitor with a quicker experience.
Your Solution:
Boost your site’s performance as soon a possible. Optimise images, utilise browser caching and minimise your code wherever you can. Tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights can help to point out the areas that need the most work.
Mistake #4:
Stuffing Keywords into your Content
Your Mistake:
While it’s undeniable that keywords are massively important for SEO, overuse them (referred to as keyword stuffing) and you are at the mercy of the search engines. Google is very clever, it knows when you are prioritising your rankings over providing high quality content for your visitors.
Your Solution:
Be sure to craft high value, relevant content for your audience that is easy for them to consume. Try to get into the mindset of your ideal client, answering their concerns and addressing their questions.
Mistake #5:
Forgetting to use Analytics
Your Mistake:
Analytics tools are incredibly informative and are simple to use. In fact your competitors are using them right now to help inform their strategies and get ahead of you in the rankings.
Your Solution:
Be sure to monitor and analyse your website's performance with tools such as Google Analytics. Analytics will help you to spot how your visitors engage with your site, and the point at which they bounce away from it. What Analytics teaches you can then be used to inform how you address the areas where your site is underperforming.
Avoid the five common SEO mistakes we’ve listed above and you’ll quickly see an improvement in your website's rankings. Remember that SEO is ever-evolving, you simply don’t have the luxury of doing the basics and then ignoring it, because if you do, all of your competitors will jump ahead of you.
