In this digital age, it’s all about SEO. We have to face the facts: Google and other powerful search engines dictate our success in business. Based on how highly they rank our business sites in their search results, we’ll either see an uptick in traffic or a decrease in visitors.
In this article, we’d like to help you avoid eight of the most crucial SEO mistakes. Some of them can be resolved in a pinch by adding images to your site. Others require analyzing your site and giving it a complete makeover, so they may take some time.
With this list in hand, you can tackle each of these mistakes and skyrocket your traffic stats. Let’s dive in!
1. Slow Site Speed
According to Google, if your site doesn’t load in less than two seconds, people will go elsewhere.
If you think about it, must of us have very short attention spans. We want our sites to load fast and our information to come quickly.
And why not? We’re kind of conditioned to this type of service because millions of other websites load in a heartbeat.
So, how do you get up to that two-second mark?
Well, there are tons of tools out there to help you check the health of your website. You can start with Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
Since they’re kind of the king when it comes to SEO rankings, why not use their tools to help you get started? PageSpeed will analyze your site and show you how to optimize it.
2. Little or No Keywords
SEO and keywords work hand in hand. If someone wants to know more about adopting a dog, what are they likely to type into Google’s search bar? Is it “how to adopt a dog” or “pet adoption”?
These are the kinds of questions that are worth your time. If you don’t have the words on your site that people will be searching for, how can Google direct them to your site?
Where there’s a will, there’s a tool. You can try services such as KWFinder. This one helps you determine what keywords to use to be found online and get the most traffic.
Using too many or too few keywords is one of the most common SEO mistakes, so pay attention to this aspect. It could mean the difference between a successful website and one that gets no traffic.
3. Large Blocks of Text
Websites and blogs don’t follow your traditional English 101 teachings. When writing for the Web, your paragraphs need to be short and catchy. Aim for one to three sentences per paragraph.
Huge blocks of text are going to make readers head for the hills and find another site where they can pull out the information they’re looking for easily.
Short paragraphs allow people to scan the content and find what they need when they need it.
4. No Content Breaks
The next thing to note is that it’s not just about a series of short paragraphs. All that content and information needs to be broken up.
To do that, use headings, subheadings, and bullet points or lists wherever possible.
Again, this will allow the visitor to scan your content – which is what most of us do anyway – and get right to the meat on the bone. Your headings are so important that, sometimes, this is all the reader will scan.
5. Lack of Imagery
Even the most basic Internet user can spot an outdated website over a newer, sleeker site. Slow page speed is one of the worst SEO mistakes in today’s digital age.
With platforms like WordPress and Wix, creating a free, professional site is an option for everyone.
One of the first giveaways of an outdated operation is a site lacking fresh imagery. What’s one of the biggest benefits of some nice, engaging imagery? It’s likely to keep readers on your site longer.
And guess what that does? It makes Google rank you higher! Indeed, part of what Google’s monitoring is how long people spend on your site.
If people feel they’re gleaning quality information and enjoying the imagery you present, this is all working in your SEO favor.
6. Short Content
You may have heard the expression “Content is king.” Not only is it what sets you apart from your competition, but it’s also what makes Google cast a favorable light on your business.
While that content needs to be qualitative and informative, it also needs to be in-depth.
Google appreciates long-form content because it gives it information to crawl. Plus, it’s more likely to give your potential readers what they’re looking for.
Although your paragraphs need to be short, the overall content needs to be meaty. And this probably adds up in your mind anyway because long-form content will keep readers on your page longer.
7. A Lack of Outbound Links
This is one of the big SEO mistakes. Readers want to know what they’re reading is high-quality and authoritative, not written by someone without any experience on the topic.
So, what’s going to add a dash of credibility to your content? An outbound link or two to a well-known and trusted source.
Let’s say you were writing an article about depression.
What are some of the big name publications in the industry? Spend some time on their site and link to an informative article from their site to yours.
Sure enough, Google will notice these outbound links and it will, ultimately, boost your SEO ranking.
8. No Self-Promotion
Just because you want your blog to be informative, it doesn’t mean you should totally bow out of self-promotion.
This can be done in two ways.
First, let’s revisit links.
If you’re including one or two outbound links in your next blog article, then be sure to include two inbound links. Link to another related article on your blog or a product/services page on your website to help readers garner more information.
Next, include a short call to action in every post.
This can be as simple as “Contact us today for more information!” Or you could link to your contact page. It’s just a line or two somewhere at the end of your post, so don’t skip this step.
Make SEO Mistakes a Thing of the Past
We hope this guide will help you put your SEO mistakes behind you. By diagnosing your website, formatting your content, and building links, you’ll be well on your way to SEO mastery.
Once you’ve cleared up these eight mistakes, enjoy our article outlining other ways to improve SEO.
When you’re ready to go big, learn how to use affiliate marketing to monetize your website.
Remember that sky the limit in this digital age. We’re here to help you succeed!