SEO: We Know About The Benefits But What About The Mistakes?

You have probably heard the term SEO by now. Just do a Google search and you can find thousands of articles about the effectiveness of search engine optimization. And there is a good reason for it: SEO is incredibly effective. Over the past couple of years, SEO has evolved into one of the most potent and useful tools that any business can utilize. It increases traffic, awareness of a brand, and it also helps boost sales and profits. But, is it all peaches and cream, or are there dangers lurking in the shadows? Although you might not think it with everything you read, there are a lot of dangers with SEO, some of which can have negative effects for your company or what you are trying to build.

Here are some of the most common SEO mistakes that you should avoid making.

1. Not Focusing On Content

To some degree or another you will focus on your site’s content, but how intense is your focus? The mistake that most companies make is putting content low down on the list of SEO priorities. In fact, content should be very high on the list, I argue that it should be at the top. Engaging and original content is what search engines look for when they do their rankings. They want a site that contributes to the overall knowledge of the Internet. Plus, sites with engaging content lock users in from the beginning. How often do you search elsewhere once you have found what you want? The answer is not very often.

2. Plagiarizing Content

To save time on content, people will lift it from wherever possible. Avoid this tactic at all costs. Search engines such as Google hate it, so much so that they can ban you from their search engine’s results. It is called de-indexed, and it makes it impossible to find your site when people search. Also, don’t forget that plagiarizing is illegal without the right permissions.

3. Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is pretty simple. You have a brand that you want to promote to your customers, and you also have the keywords that your customer base uses to search. Armed with this vital information, you make the mistake of filling your text with keywords at every opportunity. The problem is that search engines penalize you for this practice because it makes the content look inorganic and unnatural. A good website uses keywords sparingly and strategically for the best results.

4. Not Thinking About Your Reader

Search engine algorithms are brilliant at matching your content with relevant searches. So, if you are a business that sells clothes, you will always be a part of the conversation when someone types in a clothes related subject. To make the most of this tool, it is important that you think about the reader when you create your site. What are they looking for, and what gap do they want you to fill? What are their needs? Or, even better, what are their wants? When you consider all of these questions, you can lay out your content accordingly for maximum results.

5. Making The Site’s Navigation Too Complex

For starters, your site’s navigation should be simple for the benefit of your customers. When a site is too hard to use, they will simply go elsewhere. From an SEO point of view, it makes it harder of search engines to sift through your site. As the marketers at LosAngelesSEO.org will gladly attest to, Google loves sites that allow them easy access. The result is that you have a better chance of turning up in their result pages.

6. Avoiding The Small Details

Does it seem insignificant? The odds are that it is important because the small details make a big difference in SEO. Take tags as an example. You will almost certainly put a lot of effort into headings and the main tags, but what about Meta-tags? Meta-tags categorize your content into specific pages of your website, making it easier navigate. Search engines can easily tell what type of content you have available to your readers when it is organized in an efficient manner. Meta-tags make clicks happen.

7. Not Mobile Friendly

Mobile has changed the way people search on the Internet and the search engines have responded. Now, they place more emphasis on the sites that are compatible with mobile devices and smartphones. In this day and age, that is exactly what consumers want. In all honesty, you are not going to get the clicks if you do not offer a mobile-friendly experience.

Now that you know what to avoid take the time to implement your SEO strategy properly and will pay off.

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