Search engine optimisation is nothing new, in fact, it’s been around for the best part of 20 years. SEO is something that’s constantly changing. In recent years we’ve seen big changes to the way search engines tend to work, with a clear focus on the end user by delivering the most relevant results first.
SEO is extremely important if you want to have a presence online. Here’s five mistakes that are commonly seen.
1. No SEO
The first mistake is not having any SEO in place. You’d be surprised at the amount of small businesses that lack an SEO strategy. SEO helps you get found online, if you don’t make any effort to implement a strategy your visibility online is massively reduced, meaning it’s harder for customers to find you.
If you’re not found online, then you’re missing out on potential customers who will quite simply go to a competitor to get what they need.
2. Expecting Results Overnight
Seeing an improvement takes times and results won’t happen overnight. SEO should be a continuous part of your online marketing.
Search engines are constantly changing rules and algorithms to improve the end user experience. Staying on top of new developments and acting swiftly when changes are needed is something you’ll have to get used to if you’re wanting to win the SEO game and beat your competitors.
3. Not Updating Content Regularly
Content is a massive part of any SEO strategy, remember, Content is King! Search engines love fresh, relevant content which can be delivered by incorporating a blog or news section to your website.
The content should include your targeted keywords but remember that you’re writing the content for the end user, not to try and manipulate search engines! This is known as content optimisation and is key to any SEO strategy.
Having a content strategy can help you see what content needs to be written and when. It also helps to keep consistancy and allows you to optimise each piece to reach your objectives.
4. Ignoring Local SEO
With more and more people searching whilst on the move, Local SEO is something that shouldn’t be ignored. Optimising your META data with keywords and location details will help push you up in the Search engine results pages (SERPS). It’s been reported that more than 50% of people who conducted a local search, visited a nearby store within a day.
This outlines why local SEO is something that should be done from the off. Setting up Google MyBusiness and optimising this is a no-brainer! Remember to optimise the content on there too.
5. Targeting the wrong Keywords
Keywords are important for SEO. Researching and choosing keywords should be the first step of any SEO strategy. So how do you decide which keywords to choose?
There are various tools and websites out there that can help you decide on the keywords you should be optimising your website and content for. Google Key Word Planner is a popular choice, as to are Keyword.io and SEMRush. These tools can help you find relevant keywords and provide further suggestions too.
When deciding and researching, remember to look for keywords and search terms that your target market would use to find you. Try to forget about industry jargon as these are words that your audience probably won’t be searching for.
Conclusion
I’ve pointed our five of the most common mistakes that people have when it comes to SEO, there are many more SEO mistakes that you should look out for too. Are you looking for an SEO Strategy? or need a little bit of SEO advice? Get in touch with me today!