A few weeks ago, I shared the basics of SEO; today, I want to discuss common SEO mistakes to avoid. By avoiding these common mistakes, you’ll rank higher on search engines like Google and have an advantage over the competition.
Remember, SEO is a long-term process and marketing strategy; you won’t see results overnight. However, staying consistent, having a plan, and avoiding these mistakes will help you, your business, and your goals in the long run.
Let’s begin.
Not Doing Keyword Research
Keyword research is important because you want to rank on the search engines for a word or phrase. It also tells you how popular your keywords are or are not. The best practice is to rank for the least popular keywords because there is less competition than popular words.
For example, my focus keywords for this post are SEO mistakes, so I searched Google Trends to compare the competition versus SEO.
The screenshot shows that SEO is searched more than SEO mistakes – which means that SEO mistakes have less competition than SEO.
I also searched on Wordstream, which showed that SEO mistakes have low competition. This site also shows the search volume.
When using Wordtracker to compare SEO versus SEO mistakes, it shows a score of 1 to 100 on how competitive the competition is, so for SEO, the number is 64.
The score when searching for SEO mistakes was 24, again showing that SEO mistakes have a lower search rate than SEO.
This is the type of keyword research you should do before writing a blog post, and this is a common mistake often made.
Not Optimizing for User Experience
When setting up or updating your website, you must consider the experience you want your visitors to have. It should be a good one. Your website should be fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate.
If your website has too much going on or takes too long to load, people will click out and go to the following site. If they are still looking for what they are looking for, they will move on to the following site.
So, think about your website’s goal and ensure it’s set up for that goal. If your goal is to book clients, make sure it’s clear on the homepage who you are, what you can help them with, and how they can book a call with you.
Not Optimizing Images
Having images on your blog posts and websites is part of SEO, but just having pictures isn’t enough. There are three things image optimization helps with:
- Accessibility
- SEO
- Conversion
How do you optimize your images for SEO? First, it’s best practice to use original pictures when possible. For example, when I write a blog about a book review, I usually take a picture of the book cover for the post. Sometimes, I’ll use behind-the-scenes pictures taken while podcasting when writing about podcasting. But most of the time, I’ll use photos from Unsplash or Pexels, which are free.
Second, it’s important to name your images and include your keyword in the name. Next, ensure your pictures are not too big—you’ll want them responsive on desktops and mobile. And place the image near the text that it’s most relevant to.
Captions for the images aren’t required, but they help users understand the content. And lastly, don’t forget to add alt text to the images and that the keyword is included.
Ignoring Backlinks
Backlinks are important for SEO because they increase your site’s authority and ranking potential. Writing guest blog posts, appearing on podcasts, or being featured on social media pages that include your website link will also help SEO.
Not Updating Content
As stated above, SEO is a long-term marketing strategy, so you should consistently update your blog and website. You can do this by these three things:
- Update old blog posts with relevant information
- Check for broken links – mainly if you feature guest posts
- Republish blog posts
In Conclusion
Investing in your website takes time, but it will be worth it as your blog posts drive traffic, turning those visitors into paid clients.
With Love, Heidy
Check out my SEO Guide and Free Podcasting Resources at – https://stan.store/heidydelacruz
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