Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process to increase the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing the visibility of a website in Search Engine Result Pages (SERP). SEO techniques could be implemented in a few weeks, but it can take time to master them and build organic traffic. One may try their best to implement SEO techniques, but still, the website may not reach the ‘coveted’ first page of a search engine result.
By avoiding some SEO mistakes, one can ensure better performance of the website on SERPs. Here are some of the SEO mistakes which need to be avoided or taken care of:
- Not keeping in touch with Analytics result.
SEO doesn’t solely concern itself with free traffic or a huge amount of traffic. Its objective is also related to conversion rate. Sometimes certain keywords would fetch in a good amount of traffic, but these strategies may fail to convert or one may not be able to rank for highly competitive traffic keywords. It is not always that traffic matters. Sometimes, even lower-traffic phrases would have a better conversion because they are more specific and could help the pages get first-page ranking on SERPs.
To know which keywords are working in better conversions, Analytical tools must be used. Using such tools one can track which keywords are producing better results and conversions. Being privy to such information would help us optimize the site. It would tell us which keywords or efforts are worth pursuing and which are not.
- Keyword Stuffing.
It is a misconception that stuffing a website with most of the relevant Keywords would improve its ranking in SERPs. But this strategy usually creates problems and backfires. Moreover, this is now considered as a black-hat SEO technique, and such techniques are to be avoided at any cost.
Stuffing keywords would make our content look unnatural, uninteresting and the website may suffer in rankings as a result of it. It may also lead to a ban or a penalty from the search engine. So, avoid this and rely on putting good content, relevant keywords, and emphasis on particular topics as the need may be.
- Lack of Unique Title Tags, Meta Descriptions and good image tags.
Skipping or casually using Title and Meta tags is akin to a huge potential loss for a website. These factors are considered by Search Engines when they send crawlers to a website and can affect the website’s performance.
Therefore, every page should have a unique title tag. A page’s title tag is used as a text when the page is bookmarked or shared in tweets. The pages should have specific keywords about the purpose in their title tag.
Similarly, Meta descriptions, which summarize a page’s content, are also important. These 160 characters appear in the description of search engine results especially when the searched phrase is within the description. Each page should have its own unique custom Meta description which may persuade a user to click on search results. So, it becomes important to optimize Meta descriptions.
- Not using Anchor Text properly.
An Anchor Text, which is a clickable text in a hyperlink, is important for creating links. Usually, people use generic text in such texts, for instance, “click here”. This call to action may work, but it is better to include some relevant keywords in the link, for instance, “know how this thing works”. This would attract more clicks on the hyperlinks embedded in such texts.
Another mistake is the usage of the same or generic anchor text for every link to a page. This may seem odd to visitors and may even cause penalties by search engines as it may appear that one is trying to con them. Therefore, it is better to have variations in the phrases one uses in Anchor texts. Don’t try to use the same keywords repeatedly and very often in Anchor texts. This way Anchor texts would look ‘natural’ or normal to search engines as well as to users.
- Prioritizing Link Quantity over Link Quality.
A of low-quality links may cause manual or algorithmic penalties on a website. This would cause the traffic and rankings to suffer. So, the emphasis should be on high-quality links from authorities or respected sites. High-quality links may be difficult to earn, but a single one could produce much trust in Search Engines and are an important parameter to measure the quality of a website.
The focus should be on getting links that are relevant to the website or the company; which don’t contain links to porn/adult, gambling, gaming, or pharmacy sites. Irrelevant links which have nothing to do with the website’s own content need to be avoided as such links increase the bounce rate and decrease the page’s quality ratings.
Earning links takes time and perseverance. So, it is better that one waits for such links to appear than using ‘unnatural’ or spammy links.
- Poorly written content and thin content.
Some sites have a lot of content but it doesn’t add much value. Some sites have poorly written content; content with a lot of words but not much real substance. Duplicate content, automatically generated content or content taken from other reputable sites (scraped content), etc. counts as thin content. Such content or tactics might invite a Search Engine penalty or create a poor impression in the minds of the visitors. If the content is not unique or not valuable, the website may lose trust. This may result in loss of traffic and potential revenue.
So, it is better to use unique, better written, and well-researched content on a website. Such content would draw more visitors and would persuade them to take some action on the page thereby increasing the conversion rate. Although well-written content may cost a bit more, it will bear more fruit in the form of trust, traffic, and conversions.
- Less research and deliberation in selecting Keywords.
Keyword research is an important task in SEO. If the keywords are not adequately chosen or are irrelevant, then the website may not perform well in SERP rankings. Without targeting relevant keywords or using keywords that might have become uncompetitive, an organization might be wasting its time and resources. Therefore, a proper keyword selection is required which would generate the most searches with the least competition.
- Adapting Black-Hat methods for a quick gain.
There may be hundreds of websites that may host similar content, product, or services. So, the competition is really high. Therefore it becomes tempting to use Black-hat techniques to stay ahead of one’s competitor.
Black-hat practices are the ways to influence search results by bypassing or violating search engine guidelines. Such practices include purchased links, comment spam, hidden texts, and links, purchased links, or even exchanging links. One may use such methods and get an initial success but these techniques are risky. Search engines are continuously evolving and getting better at detecting such malpractices and may penalize or even ban websites that use such techniques. So, it is better to avoid such dubious practices altogether as they may harm the reputation and rankings of a website in the long run.
- Mistaking SEO as a one time job.
SEO is a continuous process because over time search keywords and demands of internet surfers may vary. Also, the world of SEO is full of new and modified- updates, techniques, and algorithms. So, it becomes very important that a website doesn’t have a one-time SEO performed on it and then be forgotten.
As any venture expands or diversifies, its website needs to be updated according to the new trends, contents, and keywords. The website also needs to be in accordance with the ever-changing SEO techniques. So, it’s important that SEO be seen as an ever-present task in order to ensure any website stays relevant, trendy, and high in SERP ranks.
