Achieving high search engine rankings is essential to the success of your business. Regardless of the nature of your business, having a website with high traffic is crucial. If your competitors rank higher than you in the search results, it means you will lose valuable customers.
That’s why you need to prepare your SEO strategy properly. A well-thought-out SEO strategy is as much about sales psychology as it is about good writing skills. If you’re not sure how to go about good SEO practices, we’re here to help.
Here are some of the most common SEO mistakes our clients have been making and what not to do.
Mistake 1: Using the wrong keywords
Keywords have an important role in search. They help the search algorithm determine how relevant your content is to the relevant query and allow you to reach customers who are looking for your products and services. The problem many sites have is that they only compete to rank for popular keywords.
The more specific the keywords, the higher you will be able to rank for them. Location and specific services are a great way to improve your rankings and get more traffic to your website.
Mistake 2: Using too many keywords
Having too many keywords in your web content can cause a number of problems.
First, if you write the content on your site for the algorithm and not to be useful to your customers who visit your site.
Second, if your content doesn’t bring value to your users and they leave your site immediately, the algorithm will push your site to lower positions.
The trick is to include keywords in your content organically so that search algorithms rank your site, while at the same time offering valuable content to your customers.
Mistake 3: Slow site
If your page takes more than 4 seconds to load, visitors will leave your site and move on to their next activity. The algorithm will push your site low in the rankings.
It’s good practice to upload web-optimized images, as well as to avoid heavy video uploads on every page.
Also, consider whether your site has unnecessary plugins that you need to disable and delete or replace a functional plugin with clean code. Do you need all the elements on your site animated?
Mistake 4: Neglecting site security
Security is a priority for everyone and this is reflected in the search results. If the search engine detects that your site is not secure, you will not rank well in the results. An important point is that your site has SSL certification. This means that you will have https:// at the beginning of your URL, which means that your connection is encrypted and secure.
Having this certificate shows both search engines and visitors that your site is trustworthy. Not having this certificate will hurt your search rankings and traffic.
Mistake 5: Errors and bugs
Errors and bugs are other issues that the algorithm detects and will rank lower your site. Commonly overlooked errors include broken links and pages that don’t load or load partially.
Regular maintenance of your site is a priority and you may see a better return on your SEO efforts.
Mistake 6: Lack of up-to-date content
Finally, you should regularly update the content on your site. Websites with less activity (be it inbound traffic or new content) rank lower in search results, and Google shows the most up-to-date content to the users.
Regularly updating your content is a priority. How you go about it is up to you, a blog is a great place to start. This will allow you to publish new content regularly to maintain or increase your SEO positions.
Conclusion
Applying all these tips can help you get better SEO results. If you need further advice or a free SEO audit, don’t hesitate to contact us!