Top SEO Mistakes to Avoid
by Christina on Monday 11th July, 2011 at 11:07 COMMENTS (0)
Here are the most common mistakes I come up against when a small business owner has tried to implement SEO themselves with only the basic knowledge. Hopefully these pointers will help you.
Mistake
Not doing proper keyword research
Why it's a mistake
You think you know how people search, but you don't, you only know how you would search. Search terms are different for the different stages of the purchasing funnel. You need to ensure you are using keywords which will capture the searcher at all stages of their purchasing phases. Keyword research is the foundation of your search engine optimisation campaign and it can not be skipped.
Solution
Review web stats, sit down with your colleagues and brainstorm, you need to ask customers how they found you in the search engines and what terms they used, you need to look at your competition. Keyword research should be the longest part of your research.
Mistake
Doing your own search engine optimisation and not making the time to implement it.
Why it's a mistake
You think you can handle it yourself, you don't want to outsource because you think it's too expensive. Yet you are running a business and have very little time to actually do the research, plan the website and SEO changes, let alone implement them. It could take you a year to finally get it all sorted while you keep checking your stats expecting to see the search engines sending you more traffic.
Solution
Be honest, if you have the time you need to priorities the work as urgent and get on with it. It will probably only take you six weeks to implement the foundations of search engine optimisation. If you do not have the time, outsource, it may not be as expensive as you think and at least it will start bring in them sales.
Mistake
Ignoring social media because you don't like it or don't understand it or again you simply do not have the time.
Why it's a mistake
Social media is part of SEO and its here to stay. You ARE missing out if you are not participating.
Solution
Get on with it! Set up a LinkedIn account, Face Book page and Twitter. At least sort out your profile and get active on Twitter. Drive that traffic to your website!
Mistake
Not having a plan
Why it's a mistake
You need to know what outcome you want from your website or social media campaign. Without goals you have nothing to measure to know if you are improving and getting sales.
Solution
Think what outcome you want, come up with a daily plan to best achieve those goals. Use Face Book, articles and blogs and tweets to create momentum.
Mistake
Obsessing over ranking reports and not paying attention to traffic stats
Why it's a mistake
SEO is a way to get the correct traffic to your website. Look at your traffic and learn from it. You may find you are getting traffic from search terms you hadn't even though of instead of obsessing about being at the top for one particular phrase.
Solution
Look at your ranking reports every now and again if you need that buzz. But pay attention to your traffic stats to see what is really going on. You can use Webmaster Tools to get at the information to find out what is going on and how you can improve.
Mistake
Focussing on the search engines and not the visitors
Why it's a mistake
Most small businesses think as soon as their site is ranking well they will be flooded with sales. It doesn't work that way. If you haven't put in place measures to convert those visitors once they land on your website you are wasting your time and money. Never optimise your website at the expense of your visitors.
Solution
Step back and ask yourself, "Is it good for the search engines" if not make some tweaks, then ask yourself "Is it good for the visitors" in not don't do it. Think customer first, search engine second.
Mistake
Focusing only on link building or only on content
Why it's a mistake
SEO is made up of many factors. Off page, on page, site structure, linking etc. By ignoring one factor you will limit your results.
Solution
Plan your strategy and make sure you do all the right things at the right time.
Mistake
Not growing your content
Why it's a mistake
The search engines and your visitors are always on the look out for fresh content. It also gives them a reason to return. By not updating your content your site becomes dated and you lose the opportunity to increase rankings and further engage site visitors.
Solution
Add a blog to your website and add helpful and informative content regularly.
Mistake
Keyword stuffing, spamming, setting up or participating in link farms
Why it's a mistake
The search engines really don't like you doing this and they will penalise or ban your website when you get caught. It's really not that helpful to your site visitors either.
Solution
Educate yourself about SEO and what is acceptable and not acceptable to the search engines. There are some great SEO's out there, find them and follow them.
Do you think we have missed anything? Please let us know.
The Essex SEO Team
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