Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a crucial role in increasing a business’s online presence. But did you know that besides increasing traffic, ranking high on search engines? Results can also lead to increased brand awareness and, in the end, more conversions?
If you ask any SEO company in London, they are bound to tell you that they have the magic potion to make your website rank higher in search results – and while this is certainly true, given their expertise in the industry, the SEO knowhow that can ensure you’re implementing an SEO strategy that will produce long-lasting results, it’s certainly the case that there are some SEO basics to avoid when you’re starting out!
Table of Contents
Not Understanding Your Audience
No matter what industry you are in, whether it is service, retail or travel, you should always aim to understand your target audience. Knowing who they are and how to reach them will increase the likelihood of getting traffic that converts into actual leads and sales.
Even if you have a great product or service, your SEO efforts will be fruitless if you don’t target the right people. So take the time to create buyer personas and do your research to understand your audience better.
Not Having a Clear Goal in Mind
Like with any marketing endeavour, it is important to have a goal in mind before you start. What are you trying to achieve with your SEO? Is it increased traffic, more leads or higher conversions?
Once you know what your goal is, you can then create a plan of action to reach it. Without a goal, you will be aimlessly wandering in the dark and not seeing any real results.
Focusing on the Wrong Keywords
When it comes to SEO, choosing the right keywords is key. If you focus on keywords that are not relevant to your business or that your target audience is not searching for, then you will not get the results you are hoping for.
Instead, focus on long-tail keywords relevant to your business, services or products. You should also try to create content around popular long-tail keywords so you can rank higher in Google’s search results.
Ignoring Local SEO Considerations
If your target audience resides in specific geographic areas, then you need to make sure that you are catering your SEO efforts to the local market. This includes optimizing your website and content for local keywords, as well as claiming your business listing on Google My Business.
Not Tracking Progress or Measuring ROI
SEO is not a one-time thing; it is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and tweaking. If you don’t track your progress or measure your ROI, you will not know if your efforts are paying off.
Use tools like Google Analytics to track the traffic and conversions coming from your SEO campaigns. This will help you to identify which strategies are working and which ones need to be tweaked or abandoned altogether.
Not Having Enough (or Any) Content
Google loves high-quality, relevant content and will rank your website higher if you have a lot of it. This is why it is important to regularly create fresh content that is interesting and useful to your target audience.
Not only will this help with your SEO efforts, but it can also increase traffic and leads to your website. So make sure you are blogging, creating infographics, videos and other types of content regularly.
Not Optimizing for Mobile
With more and more people using their smartphones and tablets to browse the internet, your website must be optimized for mobile devices. If it’s not, you will be losing out on a lot of potential traffic and leads.
Use responsive design to make your website adapt to any screen size, and make sure all your content is easy to read on mobile devices. You should also use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check if your website passes the test.
Not Using Social Media
Social media can be a powerful tool for SEO, as it allows you to connect with your target audience and generate leads. Make sure you use social media as another form of content distribution and build up a following on the different platforms your target audience is using.
Be active on social media by posting valuable, engaging content – don’t just post promotional posts or links. Also, try to use social media to expand your reach, show your expertise and offer helpful advice.
Not Optimizing Your Site for Humans
When you are trying to optimize your site for Google, it is easy to forget about the human element. But studies have shown that humans interact more with websites that are simple, intuitive and accessible than they do with cluttered websites and difficult to navigate.
Make sure your website is easy to use and navigate and that all your content is presented in an easily digestible format. Use clear and concise headlines, break up your content into small chunks and use images and videos to break up the text.
Not Using White Hat SEO Techniques
Some businesses try to get ahead in the search results by using black hat SEO techniques, such as spamming, keyword stuffing and link schemes. But these techniques can get your website penalized or even banned from Google’s search results.
Instead, focus on using white hat SEO techniques like creating valuable content, optimizing for keywords and building links naturally.
You also need to make sure you avoid mistakes like bad formatting, using duplicate content or publishing low-quality photos. You can find out how to fix these issues with the Yoast SEO plugin.
Now that you’ve read through this list, you have a better idea of what NOT to do when starting your SEO journey. But keep in mind that this list isn’t exhaustive – there are plenty of other things you should avoid doing if you want your business to have a successful SEO campaign.
However, if you follow our advice, we promise that your website will benefit from better rankings and more traffic!
