Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential part of digital marketing. It can make or break a website’s success online. However, many people still make common SEO mistakes that hurt their online presence.
In this post, we will discuss ten of the most common SEO mistakes and how to fix them. If you would like to learn more on SEO or how we can assist you with Colorado Springs SEO reach out to us!
One of the biggest mistakes people make is not researching keywords thoroughly. You need to find the right keywords that your target audience is using to search for your products or services. Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to identify the most relevant and valuable keywords for your website.
Having your keywords properly researched can help you see what it may take to rank for those keywords and how much traffic they receive. It’s always a great idea to target low competitive keywords.
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Metadata is crucial for SEO. It includes the title tag, meta description, and header tags. Ignoring these can harm your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Make sure you optimize your metadata by including relevant keywords and ensuring that it accurately describes your page’s content.
It’s also imperative to not keyword stuff your metadata as Google looks out for this when crawling through sites.
Mobile optimization is essential as more people are using their mobile devices to search online. A mobile-friendly website is also a ranking factor for search engines. Ensure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly by using a responsive design or a mobile-specific version of your website.
We live in a world now where most people are looking at your site through their mobile devices first before any other platform. Having an excellent responsive design allows your site to not only be available on every device but also provides benefits from Google. Ensure your Colorado Springs Web Design is efficient and keeps up with today’s standards by reaching out to us.
Duplicate title tags and meta descriptions can harm your website’s SEO. Each page on your website should have a unique title tag and meta description that accurately describes its content. This will help search engines understand what your page is about and rank it accordingly. Using the same meta description for every site will inhibit your growth and understanding how to use keywords in your title tags and meta descriptions will benefit you immensely.
Internal linking helps search engines understand the structure of your website and how your pages are related to each other. It also helps visitors navigate your website more easily. Make sure you link your pages using relevant anchor text and ensure that your internal linking structure is clear and logical.
When it comes to internal linking you want to make sure you are linking pages that relate to each other as well. For example you would want to link an SEO blog post to an SEO service page as well as any other SEO blog posts you may have on-site. This builds out a content linking and connects your site efficiently.
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If you have a local business, optimizing for local search is crucial. This includes creating a Google My Business listing, ensuring your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone number) is consistent across all online directories, and using location-specific keywords. Local search can be an immensely powerful avenue of SEO approach as this will provide a solid foundation for you to target more local keywords and build a local site presence.
Website speed is a crucial ranking factor for search engines. A slow website can harm your SEO and user experience. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to test your website’s speed and make necessary changes. These tools can help you get a look at how fast your site is on slower devices especially on mobile, how accessible your site is, if you are utilizing best practices, and a overall SEO score however, these scores do not provide a full picture on what is occurring on your site.
Alt tags describe images to search engines and visually impaired users. Not using alt tags or using irrelevant alt tags can harm your website’s SEO. Ensure you use descriptive alt tags that accurately describe your images and include relevant keywords.
These is mainly for accessibility reasons and is for users utilizing screen readers so they understand what these images could be displaying.
Content is the backbone of SEO. Poor quality content can harm your website’s SEO and user experience. Ensure you create high-quality, engaging, and informative content that is relevant to your target audience. Usually keeping your content between 800 words to around 1700 words is an optimal range for your content as well as ensuring you are emplacing keywords, utilizing headings/site structure, adding images with appropriate alt text, and not repeating yourself throughout the content.
Monitoring your website’s analytics is essential to track your SEO progress and identify areas for improvement. Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor your website’s traffic, bounce rates, and conversion rates. Use this data to make necessary changes to your SEO strategy. You can also utilize tools like Google Search Console to track queries that your site is being picked up for and their impressions.
Another great idea is to take Google Analytics and Google Search console and emplace them into Google’s Looker Studio which will allow you to make your very own SEO reports for free.
SEO is a complex and ever-changing field. By avoiding these ten common SEO mistakes, you can improve your website’s SEO and online visibility. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and you need to continually monitor and adjust your strategy to stay ahead of the competition. Do not expect to see results within a week or even a month as these good practices take time. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in increasing your search engine presence.
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