SEO, as a discipline, is always evolving. The digital landscape has undergone massive transformations in the past few years and the most successful businesses online are the ones who have made an effort to adapt to the trends and maybe even stay ahead of them.
When it comes to search engine optimization, keeping up with the times can be a challenge. All too often businesses get stuck in a rut and end up repeating the same detrimental mistakes - simply because they don’t know any better. The honest truth is that effective SEO today is different than it was a few years ago and even minor mistakes can have a major impact on your digital success.
Now’s the time to set aside what you think you know about SEO and revisit the basics of how to approach search engine optimization today. As a starting point, here are a few common SEO mistakes to avoid.
While SEO has many moving parts, there are a lot of people out there who think that generating traction online is all about keywords. The reality is that keywords aren’t the only important element of SEO but your approach to keyword strategy still is crucial.
One of the most common mistakes is the tendency to underestimate the ability of search engines to rank content on a sparing use of keywords that perform for a smaller business. An effective approach to SEO provides small businesses with a competitive advantage, which means you don’t need to go all in and try to achieve results with the same strategy the big guy down the street is using.
Keyword usage today needs to be more about intent and include long tail keywords that attract voice search users and local audiences. Skip the robotic sounding, keyword stuffed content and opt for content that’s natural sounding and works to elevate your individual business above the competition.
Content is a powerful delivery tool for SEO, but too many businesses are churning out content just for the sake of getting it out there. They’re more focused on quantity rather than quality and they’re getting it all wrong.
Nobody wants to read content that’s been quickly churned out and stuffed with the “right” keywords. Your audience wants something that’s of value to them. It needs to leave them feeling like the time invested in your content was time well spent. Be purposeful in your content strategy and create longer pieces on topics that matter for your target audience. Don’t be afraid to take a different spin or experiment with other types of content – like video.
Something can come along and damage your SEO in a blink of an eye. Broken backlinks, slow site speed, duplicated content or not providing an optimized mobile experience can cause your search ranking to take a hit. It’s absolutely crucial that you conduct regular audits of your website to prevent a minor issue from spiraling into a devastating SEO disaster.
There’s no reason to let SEO mistakes stand between you and growing success. You also don’t have to tackle the complexities of digital marketing on your own. We offer complete SEO services to boost your visibility and traffic online. Contact My Creative Mark today and discover why we’re the digital marketing agency you can trust.